Democrats pushed to hold 2020 primary debate on climate

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Democratic Party leaders are fighting over whether to have a presidential primary debate exclusively on the climate crisis.

Hundreds of activists are at the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting today in California where an influential party committee is discussing the matter.

But Chairman Tom Perez shows no signs of rewriting the debate rules months into the campaign.

Perez opposes "single-issue" debates where multiple candidates are on stage at the same time.

The DNC instead has encouraged other groups to hold issue-based forums where candidates appear one at a time. Activists say that approach hasn't gotten climate policy enough attention.

The meeting comes a day after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee ended his presidential bid after failing to gain enough support for his pledge to make climate action the nation's top priority.