Sources: NBC News And Union Leader To Announce Unsanctioned Democratic Debate

ANKENY, Iowa — BuzzFeed News has learned NBC News and The New Hampshire Union Leader will announce on Tuesday their plans to host an unsanctioned Democratic debate in New Hampshire on Feb. 4, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.

Democratic candidates are being told the moderators will be NBC News’ Chuck Todd and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, according to the two sources. The debate will air on MSNBC.

The NBC-Union Leader debate will take place five days before New Hampshire primary voting on Feb. 9. It’s unclear how the DNC will react to the new debate, or which candidates will participate in it.

The Democratic National Committee scheduled six debates between the Democratic candidates. That number was enforced by a rule barring any candidate who participated in a so-called “unsanctioned” debate outside those six from participating in any of the DNC forums. The next DNC debate will take place Feb. 11, after the New Hampshire primary.