Rachel Maddow, Chuck Todd and Lester Holt Among Moderators of First Democratic Debate

The first debate of the Democratic presidential primary will be moderated by Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Chuck Todd, José Díaz-Balart of Telemundo, and the MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow, NBC News announced on Tuesday.

The two-night event, set for June 26 and 27 in Miami, is the first nationally televised clash of the sprawling Democratic field and will air in prime-time on MSNBC, Telemundo, and — in a rarity for a primary debate — on NBC broadcast stations around the country.

For many Democratic voters, the debate will be the first opportunity to compare presidential contenders on the same stage, albeit across two consecutive nights. Ten candidates will appear each night, but the party has not yet announced which 20 contenders have met the party-mandated criteria for the debate, which is determined by the Democratic National Committee based on a mix of national polls and quantity of campaign donors.

CNN is set to broadcast the second Democratic debate from Detroit on July 30 and 31. The third debate, to take place Sept. 12 and 13, will be broadcast by ABC News.

NBC News and MSNBC hosted two debates in the 2016 Democratic primary, with Mr. Holt, Mr. Todd, Ms. Maddow, and Andrea Mitchell serving as moderators.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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