--- description: The DNC has agreed to schedule four more debates, with the first taking place Feb. 4 in New Hampshire. title: Democratic Party Agrees to Schedule More Debates image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt767ea962e7afa2f3/69887c082dce01f00b9e7a6e/clinton-sanders1.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 # Democratic Party Agrees to Schedule More Debates by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2016 8:58 PM CUT  Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders participate in the first Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas, on Oct. 13, 2015. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders participate in the first Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas, on Oct. 13, 2015.Josh Haner—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2016 8:58 PM CUT Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced Wednesday that the Democratic National Committee has sanctioned four more debates [following complaints](http://time.com/4201292/debates-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/ "undefined") from the Democratic candidates. The first debate added is an MSNBC debate on the campus of the University of New Hampshire on Feb. 4th. That debate was [previously unsanctioned by the party](http://time.com/4194675/new-hampshire-democratic-debate-hillary-clinton/ "undefined"), but the Clinton and Sanders campaigns said they would participate in hopes of getting a chance to debate before the upcoming New Hampshire primary. DNC chair Wasserman Schultz said that four debates were added in total—the New Hampshire debate, a March debate in Flint, Mich. and the two remaining debates in April and May. “Our debates have set viewership records because of our candidates’ ideas, energy, and the strength of their vision to build on the progress we’ve made over the last seven years,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing them continuing to share Democrats’ vision for the country.” The New Hampshire debate will be followed by the state’s primary on Feb. 9th. While Clinton took a [narrow victory in Iowa](http://time.com/4204673/iowa-caucus-results-hillary-clinton-wins/ "undefined"), Sanders holds a [substantial lead](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/nh/new%5Fhampshire%5Fdemocratic%5Fpresidential%5Fprimary-3351.html "undefined") in New Hampshire, according to a polling average by RealClearPolitics. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4206828/democratic-debate-new-hampshire-scheduled/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4206828/democratic-debate-new-hampshire-scheduled/"},"headline":"Democratic Party Agrees to Schedule More Debates","datePublished":"2016-02-03T20:58:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:44:21.357Z","description":"Democrats will get four more debates","url":"https://time.com/4206828/democratic-debate-new-hampshire-scheduled/","keywords":["Debates","democrats","2016 Election topic","Flint","Democratic National Committee"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt767ea962e7afa2f3/69887c082dce01f00b9e7a6e/clinton-sanders1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt767ea962e7afa2f3/69887c082dce01f00b9e7a6e/clinton-sanders1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CNN And Facebook Host The First Democratic National Committee Presidential Primary Debate","caption":"CNN And Facebook Host The First Democratic National Committee Presidential Primary Debate","creditText":"Josh Haner—Bloomberg/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/4206828/democratic-debate-new-hampshire-scheduled/","name":"Democratic Party Agrees to Schedule More Debates"}}]}] ```