Jay Inslee threatened with expulsion from DNC debates over climate change

'Candidates were notified about the rules months ago', says DNC spokesperson

(Getty Images)

Washington governor Jay Inslee claims the Democratic National Committee has threatened to ban him from future primary debates if he participates in a discussion on climate change he has urged the organisation to host.

Mr Inslee, in a series of tweets, said that the DNC had contacted his campaign to tell them that it would not host a debate focused on climate change.

And, he wrote that his campaign had been informed he “will not be invited to future debates” if “we participated in anyone else’s climate debate”.

“The DNC is silencing the voices of Democratic activists, many of our progressive partner organisations, and nearly half of the Democratic presidential field, who want to debate the existential crisis of our time,” Mr Inslee wrote.

When contacted about the allegation that he would not be invited based on his participation in a separate climate change debate, a DNC spokesperson told The Independent: “Candidates were notified about the rules months ago.”

The DNC said separately its debates would feature questions about climate change, but that it had decided not to host an entire debate on the issue. The statement said that the issue was important this presidential cycle, and that “it’s an issue that should have been more prominent during the 2016 cycle.”

“The DNC has told media partners from the start the importance of climate change during the debates for the 2020 cycle, and frankly, it’s an issue that should have been more prominent during the 2016 cycle. Our goal is to provide a platform for candidates to have a vigorous discussion on ideas and solutions on the many issues that voters care about, including the economy, climate change, and health care," a statement said.

"While climate change is at the top of our list, the DNC will not be holding entire debates on a single issue area because we want to make sure voters have the ability to hear from candidates on dozens of issues of importance to American voters.”

Mr Inslee has been a leading candidate when it comes to climate change action, and has based his campaign around the issue.

He has released a plan to address the issue that is among the most vigorous of the 2020 candidates, calling for carbon neutral or clean energy supplies for much of the US economy in just the 10 years following the 2020 election.

The issue has seen considerable grassroots attention, as well, with groups like the Sunshine Movement pushing forward with the issue, and planning their own debate on the issue.

In response to the news that Mr Inslee’s campaign had been notified that there would be no debate on climate — a proposal that has received support from several prominent candidates including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Beto O’Rourke — Sunshine Movement co-founder and executive director Varshini Prakash said the following: “Almost every major candidate has supported the call for a Climate Debate. It is an outrage not only to deny the American people an opportunity for a real debate on the greatest existential threat of our time, but to threaten candidates who want to participate in a climate debate.”