While the debate moderators are tapping into the Facebook discussion of the election, check out our map of the Facebook Primary — where, unlike in the actual national vote, Sanders is well ahead of Clinton.
Farai Chideya
@FiveThirtyEight How much of the difference in tone between debates is caused by the candidates and how much by the questions/moderators?
A: David, I actually had the chance to co-moderate one presidential debate quite a while back — the September 2003 Fox News/Congressional Black Caucus debate, which was the first debate for the Democratic candidates that campaign. I think one thing that makes a huge difference is how many people are on stage. There was a cast of thousands — okay, make that nine — when I moderated. As the field shrinks, there is room for moderators to hammer back at candidates when they are evasive, and also more room for cross-talk (gentle or fierce) between candidates. I think the size of the field is as or more important than the moderators. But it’s also appealing to have a moderator who not only has researched intensively but also is willing to fact-check as candidates speak.
Farai Chideya
As both the Democratic and Republican races remain in flux, so does the American electorate itself. The Pew Research Center noted that white Americans, as a demographic, are the slowest-growing segment of the electorate, while Latinos and Asian-Americans are the fastest growing.
Univision is sponsoring a drive to register 3 million Latinos. Voter participation by Latinos lags considerably behind black and white registration and voting rates. But there are signs that Latinos are heeding the call to become naturalized citizens so they can vote against Trump. In this debate, both candidates were already asked if Trump was a racist. Sanders also compared exploitation in guest worker programs often used by Latinos to slavery… which may be seen as a flawed analogy by some listeners.
