Sen. Amy Klobuchar, seeking to broaden her appeal outside a traditional Democratic constituency, will go on the Fox News Channel in May for a town hall meeting in the battleground state of Wisconsin.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar to appear in Fox News town hall
Minn. senator will be 2nd Democratic candidate to appear on the network.
April 18, 2019 at 3:01AM
The network announced its plans with Klobuchar on Wednesday. The Minnesota senator, who's seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, will be guest of honor at the Fox News broadcast from Milwaukee on May 8.
Klobuchar will be the second Democratic presidential candidate to sit down with Fox News for a town hall. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is near the top of most Democratic polls so far, did a Fox town hall on Monday night. It was the most-watched candidate event of the presidential campaign to date.
Fox News is unpopular with many Democrats because of the rightward slant of many of its on-air personalities. The Democratic National Committee decided not to hold any of its upcoming candidate debates on Fox. The Klobuchar forum will be hosted by two of the network's news anchors, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.
"Fox News Channel continues to produce highly informative and respectful town hall events, delivering record viewership and providing a platform to all candidates," Fox News President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace said in a statement. "We are incredibly proud of the entire team and look forward to hosting Senator Klobuchar for our next town hall."
Following the Sanders town hall on Monday, President Donald Trump — a known viewer of and frequent guest on Fox News — tweeted out a claim that the event was "stuffed" with Sanders supporters while his own supporters were kept outside.
Klobuchar previously appeared on a CNN town hall from New Hampshire in February.
Several news outlets reported this week that another Democratic candidate, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, is also in talks with Fox News for a town hall. Klobuchar and Buttigieg are the two leading Midwestern candidates in the race, though Buttigieg has shot up in recent polls while Klobuchar has remained in single digits.
At a Minneapolis news conference on Sunday, Klobuchar welcomed Buttigieg to the race on the day he officially joined it. She said there was room for more than one candidate from the Midwest, a region expected to be pivotal in next year's election.
"I welcome Mayor Pete to the race," Klobuchar said. "I think it's good we don't just have just one candidate from the heartland. That sounds kind of lonely."
Patrick Condon • 202-662-7452
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