WASHINGTON — NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo will air the first Democratic primary debate in June, and CNN will show the second event in July, the Democratic National Committee announced on Thursday.
The DNC is planning 12 presidential primary debates over the 2020 cycle, but news networks had been vying for the rights to air the first match-ups between the Democratic candidates.
Because the field is expected to be so large, each debate will likely take place over two consecutive nights. Candidates will qualify for the debates based on polling and performance in grassroots fundraising.
“We’ve spent months working with media partners to provide this unprecedented opportunity for candidates and voters to get to know each other,” said Tom Perez, the chairman of the DNC. “Because campaigns are won on the strength of their grassroots, we’ve also updated the threshold, giving all types of candidates the opportunity to reach the debate stage and giving small-dollar donors a bigger voice in the primary than ever before.”
The DNC previously announced that it planned debates each month for the remainder of 2019. The location, venue, moderators, and other details are still to be announced.
Fox News aired the first Republican debate of the last election cycle in August, 2015, drawing 24 million viewers, a ratings record. CNN aired the first Democratic debate in October of that year.
(Pictured: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at a 2016 Democratic debate.)