Five candidates will participate in Tuesday night's Democratic Party debate, including: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb, and former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee.
There is a sixth candidate in the race: Lawrence Lessig. He's a Harvard law professor and a campaign finance reform activist. However, Lessig will not be allowed to participate in th debate, since he did not receive at least 1 percent in the polls conducted between Aug. 1 and Oct. 10.
Some speculate that Vice President Joe Biden may enter the race for the Democratic nomination, although he seems to be reluctant to make up his mind this week, and said he feels no pressure to enter the first debate Tuesday. According to CNN, if Biden does decide to enter the debate last minute, they’ll make room for him.
Coverage of the event will begin on CNN at 8:30 p.m. eastern time. The debate starts at 9 p.m.. Fewer people will be on the stage compared to the Republican debate last month, but CNN has said that it plans on taking advantage of the smaller size to go deeper into particular issues and ask more direct questions to the candidates.
CNN plans to highlight issues of interest to Democratic primary voters, but also areas in which the candidates all have clear policy differences, reported The New York Times.
Hillary Clinton | Photo: REUTERS/Scott Morgan
Hillary Clinton has been leading the polls since campaigning began, which is not a big surprise given the financial backing behind her campaign. The presidential hopeful raised US$45 million in the first three months of her campaign alone.
Clinton recently served as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama between 2009 and 2013. The State Department is largely charged with overseeing U.S. foreign policy. This is her second time running in the Democratic presidential nomination, after she lost to Obama in 2008.
Clinton was born in Illinois and graduated from Wellesley College in 1969, where she studied law. Clinton was elected to the U.S. senate in 2000, becoming the first female senator representing the state of New York. The position also made her the first, and so far only, First Lady to have sought elected office.
Clinton has taken progressive views on things such as gay-rights, is pro-universal health care, has spoken out against the controversial TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) trade deal, and has been more vocal on the issue of gun control compared to her counter parts. On the international stage however, she has spoken out against Iran's nuclear program, thrown full U.S. support behind Israel and has spoken out against Russia for its stance on the Ukraine conflict.
Bernie Sanders | Photo: REUTERS/Rick Wilking
Bernie Sanders has surprised the nation by emerging as a democratic frontrunner. Running as an independent candidate, the presidential hopeful has refused to take any corporate donations, but has still managed to raise about US$15 million since he launched his campaign three months ago. The average donation has been US$33.50.
Sanders, a junior senator from Vermont, is the longest serving independent in U.S. congressional history. He was elected to the senate in 2006, and served as a congressman for 16 years prior to that. Sanders is originally from New York, and studied at the University of Chicago where he was also a member of the Young People's Socialist League and an active Civil Rights protest organizer. He moved to Vermont in 1968.
He has described himself as a democratic-socialist, saying that if he is elected he would raise taxes on U.S. companies and upper-income earners to pay for a US$1 trillion infrastructure-rebuilding jobs program. He has strong views on income-inequality in the U.S., supports universal healthcare and LGBT rights. He has also been extremely critical of U.S. mass surveillance programs, such as the Patriot Act, and has spoken out against the current state of the criminal justice system. He has been highly critical of U.S. foreign policy, including openly opposing the war in Iraq.
Jim Webb | Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
Jim Webb is a senator from Virginia who also served as Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan, was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and a Marine Corps officer.
Outside of politics, Webb has also written ten books, and is an Emmy-award winning journalist and documentary filmaker.
Born in Missouri, Webb was a military child and thus moved around the country while growing up, wherever his father's military postings would take his family.
Webb is seen as a key player in the campaign, not so much because he is expected to win, but because his views differ from the top-runners Clinton and Sanders on certain hot topics, which could garner interesting and revealing reactions from the other candidates.
His opinions have been seen as more centrist, but many could be considered conservative. He has spoken out against gun control, supports the construction of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, and has been critical of Obama's recent dealings with Iran, claiming that the president was not tough enough. He is also known however for urging prison reform in the United States and openly opposing the war in Iraq.
Webb has not seen much media attention since he announced that he would run for the nomination, so his appearance on CNN Tuesday is expected to be key for his campaign.
Martin O'Malley | Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Martin O'Malley is a long-shot candidate who is hoping a strong performance in Tuesday’s debate will give him a boost in the polls and lend legitimacy to his campaign. He has repeatedly criticized the lack of debates, underscoring the importance he is placing on a standout performance Tuesday.
An unnamed Democratic operative told The Washington Post that if he has a mediocre performance, it could spell the end of his run for the Democratic candidacy.
When O'Malley launched his candidacy he tried to position himself as a more progressive alternative to frontrunner Hilary Clinton. However that space on the political spectrum has been largely taken up by Bernie Sanders.
O'Mally, the former governor of Maryland, is expected to point to his tenure there as proof of his experience to lead the country.
Lincoln Chafee | Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Lincoln Chafee is the former governor of Rhode Island. He was elected to the position in 2010 as an independent after leaving the Republican party.
Chafee sat as a Rhode Island Senator for the Republican from 1999 to 2007, and only joined the Democrats in 2013. His support in most polls is dismally low, having only barely received enough approval to be included in Tuesday's debate.
The former governor of Rhode Island made headlines recently over his support for the controversial TPP trade deal. He has cited education, infrastructure and healthcare as priorities.
