OAN Brooke Mallory
UPDATED 4:59 PM – Tuesday, April 25, 2023
The sudden decision to not include candidate debates at the upcoming 2024 Democratic National Convention has been referred to as “undemocratic” and “unfortunate” by Democrat presidential candidates Marianne Williamson and others, as President Joe Biden declares his candidacy for re-election.
“The DNC ‘plans no primary debates.’ As though there simply ARE no other candidates … no other ideas we should discuss about ways to win in 2024, or other ideas we should discuss about ways to repair the country. Too many people are too smart to accept this,” Williamson tweeted.
According to Nina Turner, a former state senator from Ohio and co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign, the DNC’s decision is undemocratic and “robs voters of choice.”
Back in 2020, the Republican National Convention (RNC) similarly did not hold any primary debates between then-President Trump and his rivals. Former Republican Congressman William Joseph Walsh and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld were among the contenders for the nomination, but none of them were viewed as even a mild threat to Trump.
Recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared that he would oppose Biden in the Democrat primary.
“I’ve come here today to announce my candidacy for Democratic nomination for President of the United States,” Kennedy said. “My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign, and throughout my presidency, will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism on our country.”
On Sunday, during an appearance on a podcast, Kennedy also blasted the DNC’s decision to not sponsor any debates, calling it “unfortunate.”
“The DNC, at this point, has taken the official position that there will be no debate, and I think that’s unfortunate,” he said.
He also condemned the DNC’s choice to vote out Iowa and New Hampshire from the leadoff spots on the presidential nominating calendar for the 2024 election cycle.
On April 25th, the fourth anniversary of the start of Biden’s 2020 campaign, the president made a video announcement about his bid for re-election. None of the contenders that have been announced are currently viewed as being a serious challenge to his re-nomination.
In the 2020 election, Biden prevailed over a vast lineup that included former mayor Michael Bloomberg (D-N.Y.), current-Vice President Kamala Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (D-Ind.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
In August, the state of Milwaukee is scheduled to hold the 2024 Republican presidential primary debate.
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