Democrats' March 6 Flint, MI, Debate: 5 Things to Know

FLINT, MI – Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will face off Sunday, March 6, in the CNN Democratic Presidential Debate in Flint, where a massive scandal has erupted over lead contamination in the public drinking water supply of the predominantly black and predominantly poor city.

The debate takes place just two days before Michigan residents vote in the March 8 presidential primary. Michigan has 147 Democratic delegates at stake, the eighth most of any state.

Clinton leads with pledged delegates and superdelegates with 1,058, compared with 431 for Sanders. A candidate needs 2,383 delegates to secure the nomination

Here are five things to know about the debate:

When and where: The debate, the seventh between the candidates, starts at 6 p.m. at Whiting Auditorium.

Where to watch it: The debate will be broadcast live on CNN, CNN en Español and CNN International, as well as on www.cnn.com.

Who is moderating: Anderson Cooper will moderate the debate, and CNN anchor Don Lemon will ask some questions as well. Michigan residents will also ask some questions, according to The Flint Journal/MLive.com, the local media partner.

What you will hear: The Flint water crisis will be a major theme. Both Clinton and Sanders have aimed searing criticism at Michigan officials for their handling of the public health catastrophe, and both have called on Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to resign.

The public health catastrophe in Flint has sounded an alarm bell about the condition of the nation’s infrastructure, but it was barely mentioned in Thursday night’s Fox News Republican Debate in Detroit. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio criticized Clinton and Sanders for politicizing the issue and said it resulted from “a systemic breakdown at the state and federal level.”

Republican policymakers didn’t wake up one day and say, “let’s poison some kids with lead,” he said.

CNN said Another issue that could come up are the difference between the candidates’ positions on gun control after a spate of high-profile gun violence, including a Feb. 20 shooting in Kalamazoo that left six people dead.

What you won’t hear: If past debates are an indication, this one won't feature the raucous conduct that has marked Republican debates. It’s unlikely either candidate will discuss the attributes of their genitalia, as GOP frontrunner Donald Trump did he responded to an insult from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio about the size of his hands and what that might portend about other parts of his anatomy.

» Photos by Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons