BuzzFeed reported Saturday that Clinton and Sanders reached an agreement, but there’s no word yet on whether they will be sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee. One unsanctioned debate is already scheduled in New Hampshire next weekend, before the state’s primary. The dates and locations of the remaining three haven’t been decided, but the Clinton campaign is making a case that one take place in Flint, Michigan, where residents have suffered from lead in their water.
“We should use the spotlight of the presidential campaign to keep the focus on Flint, and to lift up the historic underlying issues that Flint and too many other predominantly low-income communities of color across America are struggling with every day,” Clinton campaign chair John Podesta said in a statement. “Just as we have engaged in a national conversation about criminal justice reform, we should also discuss the legacy of systemic racial inequalities and underinvestment that contributes to so many of the challenges communities throughout our country are facing.”
A debate in Flint, Podesta explains, “would go a long way toward” seeing the city’s problems discussed in the presidential race. Given the brief attention the issue has received in both the Democratic and Republican debates, it isn’t a bad idea.