5 moderators will tag team the first 2020 Democratic debate

The first 2020 Democratic debate will be almost as crowded with moderators as it is with actual candidates.

NBC on Tuesday announced that there will be five moderators for the first debate of the 2020 Democratic primary: Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow, and José Diaz-Balart, NBC News reports. The debate is set to occur over two nights on June 26 and June 27.

Holt, the host of NBC Nightly News, will appear in both hours of the event, with Guthrie and Diaz-Balart joining him for the first hour and Todd and Maddow taking over in the second hour.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Twenty Democrats are scheduled to participate — half during one night's debate and half during the next night's.

After this first debate, The Hollywood Reporter writes CNN is set to host the second Democratic debate in July, while ABC will get the third, which is set for September. Going into the fall, the Democratic National Committee will raise the bar for qualifying for the debates, which should result in a slightly less comically crowded stage as the primary continues in full swing. Brendan Morrow

Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect Holt's participation in the event.