IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

NBC announces five moderators for first Democratic debate

The presidential primary face-off, hosted by NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo, will take place in Miami on June 26-27.
By Allan Smith

NBC announced on Tuesday the five moderators for the first Democratic presidential primary debate, set for later this month.

Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow and José Diaz-Balart will moderate the debate, which will take place at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami over two nights on June 26-27.

The debate, which is sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee, will air live across NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo from 9 to 11 p.m. ET each night.

  • Holt is anchor of "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt" and "Dateline NBC."
  • Guthrie is co-anchor of "TODAY" and NBC News chief legal analyst.
  • Todd is moderator of "Meet the Press with Chuck Todd" and NBC News political director.
  • Maddow is host of "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC.
  • Díaz-Balart is anchor of "Noticias Telemundo" and "NBC Nightly News Saturday."

Both debate nights will have the same format. Holt will moderate the first hour, with Guthrie and Diaz-Balart appearing alongside him; Holt will also appear in the second hour, with Todd and Maddow moderating, NBC News announced.

In total, 20 candidates will participate in the two-night event, with 10 taking the stage each night.

Candidates need to either register 1 percent support in three qualified polls or have 65,000 unique donors to their campaign, with a minimum of 200 different donors in at least 20 states, to qualify for the debate. Should more than 20 candidates qualify for the debate, the Democratic National Committee will use a series of tiebreakers to determine who makes it onto the stage.

Allan Smith

Allan Smith is a political reporter for NBC News.