A panel of eight CNN hosts picked the candidates who will face each other during the second Democratic presidential primary debates, during a live drawing on a Thursday night episode of Anderson Cooper 360.
The debate is divided into two nights, with ten randomly selected candidates facing each other on July 30th and 31st. The first night's lineup consists of author Marianne Williamson, former Rep. John Delaney, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The second night's contenders are Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Sen. Cory Booker, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, California Sen. Kamala Harris, and former Vice President Joe Biden.
CNN hosts picked the candidates in three waves and in order of popularity, waiting to pick the four highest polling candidates last to ensure each debate had an evenly distributed number of candidates based on polling. The rematch between Biden and Harris is sure to draw attention. Harris created a stir when she challenged Biden's record on racial issues at the first debate, citing his opposition to busing in the 1970s. Following the debate, Biden, who up to that point had been considered a front runner, suffered significantly in national polls as Harris rose.
The other two frontrunners, Warren and Sanders, hold similarly progressive positions and have pulled in voters with similar views. Warren has been steadily rising in the polls after stumbling initially with her DNA test purporting to vindicate her prior claims to Native American heritage. She later apologized.
The first debates were hosted June 26 and 27 on MSNBC. President Donald Trump said that he would live tweet the first debates, and did, offering several insights throughout both nights, tweeting "BORING!" about halfway through the first debate.
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