The Democratic candidates will get one more chance to debate before the New Hampshire primary, after all.
The Union Leader and MSNBC announced they will cohost a debate in the Granite State on Feb. 4, but the Democratic National Committee has said it won’t sanction the event, and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is the only candidate to confirm he will attend.
Union Leader Executive Editor Trent Spiner said the paper has been in discussion with the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns.
The debate has also not been officially sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee, which has acted as an official sponsor for each national debate.
DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been weathering criticism about the lack of Democratic debates in 2016. The MSNBC/Union Leader debate will bring the total before the New Hampshire primary to five. The Republicans have held eight in the same amount of time.
Union Leader publisher Joe McQuaid said he doubted that candidates or the Democratic party would snub the debate.
