Democratic candidates including Jim Webb, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, from left, gather for the first Democratic presidential debate Oct. 13 at the Wynn Las Vegas. Webb, a former Virginia senator, is expected to announce he will drop his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, but may run as an independent. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb is expected to announce Tuesday he will drop his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination and instead consider a run as an independent.

Webb, who will be holding a press conference at 1 p.m. EDT, said last week he was not given enough time to talk during the first Democratic debate. He said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders -- who are dominating in the polls -- were the focus of attention.


NPR reported Webb had 15 minutes air time during the debate on CNN. By comparison, Clinton had 30 minutes and Sanders had 27.

"It was rigged in terms of who was going to get the time on the floor by the way that Anderson Cooper was selecting people to supposedly respond to something someone else said," {link:Webb said last week. : "http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/257359-jim-webb-considering-independent-run" target="_blank"} "It's very difficult to win a debate when you don't have the opportunity to speak the same amount of time on issues as the other two did."