DNC Announces the 20 Democrat Candidates Who Qualify for First Presidential Debate

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has announced the 20 Democrat candidates who qualify for the first primary debate in Miami, scheduled to take place June 26–27.

To qualify, candidates had to either garner at least one percent in three DNC-approved polls or reach 65,000 donors, with a minimum of 200 donors in 20 different states.

The first bunch – former Vice President Joe Biden (D), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D), former Housing Secretary Julián Castro (D), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI),  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D- MA), author Marianne Williamson (D), and entrepreneur and philanthropist Andrew Yang (D) – met both the polling and donor requirements.

The remaining candidates only qualified via polling. Those candidates include Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO),  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), former Rep. John Delaney (D), former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA):

BREAKING: These are the 20 Democratic presidential candidates who have qualified to participate in the first 2-night #DemDebate on @NBCNews, @MSNBC and @TelemundoNews in Miami on June 26-27. https://t.co/12ie1NbpkL pic.twitter.com/08Aljyj3cm

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 13, 2019

On Tuesday, NBC released the names of the five moderators. NBC Nightly News’s Lester Holt will moderate for both hours (9–11 p.m. ET) on both nights. Today’s Savannah Guthrie and NBC Nightly News Saturday’s José Diaz-Balart will accompany him for the first hour and switch out with Meet the Press’s Chuck Todd and The Rachel Maddow Show’s Rachel Maddow, who will join Holt for the second hour.