House Minority Leader Nancy Pleosi on Friday added her name to the growing number of people pushing the Democratic National Committee to hold more presidential debates, and said all the candidates would benefit from having more time to discuss their ideas.
“Hillary does well, I think they all do well on them, and we should have more debates,” Pelosi told the Los Angeles Times.
Democratic voters have placed increased pressure on DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz for restricting the amount of debates in the Democratic primary to just six. The DNC has also prevented candidates from participating in other non-sanctioned debates.
Candidates Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders have both said they are frustrated that the DNC’s rules favor front-runner Hillary Clinton. Additionally, three DNC vice chairs have called for increased debate in the primary.
On Wednesday, non-Clinton-voting Democrats protested outside the DNC, rallying for more debates. But Wasserman Schultz has held firm to her refusal to allow for more debates. During the 2008 Democratic primary, candidates participated in 26 sanctioned debates, which many, especially the DNC, have argued is too many.
“They thought 26 was too many, and I think it is, and you probably should have something in between,” Pelosi stated. “But I don’t know that we’re going to have more debates,” Pelosi said.
When asked about the Democratic debate schedule on CNN Thursday afternoon, Clinton stated that she would be open to attending more debates, but only if the DNC scheduled them. The first Democratic debate will take place Oct. 13 in Las Vegas.
