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First Democratic primary debate 2020: Candidates, start time, how to watch and stream

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow will be among the moderators of the first Democratic primary debate, which will air across two nights NBC at the end of June.

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, seen here during a 2015 Democratic presidential candidate forum, will be among the moderators of the first Democratic presidential primary debate, which will air on NBC.
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, seen here during a 2015 Democratic presidential candidate forum, will be among the moderators of the first Democratic presidential primary debate, which will air on NBC.Read moreAP File Photo / AP File Photo
    by Rob Tornoe
    Updated 
    Published 

There are 23 Democratic candidates running for president, but only 20 will appear on the stage later this month during the first debate among Democrats of the 2020 presidential cycle.

The Democratic National Committee announced the 20 candidates Thursday, based on criteria that includes polling data and fundraising totals. The candidates who will debate are:

  1. Former Vice President Joe Biden

  2. Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.)

  3. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg

  4. Former Obama cabinet member Julián Castro

  5. Sen. Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii)

  6. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.)

  7. Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif)

  8. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee

  9. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.)

  10. Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke

  11. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D., Vt.)

  12. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.)

  13. Author Marianne Williamson

  14. Businessman Andrew Yang

  15. Sen. Michael Bennet (D., Colo.)

  16. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio

  17. Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney

  18. Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper

  19. Rep. Tim Ryan (D., Ohio)

  20. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.)

Dates and times of the first debate

With so many candidates, the first Democratic primary debate will be broken up across two nights, which will take place on Wednesday, June 26, and Thursday, June 27, in Miami, Fla. Both debates will air live on NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo at 9 p.m., and feature 10 candidates each.

Both debates will also be streamed live on the NBC app and NBCNews.com.

How are the candidates divided up?

NBC News randomly divided the 20 candidates up over the two nights, in order to prevent having a “kid’s table” debate that Republicans endured during the 2016 primary.

Booker, Castro, De Blasio, Delaney, Gabbard, Inslee, Klobuchar, O’Rourke, Ryan, and Warren will face off on June 26.

On June 27, it will be Bennet, Biden, Buttigieg, Gillibrand, Harris, Hickenlooper, Sanders, Swalwell, Williamson, and Yang on the stage.

Lineups for the First Democratic Presidential Debates

The debates will be held on June 26 and 27 in Miami from 9 to 11 p.m., and will be televised by NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo.

Night One

June 26

Cory Booker

Julián Castro

Bill de Blasio

John Delaney

Tulsi Gabbard

Jay Inslee

Amy Klobuchar

Beto O’Rourke

Tim Ryan

Elizabeth Warren

Night Two

June 27

Michael Bennet

Joe Biden

Pete Buttigieg

Kirsten Gillibrand

Kamala Harris

John Hickenlooper

Bernie Sanders

Eric Swalwell

Marianne

Williamson

Andrew Yang

Night One

June 26

Cory Booker

Julián Castro

Bill de Blasio

John Delaney

Tulsi Gabbard

Jay Inslee

Amy Klobuchar

Beto O’Rourke

Tim Ryan

Elizabeth Warren

Night Two

June 27

Michael Bennet

Joe Biden

Pete Buttigieg

Kirsten Gillibrand

Kamala Harris

John Hickenlooper

Bernie Sanders

Eric Swalwell

Marianne Williamson

Andrew Yang

Staff Graphic

Which candidates were left out of the debates?

Three Democratic presidential candidates didn’t make the cut for the party’s first primary debate — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and Miramar, Fla., Mayor Wayne Messam.

Bullock, who announced his candidacy last month, told CNN on Sunday he was “disappointed” that he didn’t meet the threshold.

“We’ll still have plans. We’ll be meeting voters and if not on that, we’ll be doing the things yet,” Bullock said. “But, yeah, I’m disappointed.”

Who will be moderating the first debates?

The debates will each have five moderators:

  1. Lester Holt, anchor of the NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC

  2. Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor of the Today show and NBC News chief legal analyst

  3. Chuck Todd, moderator of Meet the Press and NBC News political director

  4. José Diaz-Balart, anchor of Noticias Telemundo and NBC Nightly News Saturday

  5. Rachel Maddow, host of The Rachel Maddow Show

For both nights, the first hour will be moderated by Holt, Guthrie, and Diaz-Balart. Holt will return to moderate the second hour alongside Todd and Maddow.

Maddow’s involvement as a moderator has raised a few eyebrows due to her MSNBC role as an opinion journalist (where she has praised several of the Democratic candidates). But during the 2016 election, Maddow successfully moderated a Democratic presidential candidate forum between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

“The last thing a network ever wants is having even the slightest appearance of favoritism,” wrote Tom Jones, Poynter’s senior media writer. “With so many other potential moderators at NBC’s disposal — Brian Williams and Andrea Mitchell, for instance — it just doesn’t seem like a risk worth taking.”

How many Democratic primary debates will there be?

The DNC has approved as many as 12 debates, though there may be fewer depending how the primary process plays out. Six are scheduled to take place in 2019, with six more set for 2020.

CNN will host the second Democratic primary debate in Detroit, which will also be broken up over two nights — Thursday, July 30, and Friday, July 31. The third debate will air on ABC on September 12 and September 13, if two nights are necessary.