In a tweet on Monday, Stacey Abrams confirmed the November 20 Democratic presidential debate would be held in Georgia at the new Tyler Perry Studios.
Democratic Debate site is set: @TPStudios is a model for Georgia’s vibrant film industry, an engaged corporate citizen and an exceptional location for our #DemDebate. Looking forward to welcoming the candidates to Georgia on November 20. #gapol
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) October 26, 2019
This will be the fifth Democratic presidential debate and will be hosted by both MSNBC and The Washington Post.
It was announced at the beginning of October that the debate will also feature an all-female panel of moderators. MSNBC anchors Rachel Maddow and Andrea Mitchell will be joined by NBC News' White House correspondent Kristen Welker and the Washington Post's Ashley Parker.
Perry unveiled the 330-acre studio during a lavish ceremony attended by Abrams, Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington, Whoopi Goldberg and Samuel L. Jackson. It is bigger than the Paramount, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney’s Burbank studios lots combined and was symbolically built on top of former confederate base Fort McPherson.
The $250 million studio includes 12 huge soundstages each named after a groundbreaking Black entertainer. With the studio, Perry became the first Black person to ever own a studio on his own.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the debate was originally supposed to take place at an entertainment complex in Sandy Springs as a favor to Representative Lucy McBath, who is running a tough reelection race. However, the newspaper said Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms protested the decision and pushed for Tyler Perry Studios to be chosen.
The nine candidates who have qualified for the debate include Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris, former Vice President Joe Biden, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, and billionaire Tom Steyer.
Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former Housing Secretary Julián Castro are still trying to meet all of the thresholds to participate. They have until November 13 to qualify.
The debate will be the shortest yet, with only two hours allotted. The Democratic National Committee also upped the qualifications for the fundraising and polling criteria. According to NBC, candidates must have at least 3% votes in four qualifying states or national polls or 5% in two qualifying state polls. In order to qualify, candidates also need to show they have gotten contributions from 165,000 unique donors, including at least 600 unique donors in 20 states.
