Debate between Democrats: Sanders, Harris and Biden to Participate in Two-Night Event | American News

The first presidential debate in 2020 will be split into two evenings later this month. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker will face former Congressman Beto O'Rourke in the first session. Former Vice President Joe Biden will face South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senators Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders on the second night.

NBC announced Friday its two-night debate, scheduled to begin June 26 in Miami, which is expected to be the first direct confrontation between Democrats vying for Donald Trump.

Representatives from 20 campaigns met Friday in a conference room at NBC Headquarters, with nominees selected in two boxes. There were separate boxes with candidates having a vote of 2% or more and those voting less than 2% – an attempt to ensure that most of the lesser known candidates are not grouped together.

Nonetheless, four of the top six candidates landed on June 27, paving the way for a high-stakes night.

Being paired with Biden, 76, and Sanders, 77, could give Buttigieg the opportunity to highlight the theme of the "next generation" he was touting. At 37, the mayor is the youngest of the main contenders. Sanders and Warren, considered favorites of the party's liberal wing, will not be face-to-face.

Among other actors, Jay Inslee, governor of Washington, could take advantage of a less crowded evening of leaders to draw attention to his climate change agenda. The former Colorado governor, John Hickenlooper, who has been one of the most aggressive critics of Sanders' democratic socialism, will have the opportunity to make these remarks face to face.

On June 26, Warren, Booker, O Rourke, Inslee, Minnesota Senator, Amy Klobuchar, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Julián Castro, Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, former Congressman John Delaney of Maryland and MP Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio.

Biden, Sanders, Harris, Buttigieg, Hickenlooper, New York Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator of Colorado, Senator Michael Bennet, Author Marianne Williamson, Entrepreneur Andrew Yang and US Congressman Eric Swalwell of California.

NBC will have to face its own test, to see if it makes compelling programming cluttered and disturbed scenes the first nights of debate season. The debate will be broadcast on prime time between 9:00 pm and 11:00 pm on the broadcast network, as well as on MSNBC and Telemundo, and will air on different platforms. NBC celebrities Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow and Jose Diaz-Balart will be featured.