Well, Here Are The 20 Candidates Who Made The Cut For The First Democratic Debate

Matt Vespa | June 13, 2019 5:14 PM

Well, the first 2020 rumble is upon us. On June 26 and 27, 20 Democratic candidates will be duking it out in the first debate to kick off the cycle in Miami. This clown bus is 20 people deep. There will be five moderators, one of which is Rachel Maddow, so you know that this whole affair is going to be bursts of highly entertaining swipes and jabs, coupled with brief episodes of nausea. It’ll be a fight between those who are socialist, those who are socialist-lite, and those who are neither…but adhere to authoritarian progressivism. So, it’s a big massive bowl of crazy. Here is your cast of characters (via Axios):

Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado
Former Vice President Joe Biden*
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey*
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg*
Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro*
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii*
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York*
Sen. Kamala Harris of California*
Former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado
Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington*
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota*
Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas*
Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont*
Rep. Eric Swalwell of California
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts*
Author Marianne Williamson*
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang*
*The candidates with asterisks next to their names qualified through both polling and by reaching the 65,000 donor threshold.

the june 26-27 democratic debates will be the first where the candidates are seated in the bleachers and the audience small enough to fit on stage. pic.twitter.com/JWlbYcZYET
— T. Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) June 13, 2019

Preview of the Democratic Debate stage. pic.twitter.com/HPk0HHnPTL
— jon gabriel (@exjon) June 13, 2019

BREAKING: DNC announces the names of the candidates who will appear in the first Democratic Debates on June 26 & 27 from Miami. @chucktodd: "After months of campaigning and polling, the stage is now set." pic.twitter.com/fQbafzHr26
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 13, 2019