2020 Democratic Party presidential forums

Debates took place among candidates in the campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for the president of the United States in the 2020 presidential election. Outside of DNC-sponsored debates, candidates are only allowed to attend events in which only one candidate speaks at a time.

Forums

In addition to the party-sponsored debates, many private organizations host forums focusing on select issues and candidates. Candidates do not respond directly to each other at forums.

This incomplete list is frequently updated to include new information.

  Past forums

#	Name	Issues	Date	Place	Sponsors	Ref
1	Heartland Forum	Economic issues affecting rural Americans	March 30, 2019	Buena Vista University Storm Lake, IA	Open Markets Institute Action, HuffPost, Storm Lake Times, Iowa Farmers Union	[1][2]
2	We the People Membership Summit	Various issues	April 1, 2019	Warner Theatre Washington, DC	CPD Action, CWA, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, SEIU, SEIU 32BJ, Sierra Club	[3][4]
3	She the People Presidential Forum	Issues affecting women of color	April 24, 2019	Texas Southern University Houston, TX	She the People	[5][6]
4	National Forum on Wages and Working People	Economic issues affecting low-income Americans	April 27, 2019	Las Vegas, NV	SEIU, CAP Action Fund	[7][8]
5	Unity and Freedom Forum	Immigration reform and issues affecting Hispanic and Latino Americans	May 31, 2019	Pasadena, CA	FIRM Action, Community Change Action, CHIRLA Action Fund	[9][10]
6	Big Ideas Forum	Ideas that can inspire voters and transform the country	June 1, 2019	Warfield Theatre San Francisco, CA	MoveOn	[11][12]
7	California Democratic Party State Convention	Various issues	May 31-June 2, 2019	San Francisco, CA	California Democratic Party	[13][14]
8	Iowa Democratic Party "Hall of Fame" Dinner	Various issues	June 9, 2019	Cedar Rapids, IA	Iowa Democratic Party	[15]
9	Presidential Candidates Forum	Economic opportunity for Black Americans	June 15, 2019[note 1]	Charleston Music Hall Charleston, SC	Black Economic Alliance	[16][17]
10	Poor People's Campaign Presidential Forum	Issues affecting low-income Americans	June 17, 2019	Trinity Washington University Washington, DC	Poor People's Campaign	[18][19]
11	NALEO Presidential Candidate Forum	Issues affecting Hispanic and Latino Americans	June 21, 2019	Telemundo Center Miami, FL	NALEO	[20][21]
12	South Carolina Democratic Party Convention	Various issues	June 22, 2019	Columbia, SC	South Carolina Democratic Party	[22][23]
13	We Decide	Reproductive health care and reproductive rights	June 22, 2019	University of South Carolina Columbia, SC	Planned Parenthood Action Fund	[24][25]
14	Strong Public Schools Presidential Forum	Issues affecting education and public schools	July 5, 2019	GRB Convention Center Houston, TX	National Education Association	[26][27]
15	LULAC Presidential Candidates Forum	Issues affecting Hispanic and Latino Americans	July 11, 2019	Wisconsin Center Milwaukee, WI	LULAC, Univision	[28][29]
16	Netroots Nation	Progressive issues and political organizing	July 11–13, 2019	Pennsylvania Convention Center Philadelphia, PA	Netroots Foundation	[30][31]
17	Iowa Presidential Candidate Forums	Issues affecting older voters in Iowa	July 15–20, 2019	Des Moines, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, and Council Bluffs, IA	AARP, The Des Moines Register	[32]
18	2020 Presidential Candidates Forum	Various issues	July 24, 2019	Detroit, MI	NAACP	[33]
19	Public Service Forum	Public service, trade unions, labor rights, and economy	Aug. 3, 2019	UNLV Paradise, NV	AFSCME, HuffPost, The Nevada Independent	[34]
20	Gun Sense Forum	Gun violence	Aug. 10, 2019	Des Moines, IA	Everytown for Gun Safety	[35]
21	Des Moines Register Political Soapbox	20-minute speeches on their political platforms	Aug. 8–17, 2019	Iowa State Fair Des Moines, IA	The Des Moines Register	[36]
