Houston expected to host third Dem debate

The 2020 Democratic presidential contest is most likely headed to Texas for the third televised debate of the party’s primary campaign.

Houston is expected to host the Democratic debate Sept. 12 and 13, sponsored by ABC News and the Spanish-language network Univision, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plans who requested anonymity to share confidential details.

ABC executives are close to completing a contract with a Houston-based venue, the people said. Although the papers are not yet signed, both network and party officials are anticipating a late-summer event in the Texas city, where the average September temperature can reach the high 80s.

Like Miami, which hosted the Democrats’ first debate in June, Houston was among the final group of cities considered to host next year’s Democratic convention. (Milwaukee eventually took the prize.) The choice of Texas could also be seen as a statement of intent by the party to be competitive in a state that has not been won by a Democratic presidential candidate since 1976.

The last time that Democrats hosted a presidential primary debate in Texas was in February 2008, when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton met in Austin at an event sponsored by CNN and Univision.

Representatives from ABC and the Democratic National Committee, which oversees the primary debates, declined to comment Tuesday.

The third debate, which will preempt ABC’s usual weeknight programming, is expected to include a more condensed version of the current, sprawling Democratic field. A total of 20 candidates appeared over two nights in Miami last month, and 20 are expected for the second Democratic debate in Detroit in July, which will also be split between two nights to accommodate the number of contenders.

But Democratic officials tightened requirements for the ABC debate, raising the threshold that candidates must meet for national polling performance and the number of unique donors to their campaigns.

Ratings for the first Democratic debate in Miami, hosted by NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo, exceeded industry expectations. The June 28 event — which featured a clash between Sen. Kamala Harris of California and former Vice President Joe Biden — was seen live by about 18 million Americans, a record for a Democratic primary debate and a sign of intense early engagement with the 2020 race.