LIVE UPDATES: Democrats hold first 2020 debate

From Miami, Florida — After months of organizing and basic campaign work, Democrats running for President turned the page to a new and difficult chapter in the 2020 race for the White House, with the first of two nights of prime time debates sponsored by NBC News in Miami, starting the fight for the Democratic Party nomination in earnest.

The 2020 debates are getting underway about six weeks earlier than Republicans started in August of 2015 - back then, the GOP was struggling to deal with as many as 17 candidates.

Democrats now have so many - over twenty - that they were forced to hold two nights of debates to deal with the excess candidates.

Here's the run down of what we saw in Miami tonight:

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8:30 pm - There are ten Democrats on the stage tonight.  You might know a lot of them.  You might know only one or two.

8:15 pm - Most of the press will watch it like everyone else, on TV.  The press filing center is not in the same building as the debate stage, as reporters are seated either at tables by the 'spin room,' or in seats surrounded by TV screens.

Cox Media Group