The Abbey in West Hollywood will be one of a number of places where viewing parties are planned for tonight’s Democratic presidential debate, the first to include former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Bloomberg did not qualify for the first three debates after declaring his candidacy Nov. 24, primarily because he did not fulfill the donor standards. Bloomberg is not seeking donations for his campaign.
The Democratic National Committee, which sanctions the primary debates, announced on Jan. 31 that participants would not need to meet a donor standard for Wednesday’s debate.
“Now that the grassroots support is actually captured in real voting, the criteria will no longer require a donor threshold,” Adrienne Watson, the DNC’s war room director, told the political news website Politico.
“The donor threshold was appropriate for the opening stages of the race, when candidates were building their organizations, and there were no metrics available outside of polling to distinguish those making progress from those who weren’t.”
Bloomberg qualified for the debate Tuesday with the release of the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll, which showed him with support from 19% of those surveyed, the fourth poll in which he had received at least 10%.
“Our campaign is seeing a groundswell of support across the country, and qualifying for the Feb. 19 debate is the latest sign that Mike’s plan and ability to defeat Donald Trump is resonating with more and more Americans,” said Bloomberg campaign manager Kevin Sheekey.
“Mike is looking forward to joining the other Democratic candidates on stage and making the case for why he’s the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump and unite the country. The opportunity to discuss his workable and achievable plans for the challenges facing this country is an important part of the campaign process.”
Bloomberg supporters will gather at Casa Fina, 1842 E. First St., to watch the planned two-hour debate that will begin at 6 p.m. and be televised by NBC and MSNBC and in Spanish on the Universo cable network.
Parties organized by supporters of former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg will be held at:
— 11326 Long Beach Blvd., Lynwood;
— Busby’s West, 3110 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica;
— Ecco’s Pizza Restaurant, 2123 N. Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach;
— MacLeod Ale Brewing Co., 14741 Calvert St., Van Nuys; and
— Redline DTLA, 131 E. Sixth St., downtown Los Angeles.
Parties organized by supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will be held at:
— 250 S. Garey Ave., Pomona;
— East Los Angeles Field Office, 285 S. Atlantic Blvd., East Los Angeles;
— Compass Old Town, 42 S. Pasadena Ave., Pasadena;
— Der Wolf Neighborhood Bar, 72 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena;
— Indie Brewing Company, 2350 Sunrise St., Boyle Heights;
— Little Joy Cocktails, 1477 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park;
— Los Angeles Eco-Village, 117 Bimini Place, Koreatown; and
— Sage Restaurant, 6511 Greenleaf Ave., Whittier.
Parties organized by supporters of former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer will be held at:
— Campaign Office, 2123 E. Palmdale Blvd., Palmdale;
— North Hollywood Office, 11400 Victory Blvd., North Hollywood; and
— Santa Monica Office, 1448 15th St., Santa Monica.
Parties organized by supporters of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren will be held at:
— 1739 Public House, 1739 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz;
— Bev’s Place, 14906 Dickens St., Sherman Oaks; and
— Casey’s Irish Pub, 613 S. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles.
Multi-candidate viewing parties will be held at The Abbey, 692 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood, and Wallis Annenberg Hall at USC.
The other candidates to have qualified for the debate are former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Steyer did not qualify.
The debate will be streamed live on NBC News NOW on OTT devices, NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, the NBC News mobile app, NBC News’ and MSNBC’s Facebook pages and online at The Nevada Independent and in Spanish on the “Noticias Telemundo” mobile app and website and “Noticias Telemundo’s Facebook page.
“NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt, “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd, NBC News chief White House correspondent Hallie Jackson, “Noticias Telemundo” senior correspondent Vanessa Hauc and Jon Ralston, editor of the nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website The Nevada Independent, will moderate the debate at the Paris Theater in Las Vegas.
The field for the campaign’s ninth debate was based on qualification criteria set by the DNC.
Participants had to be allocated at least one pledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention from the Iowa caucuses or New Hampshire primary or receive 10% or more support in at least four polls — which may be national polls, or single-state polls in the early voting states of South Carolina and Nevada — or 12% or more support in two single-state polls in those states released between Jan. 15 and Tuesday.