22	Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum	Issues affecting Native Americans	Aug. 19–20, 2019	Orpheum Theatre Sioux City, IA	Four Directions, Native Organizers Alliance, and others	[37]
23	ISNA Presidential Forum	Issues affecting Muslim Americans	Aug. 31, 2019	Houston, TX	Islamic Society of North America	[38][39]
24	Climate Crisis Townhall	Global warming	Sept. 4, 2019	New York, NY	CNN	[40]
25	New Hampshire Democratic Party Convention	Various issues	Sept. 7, 2019	SNHU Manchester, NH	New Hampshire Democratic Party	[41]
26	Asian American Pacific Islanders Democratic Presidential Forum	Issues affecting Asian Pacific Americans	Sept. 8, 2019	Segerstrom Center Costa Mesa, CA	AAPI Victory Fund, Asian Americans Rising	[42][43]
27	Workers’ Presidential Summit	Issues affecting labor unions and union workers	Sept. 17, 2019	Pennsylvania Convention Center Philadelphia, PA	Philadelphia Council AFL–CIO	[44]
28	Climate Forum	Climate change	Sept. 19–20, 2019	Georgetown University Washington, DC	MSNBC, Georgetown University, Our Daily Planet	[45]
29	LGBTQ Forum	LGBTQ rights	Sept. 20, 2019	Coe College Cedar Rapids, IA	One Iowa, The Advocate, GLAAD	[46]
30	People's Presidential Forum Iowa	Healthcare, green energy, education	Sept. 21, 2019	Des Moines, IA	ICCI Action Fund, People's Action	[47]
31	Youth Forum	Students and youth issues	Sept. 22, 2019	Des Moines, IA	Des Moines Public Schools, Des Moines Register	[48]
32	Gun Safety Forum	Gun violence	Oct. 2, 2019	Las Vegas, NV	Giffords, March For Our Lives	[49]
33	LGBTQ Town Hall	LGBTQ rights	Oct. 10, 2019	Los Angeles, CA	Human Rights Campaign, UCLA, CNN	[50][51]
34	People's Presidential Forum Nevada	Criminal justice reform, climate change, immigration, tribal sovereignty	Oct. 26, 2019	Las Vegas, NV	PLA of Nevada Action, People's Action	[47]
35	Collegiate Bipartisan Presidential Forum	Students' interests, criminal justice reform, racial justice[52]	Oct. 26–27, 2019	Benedict College Columbia, SC	Mayor Steve Benjamin, Benedict College	[53]
36	Justice Votes 2020	Criminal justice reform	Oct. 28, 2019	Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia, PA	The Marshall Project, Voter Education Project	[54]
37	Liberty and Justice Celebration	12-minute platform speeches	Nov. 1, 2019	Des Moines, IA	Iowa Democratic Party	[55][56]
38	Problem Solver Convention	Various issues	Nov. 3, 2019	Manchester, NH	No Labels	[57][58]
39	Presidential Forum on Environmental Justice	Environmental Justice	Nov. 8, 2019	SC State University Orangeburg, SC	National Black Caucus of State Legislators	[59][60]
40	California Democratic Party Fall Endorsing Convention Forum	Latino issues[61]	Nov. 16, 2019	Long Beach Arena Long Beach, CA	California Democratic Party, Univision	[62][63]
41	"First in The West"	Various issues	Nov. 17, 2019	Las Vegas, NV	Nevada Democratic Party	[64]
42	Teamsters Union Forum	Workers' rights	Dec. 7, 2019	Cedar Rapids, IA	IBT, Storm Lake Times, The Guardian	[65]
43	Public Education Forum 2020	Education	Dec. 14, 2019	Pittsburgh, PA	AFT, NEA, Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools	[66]
44	Unite for Mental Health: New Hampshire Town Hall	Mental health	Dec. 16, 2019	Saint Anselm College Manchester, NH	Mental Health for US, National Council for Behavioral Health, NH Community Behavioral Health Association	[67]
45	Iowa Brown & Black Presidential Forum	African-American and Latino issues	Jan. 20, 2020	Des Moines, Iowa	VICE News	[68]
46	CNN New Hampshire Town Hall	Various issues	Feb. 5–6, 2020	Saint Anselm College Manchester, NH	CNN	[69]
47	Moving America Forward Infrastructure Forum	Infrastructure policy	Feb. 16, 2020	UNLV Las Vegas, NV	IUOE, TWUA, APTA, ARTBA, AEM, ASCE, and others	[70][71]
48	CNN Nevada Town Hall	Various issues	Feb. 18 & 20, 2020	Las Vegas, NV	CNN	[72]
49	CNN South Carolina Town Hall	Various issues	Feb. 24 & 26, 2020	Charleston, South Carolina	CNN	[73]
50	AIPAC Policy Conference	US-Israel relations	Mar. 2 & 3, 2020	Washington, D.C.	AIPAC, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations	[74]

Forum participation

Ojeda withdrew before the beginning of the forums.

