It’s time for night two: CNN will air the second night of the second Democratic primary debate on Wednesday, with a total of 10 more candidates set to take the stage. You can watch tonight’s debate for free online starting at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET).
After moderates like Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana clashed with progressive front-runners Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren on night one, the second part of the CNN debate will once again feature 10 candidates debating at the Fox Theatre. The event will run for two and a half hours on Wednesday evening.
The candidates had to qualify for the debate based on polling numbers and total number of donors, and were then randomly selected for each night. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who clashed in the first debate, will go head-to-head on Wednesday night. CNN hosts Dana Bash, Don Lemon, and Jake Tapper will moderate once again.
How do I watch the second debate online?
The second night of the debate will run from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. PT (8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. PT) on Wednesday, July 31. CNN will livestream the entire debate over both nights on its homepage, as well as the CNN iOS and Android apps, and via the CNNgo apps on Apple TV, Roku, Android TV, Chromecast, and Amazon Fire.
Normally, you’d have to log in using your cable provider credentials to access CNN’s streaming services, but the cable network won’t make you do that to watch the debate – meaning anyone will be able to watch for free, regardless of whether you have cable.
If you want to watch it old school, the debate will air on CNN itself as well.
Which candidates will be at each debate?
The overall 20-candidate lineup is nearly identical to the last debate – the only difference is that Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has been added after Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) dropped out of the race.
The Wednesday night debate will feature:
- Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
- Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro
- Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)
- Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
- Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii)
- Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington
- Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City
Tuesday night’s debate featured:
- Author and activist Marianne Williamson
- Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio)
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn)
- Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
- Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
- Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas)
- Former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado
- Former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.)
- Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana
What issues will they talk about?
Expect to moderators to ask similar questions as they did on Tuesday, with a major focus on health care, Medicare for All, immigration, the economy, and foreign policy.
It’s also likely that candidates will talk about their plans to either regulate or break up big tech companies such as Facebook, which the Federal Trade Commission fined $5 billion over privacy violations last week. Several Democratic candidates, most notably Warren, criticized the FTC’s settlement with the social media giant as too lenient.
What’s next after this debate?
Univision and ABC will jointly host the third Democratic debate on September 12 and 13. Expect to see fewer candidates next time around – in order to qualify, they’ll need to register 2% or more in four qualifying polls and have at least 130,000 individual donors, twice what was required for the first two debates.
