DNC releases names of 20 candidates who qualified for first debates

The Democratic National Committee has released the names of the 20 presidential candidates who have qualified for the first debates on June 26 and 27 in Miami.

Why it matters: The back-to-back nights of debates will feature one of the most diverse and crowded Democratic fields in history. Four candidates — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock; former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel; Miramar, Florida Mayor Wayne Messam and Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton — did not qualify.

The participants

1. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado
2. Former Vice President Joe Biden*
3. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey*
4. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg*
5. Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro*
6. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
7. Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland
8. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii*
9. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York*
10. Sen. Kamala Harris of California*
11. Former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado
12. Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington*
13. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota*
14. Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas*
15. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio
16. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont*
17. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California
18. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts*
19. Author Marianne Williamson*
20. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang*

*The candidates with asterisks next to their names qualified through both polling and by reaching the 65,000 donor threshold.

What to watch: The campaigns that qualified will participate in a random drawing at 30 Rock to determine Friday afternoon to determine which night the candidates will appear, a Democratic source tells Axios' Alexi McCammond.

Go deeper: What you need to know about every 2020 candidate in under 500 words