COLUMBUS – Democrats will hold their next presidential debate at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, a suburb northeast of Columbus.

The Democratic National Committee announced the Oct. 15 debate will be hosted by CNN and The New York Times. A second night could be added if more candidates meet the qualifying criteria.

Donald Trump won Ohio by 8 points in 2016,raising questions about Ohio's battleground state status. The DNC's decision to hold a debate in the Buckeye State was seen as a sign Democrats won't give up Ohio easily.

Friday's announcement ends weeks of speculation the DNC might choose Dayton, where a mass shooter killed nine in August, or Lordstown in Ohio's Mahoning Valley, where General Motors has left thousands of assembly plant employees out of work.

To Ohio Democrats, Westerville and suburban Columbus represent voter demographics changing in their favor. A 2018 national "blue wave" didn't change much in Ohio on the congressional and statewide level. But Democrats picked up six Ohio House seats in suburban districts – three were in central Ohio.

In 2016 Democrat Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump in Westerville precincts by about 1,000 votes. President Barack Obama lost in those same precincts by about the same margin.

"What we’ve seen in the suburbs of Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and other cities mirrors what has happened in places like Harris County, Texas, and Orange County, California – suburban voters, particularly women, are backing Democratic candidates in response to the broken promises and toxic agenda of Donald Trump," Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said in a statement.

In a memo to national media, Pepper called Westerville "ground zero" in a "seismic shift" in voting patterns in Republican-leaning suburbs. Suburban women, Pepper said, are especially concerned about health care and the economy – two issues he says Trump has failed to deliver on.

The Ohio Republican Party responded to the announcement by noting its success in 2016, when Trump made inroads in traditionally Democratic voting areas such as the Mahoning Valley.

"The 2020 Democratic candidates can debate in Ohio all they want, but Ohioans have made it clear that their radical ideas are not welcome here," ORP press secretary Elizabeth Giannone said in a statement. "President Trump's pro-growth policies have created a booming economy, and in 2016 we flipped traditionally blue counties red. President Trump won Ohio by 8 points and we are still feeling that momentum thanks to the president's leadership. The Democrats' radical agendas, policies that will only result in higher taxes on the middle class, simply don't resonate here."

Candidates must reach 2% in four DNC-approved polls and record contributions from at least 130,000 unique donors by Oct. 1.

The following candidates have already qualified:

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro

Sen. Kamala Harris of California

Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont

Tom Steyer, businessman

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

Andrew Yang, businessman

The debate will be moderated by CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett as well as The Times’s National editor, Marc Lacey.

The state party will give away a limited number of tickets to people who register online at goohiodems.org/debate.

Columbus bureau reporter Jessie Balmert contributed.