Pelosi: ‘We should have more debates’
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Friday the Democratic National Committee (DNC) should increase its number of 2016 presidential debates.
{mosads}“I would,” she said when asked if she would appreciate a larger number of contests this election cycle, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“Hillary does well — I think they all do well on them — and we should have more debates,” Pelosi added, referring to Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), the DNC chairwoman, has repeatedly vowed her organization is not conducting more than six presidential debates in the 2016 cycle.
Her stance has drawn criticism from White House hopefuls worried they won’t receive as much attention as Clinton will before primary elections begin next year.
Both Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.) have argued that the current calendar of events is slanted in Clinton’s favor.
Pelosi said Friday she didn’t have an alternative number of debates to suggest.
“They thought 26 was too many, and I think it is, and you probably should have something in between,” she said, alluding to the 2008 presidential election cycle’s number of debates.
“But I don’t know that we’re going to have more debates,” she added.
Critics say the DNC’s present debate schedule does not offer voters enough insight into their options before voting begins.
Supporters counter that the committee’s plans prevent the Democratic presidential field from wearing its candidates down before the general election.
The first DNC debate is scheduled for Oct. 13 in Las Vegas.
Clinton leads a pack of seven candidates, with 44.7 percent support, in the latest RealClearPolitics average of national polls.
Sanders, her nearest competition, has 23.3 percent.
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