Biden primary challengers to appear in televised event after GOP debate 

2024 Democratic presidential candidates Marianne Williamson, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and Cenk Uygur will appear together on the progressive news network The Young Turks (TYT) on Wednesday night in response to the fourth GOP debate taking place in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The network, which has more than 5.6 million YouTube subscribers, said it would give the three candidates “a platform to speak about their agenda, policy positions and respond to the GOP debate in this unique coverage format.” 

The program will start right after the GOP debate is scheduled to end, at 10 p.m. EST. 

The event is scheduled to last for an hour and a half and will be hosted by TYT anchor John Iadarola, a left-wing pundit who cohosts both the network’s main show and his own program, “The Damage Report.”

“Upholding democracy is part of TYT’s values, and this coverage format is in response to the Democratic establishment not doing anything to ensure that primary candidates are heard,” the network wrote in a Tuesday press release. “Instead, the party is promoting an unhealthy primary. TYT will take this opportunity to inform voters of their choices and give the megaphone to the primary candidates.”

The Florida Democratic Party left all three candidates off its primary ballot. The state Democratic Party’s executive committee voted Oct. 29 to only include Biden on the ballot, a move that prompted all three White House hopefuls to consider legally challenging the decision. 

Cenk Uygur, TYT’s founder and CEO, who is running in the Democratic primary, says the three candidates “are on the same mission.” Uygur, unlike Williamson and Phillips, has to battle for ballot access in various states due to his status as a naturalized citizen born in Istanbul, Turkey. Uygur, who previously gained ballot access in Arkansas, won’t appear on its ballot next year, according to The Associated Press. He hopes to adjudicate the issue of his qualifications through the courts. 

“Find the best candidate to beat Donald Trump,” Uygur told The Hill, when asked about the post-debate event. “Since we’re all convinced that Joe Biden is almost certainly going to lose, we’re trying very hard to give people an alternative. The TYT event is a forum to highlight our differences with the Republicans. We’re all motivated to make sure the Republican Party loses this election, and I wish Joe Biden would try anywhere near as hard as us.” 

The two-hour GOP debate, featuring former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, will air Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST on NewsNation. NewsNation anchor Elizabeth Vargas, The Washington Free Beacon Editor-in-Chief Eliana Johnson and former Fox News and NBC host Megyn Kelly will moderate. 

Former President Trump, the current GOP primary front-runner who skipped the previous three debates, will instead attend a private fundraiser in Florida. 

Phillips and Williamson’s campaigns did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

Nexstar Media Group owns both NewsNation and The Hill.