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Kamala Harris Will Not Participate in Fox News Town Hall

Sen. Kamala Harris / Getty Images
May 15, 2019

Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) will not participate in a proposed town hall on Fox News, according to a report from reporter Yashar Ali. 

"They've reached out but we haven't entertained it," the campaign told Ali on Wednesday afternoon about overtures from the network for a town hall program.

The news comes amidst a debate within the Democratic Party about whether their presidential candidates should appear on the network.

In March, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez announced the party would not hold any primary debates on the network, claiming it is "not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate."

However, Democratic presidential candidates such as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.)  have done town hall appearances on the network. Sanders' town hall, hosted by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, received the highest ratings of any political town hall across the major networks with an estimated 2.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen data.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) garnered headlines this week for announcing she will not participate in a proposed town hall hosted by the network. In tweets broadcasting her decision, she described the network as "a hate-for-profit racket that gives a megaphone to racists and conspiracists."

One of Harris and Warren's challengers, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, will appear in a Fox News town hall hosted by Chris Wallace on Sunday evening. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), another 2020 contender, will also do one on Fox in the coming weeks.

"The President of the United States needs to represent everyone ... I believe you need to meet voters where they are, and a lot of America happens to watch that network," Gillibrand told MSNBC on Wednesday.