Presidential Debate: How To Watch De Blasio, Gillibrand Face Off

NEW YORK — The Empire State's two Democratic presidential candidates will share the stage Wednesday night in a second round of debates. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand will square off in Detroit with eight other White House hopefuls — including two of the race's top contenders.

Both de Blasio and Gillibrand have struggled to gain traction in a field of roughly two dozen people vying to unseat the Queens-born President Donald Trump. Both the mayor and the senator clocked in at 0 percent support among Democratic voters in a Quinnipiac University poll published Monday.

But de Blasio will likely try to repeat his well received performance in last month's first round of debates, in which he interrupted his rivals to get some extra screen time. The mayor received the majority of his modest fundraising haul in the four days after the debate, his campaign has said.

It may be tougher for de Blasio and Gillibrand to stand out on the same stage as California Sen. Kamala Harris and former vice president Joe Biden. Fireworks erupted last month when Harris attacked Biden over his sympathetic comments toward segregationist senators and his efforts to hamper busing for the purposes of school integration.

This debate could prove existential for both New Yorkers. To participate in September's third round of debates, the Democratic National Committee will require candidates to get donations from at least 130,000 people and see support from 2 percent of voters in at least four qualifying polls. Reaching a national audience may become even harder for de Blasio and Gillibrand if they do not meet those criteria after Wednesday night.

Here's how to watch New York's White House contenders in this week's debate.

Where Can I Watch The Debate?

The debates start at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. CNN will broadcast them on television and stream them for free on its website and mobile apps.

Who Will Be Debating When?

De Blasio and Gillibrand will both debate Wednesday night. They will share the stage with Biden, Harris, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julián Castro, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and the entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

They will follow Tuesday night's debate, which will feature Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney, ex-Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and the self-help author Marianne Williamson.

How Were The Lineups Determined?

Candidates could make the debate by getting support from 1 percent of voters in three qualifying polls, getting donations from at least 65,000 people, or both. Gillibrand got past both thresholds, while de Blasio only met the polling criteria.

CNN set the groupings with a random on-air drawing that divvied up the bottom 10 candidates, the middle six candidates and the top four candidates, according to the network.

When Is The Next Debate?

The DNC will host its third round of debates in Houston on Sept. 12 and 13, with ABC News and Univision as broadcast partners. Those contests will likely feature a smaller group of candidates given the DNC's tougher qualifying criteria.