Clinton & Sanders May Debate In Brooklyn Ahead Of April Primary

Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders may face off in a debate in Sanders’ home borough ahead of New York’s April 19 primaries after all.

Though Clinton’s campaign has previously said she would only participate in a post-New York primary debate, Clinton changed her tune at a recent campaign stop in La Crosse, Wisconsin, agreeing to debate Sanders in Brooklyn in early April, according to a Sanders campaign email.

In a CNN interview Tuesday, Clinton’s top strategist Joel Benenson suggested the secretary of state would only consider debating her rival on a New York stage if Sanders changed “his tone,” accusing the senator from Vermont of running a “very negative campaign.”

Sanders’ unapologetic supporters immediately launched a #ToneDownForWhat Twitter hashtag in response to Benenson’s comments.

Bernie’s campaign hailed the latest development as “a victory for Democratic voters everywhere and for New York voters in particular.”

It is unclear when or where this proposed Brooklyn debate would occur, but both camps are working the Big Apple aggressively this week. Sanders recently opened a campaign office in Gowanus, reports our sister site Park Slope Stoop, and plans to hold a rally in the South Bronx Thursday.

Fresh off two full days of courting Wisconsin voters, Clinton is hosting a rally up in Harlem at the Apollo Theater today. The New York Times notes that for Hillary, Harlem is a logical choice, as it’s “a neighborhood where Bill Clinton set up his private office after leaving the White House and where both the Clintons enjoy deep support among black elected officials and community leaders.”

So is Brooklyn feeling the Bern or are neighbors standing #WithHer? One thing is for sure: The race for Brooklyn’s electoral heart is far from over.