Wednesday’s ratings came despite the fact that Sen. Elizabeth Warren was the only candidate onstage who regularly ranks in Democratic voters’ top five. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images 2020 democratic debates First Dem debate brings in 15.3 million viewers, NBC says

The first Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign raked in 15.3 million viewers Wednesday, roughly the same number of people who tuned in to watch the party’s first debate during the 2016 election cycle.

Wednesday’s ratings, which NBC announced Thursday, came despite the absence of Democratic front-runners Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, who have led the primary pack in nearly all polling. Other top-tier candidates are also scheduled for the second night of Democratic debates on Thursday, including California Sen. Kamala Harris and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind.


Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was the only candidate who regularly ranks in Democratic voters’ top five who appeared on stage Wednesday night.

It is unclear what Wednesday’s viewership numbers mean for Thursday night’s debate. Viewers could feel that two nights of Democratic debates are too many and tune out, or they could watch for the spectacle of Biden and Sanders facing off for the first time in the 2020 campaign.

Wednesday's ratings did not come close to the first Republican presidential primary debate of the 2016 cycle. That forum, hosted by Fox News in August 2015 and featuring 10 GOP candidates, garnered a mammoth 24 million viewers.

More than 9 million additional viewers livestreamed Wednesday’s debate, NBC said.

