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Democratic debate: Start time, candidates, how to watch and stream night two

The second Democratic primary debate of the 2020 election season kicks off tonight, this time on CNN, which has tweaked the rules the last debate.

The marquee at the Fox Theatre displays signs for the Democratic presidential debates in Detroit, Monday, July 29, 2019. The second scheduled debates, hosted by CNN, will be held Tuesday, July 30 and Wednesday, July 31.
The marquee at the Fox Theatre displays signs for the Democratic presidential debates in Detroit, Monday, July 29, 2019. The second scheduled debates, hosted by CNN, will be held Tuesday, July 30 and Wednesday, July 31.Read morePaul Sancya / AP

The second Democratic primary debate of the 2020 election season continues Wednesday night on CNN, following a Tuesday night debate that saw Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren forcefully defend their progressive policies.

Returning to moderate Wednesday’s debate is The Lead anchor and Philadelphia native Jake Tapper, who will be joined by fellow CNN host Don Lemon and chief political correspondent Dana Bash. Instead of dividing up each hour as MSNBC did last month, Tapper, Lemon, and Bash will be on hand for both hours of each debate.

Former Vice President Joe Biden enters Wednesday’s debate as the front-runner among Democrats. Thanks to CNN’s random drawing, Biden will once again face off against Sen. Kamala Harris of California, who gained traction last month by confronting the former vice president on race and forced busing during the first debate.

My colleague Jonathan Tamari predicts Biden and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker are heading for a clash this time around, after going back and forth for the better part of a week about who has done more to help African American communities.

» READ MORE: Why Joe Biden and Cory Booker are heading for a July Democratic debate clash

Each Democrat will have 60 seconds to answer a moderator’s question, and 30 seconds for responses and rebuttals, something the moderators strictly enforced Tuesday night. CNN also warned campaign representatives that it will reduce the air time of candidates who constantly interrupt the debate.

2020 Democratic primary debate, night two

When: Wednesday, July 31

Where: The Fox Theatre, Detroit

Time: 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Moderators: Chief political correspondent Dana Bash, CNN Tonight host Don Lemon, and The Lead anchor Jake Tapper.

TV: CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español

Streaming: CNN.com, CNN app, CNNgo app (free)

Media coverage

Anderson Cooper 360 host Anderson Cooper will anchor the network’s pre-debate coverage at 7 p.m. Following the debate, Tapper, Bash, and Lemon will join Cooper for analysis alongside several CNN commentators and political pundits.

Fox News will stick to its normal prime-time programming featuring Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, but the network will offer its own post-debate analysis at 11 p.m., with FOX News @ Night anchor Shannon Bream reporting live from the Fox Theatre. Special Report host and chief political anchor Bret Baier will offer analysis, with Washington correspondents Peter Doocy and Kristin Fisher on hand to offer reports both nights.

Candidates who will appear on stage Wednesday night

  1. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet

  2. Former Vice President Joe Biden

  3. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio

  4. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker

  5. Former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julián Castro

  6. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

  7. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

  8. California Sen. Kamala Harris

  9. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee

  10. Businessman Andrew Yang

Number of Democratic primary debates

The DNC has approved as many as 12 debates, though there may be fewer, depending how the primary process plays out. Six are scheduled to take place in 2019, with six more set for 2020.

NBC hosted the first Democratic debate across two nights last month.

The third debate will air on ABC on Sept. 12 and Sept. 13, if two nights are necessary. Few details have been released about the fourth debate, which is scheduled to take place in October.

In order to qualify for the third and fourth debates, candidates need to reach 2 percent in four polls from a list of DNC-approved pollsters. They’ll also have to have 130,000 unique donors to their campaign, which is why your Facebook feed may be flooded with video pitches from hopeful candidates.

So far, seven candidates have qualified to participate in those debates: Biden, Sanders, Warren, Harris, Buttigieg, O’Rourke, and Booker.