The Democratic Debate Schedule and Updated Polls for 2016 Election

UPDATE: According to a new CNN/WMUR poll (9/24/15) for New Hampshire:

46% Bernie Sanders
30% Hillary Clinton
14% Joe Biden
2% Martin O'Malley
1% Jim Webb
(less than 0.5%) Lincoln Chafee
(less than 0.5%) Lawrence Lessig

* Favorability ratings and other interesting data here.

Per DNC chairperson Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

"If any additional Democratic candidates decide to enter the race, they will need to meet the same criteria for participation as the existing candidates: receiving at least 1% in three national polls, conducted by credible news organizations and polling organizations, in the six weeks prior to the debate [see polls below]. Beginning with the Nevada debate in October, Democratic candidates will meet onstage to debate each month for six months. We believe that beginning the debates in the fall of 2015 maximizes the impact of these debates with potential caucus goers and primary voters."

All five of the announced Democratic candidates have been briefed on the debate schedule and agreed to participate in the DNC sanctioned debate process, showing current results (as of this post) from two national collective-polls, with one progressive Democrat (a Democratic Socialist) — and two moderate Democrats (if Joe Biden runs) currently leading in the polls:

Hillary Clinton (40.5% and 44%)
Bernie Sanders (25.8% and 26.6%)
Joe Biden (20.8% and 20.2% — but has not announced)
Martin O'Malley (1% and 1.3%)
Jim Webb (0.8% and 1.0% — but might not qualify to debate)
Lincoln Chafee (0% and 0.3% — but would not qualify to debate)
Lawrence Lessig * (but would not qualify to debate — see note below)

Current national polls for all Democratic candidates are here and here. (Democrats in Iowa are here and here — and Democrats in New Hampshire are here and here — and Democrats in South Carolina are here.)

* Forbes: Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig recently announced his candidacy after crowd-sourcing over $1 million. But according to the DNC’s debate rules, Lessig is likely to be excluded from the first presidential debate because candidates must earn at least 1% in three national polls in the six weeks before the debate (see polls above). Progressives passionately believe in public financing of Congressional elections. Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders have both proposed a plan for that. (Forbes says Lessig is the "gold standard" of public financing.)

And speaking of publicly-funded elections, here's former-President Jimmy Carter on Citizens United: "We've become, now, an oligarchy instead of a democracy. I think that's been the worst damage to the basic moral and ethical standards to the American political system that I've ever seen in my life."

A Third Party Candidate ▸ Jill Stein (Huffington Post) With the GOP and Democratic primary races dominating news cycles, it seems that the media often forget that there are more than two political parties in America. If funded, Stein would be the second Green Party presidential candidate ever to have qualified, with Ralph Nader being the first in 2000 (and who was accused of spoiling the election for Al Gore v. George W. Bush).

And speaking of third parties, should Bernie Sanders have ran as an Independent? Here's an article by Tom Gallagher at Common Dreams titled: Only in America? The False Dichotomy Between Movement Building and Electoral Politics.

The latest Gallop Poll shows:

25% of voters identify as Republicans
31% of voters identify as Democrats
41% of voters identify as Independents

As an aside: Besides just TIME magazine, here's what else Pope Francis and Bernie Sanders have in common. And not only did the Pope invoke the Golden Rule while visiting Washington D.C. yesterday, but so did Bernie Sanders in his recent speech at Liberty University.

The Democratic Debate Schedule

(Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley had requested more debates, but the DNC chair has refused.)

1st Democratic Debate Tuesday, October 13, 2015 CNN Democratic Primary Debate Location: Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada Sponsors: CNN, Nevada Democratic Party Moderator: Anderson Cooper Candidates: To be determined	2nd Democratic Debate Saturday, November 14, 2015 CBS News Democratic Debate Location: Des Moines, Iowa Sponsors: CBS News, KCCI, Des Moines Register Moderator: John Dickerson Candidates: To be determined
3rd Democratic Debate Saturday, December 19, 2015 ABC News Democratic Primary Debate Location: Manchester, New Hampshire Sponsors: ABC News, WMUR Moderator: ? Candidates: To be determined	4th Democratic Debate Sunday, January 17, 2016 NBC News Democratic Primary Debate Location: Charleston, South Carolina Sponsors: NBC, Congressional Black Caucus Moderator: ? Candidates: To be determined
5th Democratic Debate February or March, 2016 Univision Democratic Primary Debate Location: Miami, Florida Sponsors: Univision, The Washington Post Moderator: ? Candidates: To be determined	6th Democratic Debate February or March, 2016 PBS Democratic Primary Debate Location: Wisconsin Sponsor: PBS Moderator: ? Candidates: To be determined

First presidential debate:
Monday, September 26, 2016
Wright State University, Dayton, OH

Vice presidential debate:
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Longwood University, Farmville, VA

Second presidential debate:
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Third presidential debate:
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY will serve as the backup site.