Wild Cards Trump and Sanders May Mean Extra Debaters in 2016 [View all]

[Purveyor]

Donald Trump’s insurgent and unpredictable campaign for president has the organizers of next year’s general election debates preparing for the possibility that at least one independent candidate may share the stage with the Democratic and Republican nominees.

Trump, who currently leads national polling of the Republican field, has suggested he may consider an independent run if he loses the party nomination and feels he hasn’t been treated fairly. Although Democrat Bernie Sanders has said he won’t seek election as an independent, he continues to draw significant support, polling about 30 percent against his party’s front-runner, Hillary Clinton.

If either of them chooses to run independently and manages to draw at least 15 percent support nationally -- the threshold for eligibility -- the Commission on Presidential Debates would have to accommodate more than the two major party candidates for the first time since 1992.

“Fifteen percent in this crazy year we’re in, it’s not entirely inconceivable that someone may come along,” said Mike McCurry, co-chairman of the the nonprofit, nonpartisan group that organizes debates for the general election. “Our job is to make sure the candidates Americans are considering for president are there on the stage.”

Debate Dates

The commission, whose other co-chairman is former Republican National Committee Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf, is planning now for the 2016 debates and has already set its ground rules. The first debate is scheduled for Sept. 26 in Dayton, Ohio, followed by an Oct. 9 debate in St. Louis and Oct. 19 in Las Vegas. A vice presidential debate is set for Oct. 4 in Farmville, Virginia.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-12-09/wild-cards-trump-and-sanders-may-mean-extra-debaters-in-2016