CNN announces Democratic presidential town halls in South Carolina
CNN will host two nights of town halls next week featuring the leading Democratic presidential candidates, just days before voters head to the polls in South Carolina and on Super Tuesday, the network announced Thursday evening.
The hourlong individual town halls will air in prime time on Monday and Wednesday and will follow the CNN town hall format of candidates taking questions directly from audience members and a moderator.
The two-night event, which will feature half a dozen candidates, will take place at Memminger Auditorium in Charleston, South Carolina, a CNN spokesperson said.
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will participate in his first nationally televised town hall since joining the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
He has skipped the first four nominating states, which includes South Carolina, where his name is not on the ballot. His campaign, after getting a late official start in November, has focused the billionaire’s resources on the Super Tuesday states, which vote on March 3.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will appear at 9 p.m. ET, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 10 p.m. ET, and businessman Tom Steyer at 11 p.m. ET.
On Wednesday, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will appear at 7 p.m. ET, former Vice President Joe Biden will appear at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar at 9 p.m. ET and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 10 p.m. ET.
The CNN spokesperson said that other candidates who qualify to participate in next Tuesday’s Democratic National Committee debate will also receive an invitation to participate in a CNN town hall. Additional details, including moderators, will be announced at a later date. The spokesperson added that the audience will be composed of invited Democrats.
The town halls will air on CNN, CNN en Español, CNN International and CNN Airport Network and will stream on CNN.com, CNN OTT apps for AppleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Samsung SmartTV and Android TV, and CNN Mobile apps for iOS and Android, CNN’s SiriusXM Channels and the Westwood One Radio Network.
This story has been updated to reflect changes to the candidate lineup.
