Democratic presidential front-runners Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will debate as scheduled Sunday in Phoenix amid the coronavirus outbreak — but without a live audience because of the potential spread of COVID-19.
The Democratic National Committee says it is making the move “at the request of both campaigns and out of an abundance of caution.” A DNC spokeswoman says local public health officials had advised the debate can continue as planned.
Both Biden and Sanders canceled their election night events Tuesday in Ohio amid concerns about the epidemic…however Biden did speak to his campaign staffers in a televised speech from Philadelphia Tuesday night.
The debate will be held at the Arizona Federal Theatre in downtown Phoenix, which can hold up to 5,000 people.
The debate will be televised nationally by CNN and Univision. Arizona's democratic presidential preference election is Tuesday, March 17. The state's Republican and Libertarian parties chose not to hold preference elections this year.
