--- description: Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee will take a Democratic debate stage Tuesday. title: Longshot Candidates Prepare to Debate Clinton, Sanders image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltab19de4f69314f47/698867e90b72e31aa16e647d/jim-webb1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Debates](/tag/debates/) ## Debates Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Longshot Candidates Prepare to Debate Clinton, Sanders by [Sam Frizell / Las Vegas](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell / Las Vegas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 12, 2015 5:17 PM CUT  Democratic presidential candidate and former Virginia Senator Jim Webb speaks to guests at the Iowa Democratic Party's Hall of Fame Dinner in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on July 17, 2015. Democratic presidential candidate and former Virginia Senator Jim Webb speaks to guests at the Iowa Democratic Party's Hall of Fame Dinner in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on July 17, 2015.Scott Olson–Getty Images by [Sam Frizell / Las Vegas](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell / Las Vegas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 12, 2015 5:17 PM CUT One is a war hero with a piece of shrapnel from Vietnam still lodged in his head. The other is a mild-mannered peacenik with an Ivy League degree in classics. Most people have never heard of them, and they both want to be president. On Tuesday, Webb (the veteran) and Chafee (the Ivy League guy) will both take the stage in Las Vegas for the first Democratic presidential debate next to Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders as well as former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. The CNN-hosted debate will be their best chance yet to inform primary voters of their campaigns, and also to convince Americans they are better candidates than the frontrunners. It is a tall order for two candidates polling within the margin of error of 0%. TIME inquired about Webb and Chafee’s preparation for the biggest moment of their presidential campaigns so far, but both declined to comment. “Eisenhower didn’t yap about D-Day in advance,” said a spokesman for Webb, who won a Navy Cross and two Purple Hearts in Vietnam. “The governor is preparing as with all the debates in his long political career,” said a spokeswoman for Chafee, a former senator and governor of Rhode Island. “He’s focusing on the issues.” Webb and Chafee have a surprising amount in common, besides their low poll numbers. Their ideas range from the quixotic (Chafee wants to implement the metric system) to the grand (Webb wants to overhaul the criminal justice system). **Read More:** [_Jim Webb Enters 2016 Race Leaning on Foreign Policy_](http://time.com/3945196/jim-webb-2016-foreign-policy/ "undefined") Both have a long history working with Republicans: Webb was Secretary of the Navy under President Reagan before he was a U.S. Senator, and Chafee was a Republican for most of his political life, as mayor of Warwick, R.I., and Senator from the state. (Webb and Chafee never served at the same time in Congress.) They both rest their credibility on foreign policy. Chafee’s campaign slogan is “Prosperity through Peace.” He believes in ending drone strikes, entertains the idea of a rapprochement with the Islamic State, and says Edward Snowden “did the right thing” and should come back to the United States. Webb thinks the United States has to focus its energies on Asia and wrote in an article the day after September 11, 2001, in all caps “DO NOT OCCUPY TERRITORY.” They often point to their early opposition to the Iraq War as part of their bona fides. Webb called it “the greatest strategic blunder in modern memory” in 2003, and Chafee was the only Republican Senator to vote against the war in 2002\. That, along with Webb’s warning in 2011 against intervention in Libya, could be a line of attack against the more hawkish Clinton. **Read More:** [_Lincoln Chafee Is Trying to Re-Run Obama’s 2008 Playbook_](http://time.com/3851723/lincoln-chafee-hillary-clinton-iraq/ "undefined") But for both, months of campaigning are as good as anything as they prepare for the Democratic debate. Chafee has been glad-handing voters in New Hampshire with single-minded focus, driving his sedan up to New Hampshire to visit the state more than any other candidate (he’s been there nearly 30 times since the campaign began, according to his spokeswoman). He’s had plenty of time to perfect his platform. “People in New Hampshire say, ‘Thank you for coming, we want to have a choice,’” said Chafee’s spokeswoman. “They like what they hear.” Early on in his campaign, Webb’s allies from his Navy and days in Congress helped put together an 8-inch thick issue book that the former Senator has been looking over for months. He’s been stumping on the facts. “That’ll come in handy for this,” said Crawford. “The man’s just doing what he does,” added Crawford, “thinking through the issues and what he wants to say about them and not doing phony rehearsals, or stuff like that.” **Read Next:** * [_Here’s How Underdog Martin O’Malley Plans to Win the Democratic Debate_](http://time.com/4069056/martin-omalley-democratic-debate/ "undefined") * [How to Watch the Democratic Debate Online for Free](http://time.com/4069924/democratic-debate-watch-online-free-stream-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-cnn/ "undefined") ### See the 2016 Candidates' Campaign Launches  Sen. Ted Cruz kicked off his campaign for 2016 Republican presidential nomination at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. on March 23. