The Democratic candidates for president could be meeting for a debate in New Hampshire on Feb. 4 that is independent of the Democratic National Committee, which has taken criticism for only scheduling six debates this election season.
MSNBC and the New Hampshire Union-Leader will announce the debate Tuesday evening. The debate will be moderated by NBC personalities Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow.
The story was originally reported by Buzzfeed and confirmed by the Union-Leader.
In the official debates that have happened so far this year, many think Bernie Sanders has outperformed favorite Hillary Clinton. The DNC has been accused of scheduling too few debates and putting them at odd times, especially on Saturday nights, to minimize Clinton’s exposure to Sanders and potentially harsh media treatment.
The DNC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The next scheduled debate is not until Feb. 11, after the New Hampshire Primary has already happened. The DNC has said that any candidate who participates in unsanctioned debates can’t be in the six officially scheduled events. It’s not clear what would happen if all three candidates decided to participate.