Candidate
	P  Present  I  Invited  N  Not invited  A  Absent  Out  Not yet entered race  W  Withdrawn
	1 [2]	2 [4]	3 [6]	4 [8]	5 [10]	6 [12]	7 [13]	8 [15]	9 [16]	10 [19]	11 [20]	12 [22]	13 [25]	14 [27]	15 [28]	16 [30]	17 [32]	18 [33]	19 [34]	20 [35]
Michael Bennet	Out				A	A	A	P	A	P	A	P	P	A	A	A	P	A	P	P
Joe Biden	Out			A	A	A	A	A	A	P	A	P	P	P	A	A	P	P	P	P
Cory Booker	A	P	P	A	A	P	P	P	P	A	A	P	P	A	A	A	P	P	P	P
Steve Bullock	Out				A	A	A	P	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	P	A	P	P
Pete Buttigieg	Out		A	A	A	A	P	A	P	A	P	P	P	A	A	A	P	P	P	P
Julian Castro	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	A	A	A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
Bill de Blasio	Out				A	A	A	P	A	A	A	P	P	P	A	A	A	A	P	P
John Delaney	P	A	A	A	A	A	P	P	A	A	A	P	P	A	A	A	P	A	P	P
Tulsi Gabbard	A	A	P	A	A	A	P	P	A	A	A	P	A	A	A	A	P	A	P	P
Kirsten Gillibrand	A	P	A	A	A	P	P	P	A	A	A	P	P	A	A	P	P	A	A	P
Kamala Harris	A	A	P	P	P	P	P	P	A	P	A	P	P	P	A	A	P	P	P	P
John Hickenlooper	A	A	A	P	A	A	P	P	A	A	P	P	P	A	A	A	P	A	N	P
Jay Inslee	A	P	A	A	P	A	P	P	A	A	A	P	P	P	A	P	N	A	P	P
Amy Klobuchar	P	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	A	A	P	P	P	P	A	A	P	P	P	P
Wayne Messam	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	P	A	A	A	A	A	A	N	A	N	N
Seth Moulton	Out		A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	P	P	A	A	A	N	A	P	P
Beto O'Rourke	A	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	P
Tim Ryan	P[note 2]	Out	A	A	A	A	A	P	A	A	A	P	P	P	A	A	A	A	P	P
Bernie Sanders	A	P	P	A	P	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	P
Joe Sestak	Out													A	A	A	N	A	N	P
Tom Steyer	Out														A	A	N	A	P	P
Elizabeth Warren	P	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
Marianne Williamson	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	P	A	P	A	P	P	A	A	A	P	A	P	N
Andrew Yang	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	P	A	P	A	P	P	A	A	A	P	A	N	P
Mike Gravel	Out		A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	N	A	A	W
Eric Swalwell	Out		A	A	A	A	P	P	A	P	P	P	P	A	W

