Colorado Politics

2020 ELECTION | Hickenlooper, Bennet qualify for 1st presidential debate

The two Coloradans running for president made the cut for possibly a make-or-break prime-time debate in Miami.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and former Gov. John Hickenlooper are among the 20 candidates who will share the stage across two nights on June 26 and 27. 

The Democratic National Committee tweeted out the list Thursday afternoon:

“Bennet, Biden, Booker, Buttigieg, Castro, de Blasio, Delaney, Gabbard, Gillibrand, Harris, Hickenlooper, Inslee, Klobuchar, O’Rourke, Ryan, Sanders, Swalwell, Warren, Williamson, and Yang – see you in Miami.”

> RELATED: 2020 WATCH | More voices call for Hickenlooper to switch to Senate race

The wide field vying to unseat President Trump has four candidates who did not make the cut: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock; former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel; Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam; and Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton.

To qualify for the debate, candidates had to either poll at 1% in three surveys sanctioned by the DNC or receive 65,000 individual donations.

> RELATED: 2020 WATCH: Tuning in on Bennet, Hickenlooper music choices for Iowa candidate parade

In a release, the DNC said 14 of the candidates met both the polling and the fundraising, while the remaining six – including Hickenlooper and Bennet – qualified only based on their standing in polls.

Bennet had been critical of the DNC over the qualifications needed to get in to later debates, when the rules become more strict, calling he rules “completely arbitrary.” 

The first 2020 Democratic presidential debate will air  on NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo.

> RELATED: 2020 WATCH | Hickenlooper, Bennet join Democratic candidate lineup in Iowa

The moderators will be Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow and José Díaz-Balart.

The DNC has said the top-tier candidates will be randomly divided between the two nights, which will each feature 10 candidates on stage.

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U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (left) and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, seen during their campaign swings through Iowa in February.
KUSA-9News, Denver
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