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images  Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul launched his bid for the Republican nomination at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville on April 7\. Supporters held signs with the slogan "Defeat the Washington Machine / Unleash the American Dream." Amy Harris—Corbis  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced her campaign in a YouTube video posted April 12 that has been seen nearly 4.5 million times. One boy featured in the video boasted about playing a fish in a school play. Hillary For America  Florida Sen. Marco Rubio announced his campaign for the Republican nomination during a rally at the Freedom Tower in Miami on April 13\. He took a drink of water during the speech, a callback to his State of the Union response in 2013. Wilfredo Lee—AP  Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his bid for the Democratic nomination across the street from the U.S. Capitol on April 30, 2015\. The backdrop was unusual, since most candidates rail against Washington. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson announced his bid for the Republican nomination at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts May 4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. The launch featured a gospel choir covering Eminem's "Lose Yourself." Bill Pugliano—Getty Images  Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina announced her campaign for the Republican nomination in a conference call on May 4, then went on "Good Morning America" to talk to George Stephanopoulos. Lou Rocco—Getty Images  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his campaign at a community college in his hometown of Hope, Ark., on May 5\. Singer Tony Orlando (right) performed. Left: Danny Johnston; Right: Matt Sullivan—Getty Images  Republican presidential candidate and former New York Governor George Pataki (C) greets supporters after formally announcing his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Exeter, N.H. on May 28, 2015. Dominick Reuter—Reuters  Former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee announces his candidacy for the democratic presidential nomination at George Mason University in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announces his 2016 presidential candidacy in Central, S.C. on June 1, 2015. Erik S. Lesser—EPA  Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley is joined by his wife Katie O'Malley (R) as he announces his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination during a speech at Federal Hill Park in Baltimore on May 30, 2015. Jim Bourg—Reuters  Former Texas governor Rick Perry announces his candidacy for Republican presidential nominee at an event held at Addison Airport in Addison, Texas on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Louis DeLuca—Dallas Morning News/Corbis  Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush waves on stage as he announces his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination during an event at Miami-Dade College - Kendall Campus in Miami on June 15 , 2015. Joe Raedle—Getty Images  Donald Trump holds up his financial statement showing his net worth as he formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during an event at Trump Tower in New York City on June 16, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Republican presidential candidate and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Kenner, La. on June 24, 2015. Jonathan Bachman—Reuters  Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during a kickoff rally at Livingston High School in Livingston, N.J. on June 30, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker greets supporters after announcing that he will seek the Republican nomination for president in Waukesha, Wis. on July 13, 2015 . Scott Olson—Getty Images  Ohio Governor John Kasich arrives on stage to formally announce his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during a kickoff rally in Columbus, Ohio on July 21, 2015. Aaron P. Bernstein—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4070231/democratic-debate-jim-webb-lincoln-chafee/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4070231/democratic-debate-jim-webb-lincoln-chafee/"},"headline":"Longshot Candidates Prepare to Debate Clinton, Sanders","datePublished":"2015-10-12T17:17:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:17.557Z","description":"Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee will take a Democratic debate stage Tuesday.","url":"https://time.com/4070231/democratic-debate-jim-webb-lincoln-chafee/","keywords":["Debates","2016 Election topic","Lincoln Chafee","Jim Webb"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltab19de4f69314f47/698867e90b72e31aa16e647d/jim-webb1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell / Las Vegas"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltab19de4f69314f47/698867e90b72e31aa16e647d/jim-webb1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Democratic Presidential Hopefuls Attend Iowa Democratic Party Hall Of Fame Awards","caption":"Democratic Presidential Hopefuls Attend Iowa Democratic Party Hall Of Fame Awards","creditText":"Scott Olson–Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/debates/","name":"Debates"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4070231/democratic-debate-jim-webb-lincoln-chafee/","name":"Longshot Candidates Prepare to Debate Clinton, Sanders"}}]}] ```