Live Blog: Bill Clinton, Jill Stein and Gary Johnson Speak in Las Vegas

1:54 p.m. PDT: The doors are open and the stage at Caesar’s Palace is being set:

doors are open for @aaja + @APIAVote‘s presidential election forum! #powerup pic.twitter.com/7QN80M0826

— Yvonne Leow (@YvonneLeow) August 12, 2016

We’re lucky to have @aajavoices students, volunteers & community leaders here, who have taken their seats on stage. pic.twitter.com/iQvGyplfEk

— AAJA National (@aaja) August 12, 2016

1:44 p.m. PDT: At 2 p.m. PDT today, the Asian American Journalists Association and the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote will be streaming their “quad-partisan” 2016 Presidential Election Forum live from Las Vegas. Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein will each address the audience, and Bill Clinton will speak on behalf of his wife, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is notably absent, and his campaign is sending Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes as a “campaign surrogate.”

While this may seem odd, this is not the first time Trump has opted out of speaking to a minority-led press association. Last week, the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists held a joint convention in Washington, D.C. While Hillary Clinton herself spoke to the audience, Trump turned down an invitation to appear at the event – twice.

Meanwhile, third-party candidates Johnson and Stein are working hard to boost their individual campaign numbers. Johnson’s poll numbers are rising in important “battleground” states, giving many of his supporters hope that he will reach the magic 15 percent that would give him access to the presidential debates set to take place this fall. He also may receive his first pledge of support from a House Republican from Wisconsin.

Stein’s numbers grew by three points in the state of Virginia and by two points in the state of Colorado. Overall, though, Stein’s numbers remain in the single-digits.

Stay tuned as we cover today’s event, streamed live by NBC Asian America.

—Posted by Emma Niles

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