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Bernie Sanders pleads for more debates

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has sent a letter to the Democratic National Committee requesting more primary debates, including inter-party debates among candidates from both parties.

In a letter to DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Vermont socialist argued that the candidates "should engage in a series of debates beginning this summer," in order to increase voter turnout. Inter-party debates could also be used to convince registered Republican voters that they would be better off voting for a Democrat, Sanders said.

"I am extremely concerned by the fact that many working-class Americans are voting against their best economic interests by supporting right-wing Republicans whose agenda represents the interests of the billionaire class, and not the needs of working Americans," Sanders wrote. "I believe that these inter-party debates would put in dramatic focus the shallow and at times ridiculous policies and proposals being advocated by the Republican candidates and by their party’s platform."

For Sanders, a relatively little-known candidate with limited resources, more debates would mean more free air time and publicity. Sanders is currently polling 54.8 points behind Hillary Clinton in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate.

In an email to the On Media blog, DNC spokesperson Holly Shulman effectively put the kibosh on Sanders' request: "We’re thrilled to see the Senator is eager to participate in our debates," she wrote. "We’ve already released our primary debate framework, and we believe that six debates will give plenty of opportunity for the candidates to be seen side-by-side. We’ll have more details in the coming weeks, and we look forward to Senator Sanders and other candidates participating. I’m sure there will be plenty of other forums for the candidates to make their case to voters, and that they will make the most out of every opportunity."

The DNC has sanctioned six primary debates for the 2016 cycle, which are scheduled to begin this fall. Host states will include the early caucus and primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, though the committee has yet to announce which national broadcast media and local media outlets will sponsor and moderate these debates.

Both the Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley campaigns have confirmed that their candidates will participate in all six of the debates.

In his plea for more debates, Sanders argued that low voter turnout "has hurt progressive candidates all across our nation" and that "a larger number of debates beginning in the weeks ahead would encourage such voter participation."

Sanders also said inter-party debates between Democrats and Republicans would "serve to engage large numbers of voters who typically do not pay attention to the process until much later when the general election begins to come into focus. By engaging these voters early and raising the stakes around the election I believe we can get people to participate at higher levels which will undoubtedly benefit Democrats up and down the ticket."

*This post has been updated.