It's finally here! The first Democratic presidential debate of the 2016 election season. Sure The Republicans have already had two debates, but that doesn't really count--those were nothing more than circus acts to rile up the conservative crazies and give those non-political junkies something to gawk at, ie. Donald Trump. THIS, this is the real show for politico watchers on both sides of the aisle.

Four candidates are scheduled to take the stage: Lincoln Chafee (the former Senator & Governor of Rhode Island), Martin O’Malley (the ex-Governor of Maryland), Jim Webb (retired U.S. Senator for Virginia), Bernie Sanders (the current U.S. Senator from Vermont) and Hillary Clinton (who you already know). Supposedly a fifth podium was set aside if a certain vice president decided he wanted to join in at the last minute, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen. And it's all going to be moderated by CNN's silver fox himself, Anderson Cooper.

Will Hillary Clinton dominate over the lesser mortals? Or will she feel "The Bern" as Sanders trounces her like he's been gaining on her in the polls. Could Joe Biden show up at the last minute?! We'll all find out tonight at 8:30 p.m. EDT on CNN. And if you don't have cable (because you're NOT 35 and over) but do have an internet or mobile network connection, then you can watch it for FREE.  

Watch the First DNC Debate Online For Free


Viewers can just head over to CNN.com to watch a front-and-center free live stream of the debate, no cable subscription needed. BUT, if you do have cable and get CNN (something most cable packages comes with) then you might want to go through the process of logging on with your cable account info to CNNgo, the news channel's full-time web streaming portal. Fox News's streaming site got overwhelmed during the first Republican debate and a lot of viewers weren't able to log on, so watching on a less trafficked stream might be your best bet to avoid a similar fate.

Watch the First DNC Debate Via Mobile Device For Free


If you were born after the mid-1980s, then you'll probably want to watch the debate on your phone or tablet. All you need to do is go to CNN.com on your device's browser, which will automatically load as the mobile version, and like on a computer you don't need a cable or subscriptioin to watch the live stream. OR, you could download the CNN App, which is available for pretty much EVERY mobile phone and tablet platform and watch through that. 

The first 2015 Democratic debate airs live at 8:30 p.m. EDT/ 7 p.m. CDT tonight, October 13.

Tags: presidential election 2016 democrat hillary clinton Bernie Sanders