CNN will host the Iowa Democratic presidential debate on January 14, in what will be the final face-to-face meeting between the candidates before the nation begins heading to the polls.
CNN, in partnership with the Des Moines Register, will air the debate live in primetime from the campus of Drake University.
The Democratic National Committee made the announcement on Thursday as part of a larger look at the upcoming debate calendar for the remaining early voting states of New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
The DNC said it would outline the criteria to qualify for the debates at a later date.
The January debate could take place as the Senate hears the case to impeach President Donald Trump. House Democrats announced Tuesday they will bring two articles of impeachment against Trump, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, setting in motion the likely third impeachment of a US president in history.
A DNC official said the committee will work with the campaigns if a presidential impeachment trial prevents senators who are seeking the party’s nomination from participating in the January 14 debate.
“If a conflict with an impeachment trial is unavoidable, the DNC will evaluate its options and work with all the candidates to accommodate them,” the DNC official said.
Currently, five Democratic senators are running for president: Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Bennet has not qualified for a debate since July, and Booker will miss next week’s debate stage, for the first time this year.
The DNC also announced on Thursday that ABC will host a debate in New Hampshire on February 7 at St. Anselm College in partnership with WMUR and Apple News, NBC News and MSNBC will host a debate in Las Vegas on February 19 in partnership with The Nevada Independent, and CBS and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute will co-host a debate at The Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 25 in partnership with Twitter.
