LET THE GAMES BEGIN

First Democratic Presidential Debate Announced for June 26

The huge number of candidates will have to be split into two groups of 10 over two nights for the NBC News event in Miami.

The race to become the Democratic candidate for president in 2020 will officially get started next month. NBC News has announced the time and place for first Democratic presidential debates. They’ll be hosted at the Adrienne Arsht Center in downtown Miami on June 26 and June 27 and will air across NBC News, MSNBC, and Telemundo from 9 p.m. ET. The debates are split over two nights because of the high number of candidates—20 of them will be split into two groups of 10. To qualify, a candidate must register at least 1 percent support in at least three polls or collect at least 65,000 online donations. Eighteen candidates have already qualified—and if the number of qualifiers exceeds 20, then spaces will be given to candidates who meet both qualifications, then those who have the highest polling average, then those with the most online donations.