Candidate
	P  Present  I  Invited  N  Not invited  A  Absent  Out  Not yet entered race  W  Withdrawn
	21 [36]	22 [37]	23 [38]	24 [40]	25 [41]	26 [43]	27 [44]	28 [45]	29 [46]	30 [47]	31 [48]	32 [49]	33 [51]	34 [47]	35 [53]	36 [54]	37 [55]	38 [57]	39 [60]	40 [62]
Michael Bennet	P	A	A	N	P	A	A	P	A	N	P	N	N	A	A	A	P	A	A	N
Joe Biden	P	A	A	P	P	A	P	A	P	N	A	P	P	A	P	A	P	A	A	A
Cory Booker	P	A	A	P	P	A	A	P	P	N	A	P	P	A	P	P	P	A	P	P
Steve Bullock	P	P	A	N	P	A	A	P	A	N	A	N	N	A	A	A	P	A	A	A[75]
Pete Buttigieg	P	A	A	P	P	A	A	P	P	P	A	P	P	A	P	A	P	A	A	P
Julian Castro	P	P	P	P	P	A	A	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	P	A	P	A	A	P
John Delaney	P	P	A	N	P	A	A	P	A	N	A	N	N	A	P	A	P	P	P	N
Tulsi Gabbard	P	A	A	N	P	P	A	A	P	N	P	N	A	A	P	A	N	P	A	A[75]
Kamala Harris	P	P	A	P	P	A	A	A	P	A	A	P	P	A	P	P	P	A	A	P
Amy Klobuchar	P	P	A	P	P	A	P	A	P	N	A	P	P	A	P	A	P	A	A	P
Wayne Messam	A	A	A	N	A	A	A	A	A	N	A	N	N	A	A	A	N	A	A	N
Deval Patrick	Out																			N
Bernie Sanders	P	P	P	P	P	A	P	P	A	P	P	A	A	P	P	A	P	A	A	P
Joe Sestak	P	P	A	N	P	A	A	A	P	N	P	N	N	A	A	A	N	A	P	N
Tom Steyer	P	A	A	N	P	P	P	P	A	N	P	N	P	A	A	P	P	A	P	P
Elizabeth Warren	P	P	A	P	P	A	A	A	P	P	A	P	P	A	P	A	P	A	P	A
Marianne Williamson	P	P	A	N	P	A	A	P	P	N	A	N	N	A	A	A	N	P	P	N
Andrew Yang	P	A	A	P	P	P	P	P	A	N	P	P	A	P	A	A	P	A	A	P
Beto O'Rourke	A	A	A	P	P	A	A	A	A	N	A	P	P	A	A	A	W
Tim Ryan	P	A	A	N	P	A	A	P	A	N	A	N	N	W
Bill de Blasio	P	P	A	N	P	A	P	A	W
Kirsten Gillibrand	P	A	W
Seth Moulton	P	A	W
Jay Inslee	P	A	W
John Hickenlooper	P	W

Messam withdrew from the race between the 40th and 41st forum.

Candidate
	P  Present  I  Invited  N  Not invited  A  Absent  Out  Not yet entered race  W  Withdrawn
	41 [64]	42 [65]	43 [66][76][77]	44 [67]	45 [68]	46 [69]	47 [70][71]	48 [72]	49 [73]	50 [73]
Joe Biden	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	P	P	P
Tulsi Gabbard	A	A	A	P	A	N	A	N	N	N
Bernie Sanders	P	P	P	A	P	P	A	P	P	A
Elizabeth Warren	P	A	P	A	P	P	A	P	P	A
Michael Bloomberg	Out	A	N	A	N	N	A	A	P	P
Amy Klobuchar	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	P	P	P
Pete Buttigieg	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	P	P	P
Tom Steyer	P	P	P	A	A	P	P	N	P	W
Deval Patrick	P	A	A	P	A	P	W
Andrew Yang	P	A	A	A	P	P	W
Michael Bennet	P	A	P	A	P	N	W
John Delaney	P	A	N	A	P	W
Cory Booker	P	P	A	A	W
Marianne Williamson	A	A	N	A	W
Julian Castro	P	A	A	A	W
Kamala Harris	A	W
Steve Bullock	A	W
Joe Sestak	P	W

Other participants

In a few of the forums, Republicans Bill Weld and Joe Walsh also participated.^[78] St. Anselm College's quadrennial "Lesser-Known Candidates Forum" took place on January 28, 2020.^[79]

Incidents

Big Ideas Forum stage invasion

On June 1 during the Big Ideas Forum, a 24-year-old animal rights activist named Aidan Cook stole Sen. Kamala Harris's microphone while she answered a question about equal pay.^[80] Security officials and Harris's husband removed Cook from the stage. After the incident, Sen. Cory Booker told CNN he watched the video and was upset with the interference saying, "He crossed a line, this election's going to go on and I'm really hoping that we see Secret Service and others begin to step in because that really could have been a horrifying moment. Kamala's like a sister to me, I love her and that makes me very upset."^{[citation needed]}

2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum award

Sponsored by the 20/20 Bipartisan Justice Center, an alliance of Democrat and Republican African Americans seeking criminal justice reform, this presidential candidate forum was scheduled for October 25–27^[81] at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. On its first day, President Trump was presented the Bipartisan Justice award for his part in passing the First Step Act,^[82] following which Kamala Harris announced she was pulling out of the forum,^[83] which in turn prompted criticism from Trump.^[84] Mayor Steve Benjamin of Columbia (a co-sponsor of the forum) later announced that he had organized an alternative event called the Collegiate Bipartisan Presidential Forum, scheduled October 26–27, 2019, which Harris announced she would attend.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

1. Air date: 10:00 A.M. ET/9:00 A.M. CT June 16, 2019, on BET.^[16]
2. Although Ryan was not a formal candidate at the time, he participated in the Heartland forum.