The Democratic National Committee and the Texas Democratic Party confirmed late Tuesday the third Democratic presidential debate will be held in Houston on September 12 and 13.
The choice of Houston, where Democrats cleaned the GOP’s clock in last year’s midterms, speaks to the competitive nature of Texas, now a swing state. President Trump is polling poorly here.
A source tells The Signal that Texas Southern University is a heavy favorite for the debate venue. It’s unclear which of the 20-plus candidates will meet the requirements to be on the debate stage.
“Texas is a battleground state, period. We know that when Texas goes blue, the White House will follow,” said Texas Democratic Party chair Gilbert Hinojosa. “We are pleased that our partners at the Democratic National Committee have agreed to host the third Presidential Debate here in Texas.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said in April she was gunning for a debate to come to Houston.
In the 2020 cycle so far, Houston has hosted presidential candidate forums sponsored by She the People in March and the National Education Association this month. Joe Biden, Beto O’Rourke, Julian Castro, Kamala Harris, and Pete Buttigieg have all made individual trips to the Bayou City.
The second round of Democratic debates is later this month in Detroit.
