The first Democratic primary debate is almost here, so it’s finally time to start trimming down the field of 2020 candidates running for president to see who are the contenders and pretenders.
The Democratic National Committee announced the 20 Democratic candidates that qualified, and NBC released the lineups for each night of the debate on Friday following a random group draw.
And will next week’s debates have an effect on the 2020 Presidential Election odds? You bet it will, and look no further than President Donald Trump, who shot up in polling after he dismantled his Republican opponents during the GOP primary debates in 2015 and 2016.
From the schedule, the announced lineups for both nights, and the current betting odds for the Democratic nomination — here’s everything you need to know before the next week’s fireworks officially kick off debate season.
When & Where Is The First 2020 Democratic Primary Debate?
The first Democratic primary debate will be held over two nights on Wednesday, June 26 and Thursday, June 27 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida.
NBC announced last week that Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, José Diaz-Balart, Chuck Todd, and Rachel Maddow will moderate the debate. On each night, Holt will moderate both hours of the debate, while Guthrie and Diaz-Balart co-host the first hour and Todd and Maddow will co-host the second hour.
The debate will be held from 9 p.m. ET to 11 p.m. ET on both nights, and there are several ways to watch the live broadcast.
- Television: NBC News, MSNBC, Telemundo
- Stream: NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, NBC News app, OTT apps, Telemundo digital platforms
Who Qualified For The Debate?
To qualify for the stage, 20 Democratic candidates need to either 1) reached 65,000 individual donors and a minimum of 200 donors per state from 20 states, or 2) polled at 1% or higher in any three surveys approved by the DNC.
The 20 qualifying candidates are:
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont
- Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
- Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
- Sen. Kamala Harris of California
- Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke
- Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
- Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey
- Former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado
- Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
- Rep. Eric Swalwell of California
- Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio
- Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
- Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland
- Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington
- Author Marianne Williamson
Who Didn’t Qualify For The Debate?
The following Democratic candidates were unable to meet either requirement set by the DNC for the first debate.
- Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana
- Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts
- Mayor Wayne Messam of Miramar, Florida
- Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska
What Are The Lineups For Both Nights?
Before being randomly drawn and slotted into each night, the 20 eligible Democrats were split into two groups of 10. One group contained candidates who polled 2% or higher on average, and the other group included candidates who polled lower than 2% on average.
Candidates were then drawn at random from the two groups with each night having five candidates who polled 2% or higher and five candidates who polled below 2% on average.
The following are the results from the random draw and will be the lineups taking the stage on the first and second night. Podium order has yet to be determined.
First Night – Wednesday, June 26
- Booker
- Castro
- Delaney
- de Blasio
- Gabbard
- Inslee
- Klobuchar
- O’Rourke
- Ryan
- Warren
Second Night – Thursday, June 27
- Bennet
- Biden
- Buttigieg
- Gillibrand
- Harris
- Hickenlooper
- Sanders
- Swalwell
- Williamson
- Yang
Who Will Win The 2020 Democratic Nomination?
Currently, Biden is the frontrunner in both the polls and the betting odds to win the 2020 Democratic nomination. With such a big lead and target on his back, expect the other 19 candidates to come after the leader of the pack on both nights.
Sanders, Buttigieg, Yang, Warren, and Harris are all in contention to become the party’s nominee, according to the oddsmakers.
However, the remaining Democrats will need their message to resonate next week if they want to become part of “the daily conversation” and increase their poll numbers as a result.
Here are the current betting odds to win the 2020 Democratic nomination from BetOnline.
- Joe Biden +225
- Bernie Sanders +400
- Pete Buttigieg +600
- Andrew Yang +700
- Elizabeth Warren +700
- Kamala Harris +800
- Beto O’ Rourke +1600
- Tulsi Gabbard +2500
- Amy Klobuchar +3300
- Cory Booker +4000
- John Hickenlooper +5000
- Julian Castro +5000
- Kirsten Gillibrand +5000
When & Where Is The Second 2020 Democratic Primary Debate?
The second 2020 Democratic primary debate will be held in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, July 30 and Wednesday, July 31. CNN will host the second debate and will use the same criteria for its two-night format.