The University of Southern California (USC) denied having any kind of bias for or against any candidate in reference to accusations against the institution regarding the criteria used for the debate to be held this Tuesday.

In an email addressed to La Opinion, the senior vice dean of Communication and Marketing at USC Dornsife, Jim Key said the general parameters for this debate were established last year, when it was announced that a meeting with the top-performing candidates would be organized. Key mentioned that, at the request of the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, Professor Christian Grose independently developed a data-driven methodology to rank the candidates' viability for the debate.