What we know about the attendees.
Candidates on the debate stage were markedly rowdier on Tuesday — and they weren’t the only ones. Throughout the night, the audience seemingly was, too.
In moment after moment, including when Sen. Bernie Sanders pressed former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg on the overwhelming support he receives from billionaires, the audience responded effusively with boos. Notably, in several instances, the reaction seemed to favor Bloomberg, who was once again confronted by multiple candidates over issues including “stop and frisk” and alleged sexist comments.
The apparent support for Bloomberg from the crowd raised questions about whether there was an outsize presence of his supporters in the audience, given the extensive cheers he seemed to garner at the event compared to the one that took place in Nevada. Speculation on Twitter was only amplified by a local news article that went viral, which claimed tickets started at a whopping $1,750 to $3,200 for donors looking to sponsor a package of events, including the debate. An update was later published to indicate that these ticket options were removed from the Charleston County Democrats’ website.
Bloomberg’s campaign has made clear that it did not pay any supporters to participate in the audience, and a spokesperson told Vox that each candidate was given an equal number of tickets for the event by the Democratic National Committee. Before the debate, Bloomberg sent a list of guests he invited, which ranged from former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake to Reverend Sharon Risher, a gun violence survivor.
According to the Charleston County Democratic Party, tickets for the debate were extremely limited and allocated by organizers of the debate including the DNC. During past debates, such as the one that took place in the Miami, Florida last year, donors were able to purchase sponsorships for access to the debate night and related receptions, and many speculated that a similar arrangement may have been what gave the audience a pro-Bloomberg vibe.
Here’s what we know about how tickets were distributed for Tuesday’s South Carolina debate.
Author: Li Zhou
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