Finally, Andrew Yang has the mainstream media’s attention.
Yang’s campaign sent a tweet to The Daily Beast‘s Sam Stein that at tonight’s Democratic presidential debate in Houston, the candidate is going to do “something no presidential candidate has ever done before in history.”
By this mysterious tease, with no other specific details, mainstream media’s interest piqued up. Speculation is rampant.
Will he be the first candidate to drop out during a televised debate? In so doing, will he endorse one of his rivals? Will he crowdsurf onto the room like he did last week at the AAPI Presidential Forum? Will he jump into a mosh pit full of his Yang Gang supporters? Will he announce the score of the football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers, which will be airing at the same time as the debate?
Yang has had trouble getting mainstream media to give him the attention given to candidates that he has outperformed in the polls. It seems the only time he gets air time is when he’s doing something no other presidential candidate has done: line dancing with senior citizens; crying in response to a mother who had lost her son to gun violence, challenging Trump in basketball, and the aforementioned crowd surfing.
Yang has been unable to move beyond 3% in most polls, so he’s been stuck with the “long-shot” monicker.
(Editor Note: A new Harris X poll out yesterday has Yang in fifth place with 5%)
This debate will feature the top ten hopefuls on the same stage. Previous debates have had to split the candidates into two separate nights.
While most eyes are anxious to see how frontrunner Joe Biden and his closest rival, Elizabeth Warren, interact. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg need to insert themselves among the top four or five to gain momentum towards the next debate in October.
The candidates who poll in the single digits, including Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Beto O’Rourke and Julian Castro must have a “moment,” do or say something memorable, and make an impression with the audience. Watch out for that Asian guy who loves MATH.
What: The third debate between candidates for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination
When: 5-8 p.m. PT Thursday, Sept. 12
Channels: ABC and Univision
Streaming: The debate will stream on the ABC app and the ABC News Live channel. It is also available on Facebook, Twitter, Roku, Hulu, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube, Apple News and the ABC News, “Good Morning America” and FiveThirtyEight websites and phone apps. Univision News will also livestream the debate on its digital platforms, including Facebook, YouTube and Periscope.
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