Senator Cory Booker
“The Democratic debates should reflect the rich diversity of our country, and that should extend to the moderators who will be asking the candidates to discuss their vision for our country.”
We invite the Democratic candidates for president to take a stand for fairness and inclusivity and sign the following pledge:
I will not participate in any televised official Democratic National Committee sanctioned debate that does not have at least one woman moderating.
2020 CANDIDATES: TAKE THE PLEDGEThe historic number of highly qualified women candidates in the Democratic primary race for president have faced indifferent and, at times, downright hostile media coverage. Instead of the fair coverage that voters expect in regards to presidential candidates, much of the media coverage of the women candidates has defaulted to sexist stereotypes and double standards. For example, women candidates are often critiqued based on arbitrary measures, such as “likeability,” while male candidates are not held to the same metrics.
More must be done to ensure that women candidates get a fair shake in election coverage. One major way to do that is to ensure that the moderators who ask the questions of candidates during official Democratic National Committee-sponsored debates reflect the bedrock of the Democratic electorate–women of color, particularly Black women.
Failure to provide fair, equal, and bias-free election coverage and debate moderation for all Democratic nominees does the voters of this country a terrible disservice and encourages a culture of refusing to recognize and respect women as leaders. It is critical that the Democratic National Committee recognize the importance of having diverse and representative debate moderators, specifically women of color moderators.
The Candidates
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
“Debate moderators are trusted with the responsibility of ensuring debates touch on the issues American voters care deeply about. As the Republican Party works methodically to take away women's basic human rights, it's more important than ever that Democrats require that women moderators be present and empowered to hold all candidates accountable on our positions.”
