The Democratic Party will hold at least a dozen presidential primary debates from June 2019 through April 2020.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez says there will be six debates in 2019 and six in 2020.
Exact dates, locations, media partners and qualifying thresholds will be announced later. But Perez said Thursday that early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina won't host debates until 2020.
June and July debates will feature two rounds to accommodate a large field of candidates.
Candidates will be assigned at random to avoid having the party choosing who is a top-tier candidate, and the early debate qualifying threshold will consider factors other than polling.
Perez says his priority is for all candidates to have a legitimate shot to be heard.
“To win back the presidency in 2020, Democrats must lead with our values. That began with the historic reforms to expand and increase trust in our party, and it will continue by conducting party business fairly, transparently, and inclusively throughout the 2020 primary process,” said Chair Perez. “To that end, we have listened and learned about debate experiences from a wide array of stakeholders.
“My goal in this framework is to give the grassroots a bigger voice than ever before; to showcase our candidates on an array of media platforms; to present opportunity for vigorous discussion about issues, ideas and solutions; and to reach as many potential voters as possible. That is how we will put our nominee in the strongest position possible to defeat Donald Trump, and how we will help elect Democrats up and down the ballot.”
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
