DNC agrees to sanction four more debates for Democratic presidential candidates

The Democratic National Committee has agreed to sanction four more debates following complaints from the presidential candidates of there being too few.

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced on Wednesday, tomorrow’s MSNBC debate in New Hampshire will be sanctioned by the DNC, along with a March debate in Flint, Michigan, and two others in April and May. Hillary Clinton’s team previously said they’d be open to more debates and requested that one of them be held in Flint, which is now experiencing a water crisis.

Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders and Mrs. Clinton both agreed to participate in what was Thursday night’s unsanctioned debate in an effort to plead their cases before the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. Mrs. Clinton is trailing the senator in the state by a 33-point margin and both were caught in a virtual tie in Iowa, where Mrs. Clinton claimed victory Monday night.

“Our debates have set viewership records because of our candidates’ ideas, energy and strength of their vision to build on the progress we’ve made over the last seven years,” Mrs. Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing them continuing to share Democrats’ vision for the country.”