Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders be head to head in center stage of Democratic debate's second night with Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren in prime spots on first night as 20 hopefuls battle it out
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Former Vice President Joe Biden will take center stage on the second night of the Democratic debate next week.
The candidates earned prime podium placement after consistently polling higher than their peers in early surveys and raising cash from a broad base of donors.
They'll be flanked by Pete Buttigieg, the South Bend, Indiana, mayor, and Kamala Harris, the California senator.
Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and other heavy-hitters like Sens. Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren will face off on their own night, twenty four hours before their competitors.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Former Vice President Joe Biden will take center stage on the second night of the Democratic debate next week
They'll be flanked by Pete Buttigieg, the South Bend, Indiana, mayor, and Kamala Harris, the California senator
The Miami showdowns are hosted by NBC News and its sister channels MSNBC and Telemundo. They'll air in primetime, from 9 to 11 pm, on Wednesday and Thursday evening.
It's the first opportunity that voters will see how Democratic candidates measure up against one another. They'll have a second opportunity in July, at a debate in Michigan, and a third chance in September.
Candidates on the edge of the debate stage or missing from the Miami lineup altogether are in danger of failing to meet escalating requirements.
A maximum of 20 candidates was set for the Miami debate, setting off a mad scramble among lower polling candidates for the last available slots.
Candidates had to win at least 1 percent support in three accepted polls or attract 65,000 individual donors.
For Democrats qualifying through donations, the Democratic National Committee said contributions must come from 200 different donors in 20 or more states.
The DNC set debate requirements but left it to the networks to determine candidate positions and the evening on which the two sets of Democrats would appear.
It chose Thursday night, an evening that's generally associated with higher television ratings, for the Biden-Sanders-Buttigieg-Harris discussion.
A maximum of 20 candidates were allowed to debate, setting off a mad scramble among lower polling candidates for the last available slots
Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and other heavy-hitters like Sens. Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren will face off on their own night, twenty four hours before their competitors
Sanders and Biden will have the advantage of having been on a presidential debate stage before. Biden is on his third try at the White House, and Sanders was the Democratic runner-up in the last national election.
Harris and Buttigieg are new to the national stage, but their relative youth and vigor - they're 54 and 37 respectively - will help them stand out against their direct competitors.
Biden is 76 and Sanders 77. The first is a former Delaware senator, the second is a current Vermont senator. They have more than 30 years experience in politics a piece.
Sanders' democratic socialist rhetoric could come under attack as too leftist from centrists on stage and debate moderators. Biden's changing positions on federal funding for abortion and the financial threat from China have presented themselves as sticking points for his opponents.
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