How To Stream The First Democratic Debate

After two Republican primary debates, it's finally time for the first Democratic debate of the season. On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Lincoln Chafee, Martin O'Malley, and Jim Webb will take the stage in Las Vegas to discuss their varying liberal views about how the country should be run. CNN is hosting the event, and just like the last Republican debate the news network put on, it will be streamed online. Luckily for people without cable, it will be easy for everyone to stream the Democratic debate on CNN.com.

On any other day, CNN requires users to log in with their cable account and password to watch live broadcasts, but it's making the live stream available for everyone during presidential debates to allow more Americans to tune in. To watch the Democratic debate, all you have to do is go to CNN.com and click on the live stream video. The live broadcast will also be accessible without a cable login on smartphones and tablets through the CNN apps. To make sure you don't miss any of the action, it's probably best to download the app ahead of time so all you have to do is open the app when the debate begins at 9 p.m. ET.

On top of streaming the event online, CNN will also be live-streaming the debate in virtual reality. If you have a Samsung Gear VR headset, you can get a more intimate view of the debaters by joining VR streaming company NextVR's portal in the Oculus store. This will be the first-ever live stream of a news event in virtual reality and CNN described the venture as "giving viewers a front-row seat" to the debate.

The debate will be moderated by Anderson Cooper, the silver fox of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, who will have help asking questions from fellow CNN journalists Dana Bash and Juan Carlos Lopez. Don Lemon, the host of CNN's Tonight With Don Lemon, will ask the debaters questions voters submitted ahead of time on Facebook.

This is only the first of six Democratic primary debates — the following debates will take place on Nov. 14, Dec. 19, Jan. 17, and undetermined days in February and March. With a debate each month for the next six months, the race for the Democratic nomination is bound to heat up, but Tuesday's event will be a preliminary chance for the candidates to show Americans how they differ from one another on the big issues, and give the lesser-known contenders the opportunity to be heard by more voters.