CNN will broadcast a live drawing to determine on which of two nights Democratic presidential candidates will debate later this month in Detroit.
The lineups for the highly anticipated forums will be revealed live on CNN on July 18, the network announced Monday morning. The network, which did not specify how the field of Democratic contenders would be divided, is hosting the second of the two-night Democratic National Committee-sanctioned primary debate on July 30 and 31.
For the first round of Democratic debates, which took place two weeks ago in Miami, broadcaster NBC divvied up candidates via a random draw at its New York headquarters with campaign representatives present. Candidates polling above 2 percent and below that threshold were evenly divided across the two stages.
Thus far, 21 candidates have met the requirements to appear in the Detroit debates, achieving 1 percent in three qualifying polls or amassing 65,000 donors. But only 20 Democrats will be allowed to participate, meaning the Democratic National Committee will winnow that eligible crop by at least one.
California Rep. Eric Swalwell, who participated in the Miami debate, is the candidate most at risk of being cut by the party for the second debate — and is likely to be replaced in Detroit by Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a late entry into the Democratic field who did not qualify for the first debate, according to a POLITICO analysis.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine