Washington (CNN) The stage is set for the first series of Democratic debates.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont will be at the center of the stage during the Thursday night debate in Miami next week, according to NBC, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas will be at the center of next week's Wednesday night debate.

The layout decisions were determined by polling, according to NBC, the Democratic National Committee's media partner for the first debates.

Campaigns closely follow which candidates will be standing next to whom during each debate. Operatives view the placements as central to how much time their candidates will get during the contests, in the belief that candidates near the center will get more time.

Operatives also see whom each candidate is placed next to as central to whether one candidate can make the other a focal point of attacks during the two-hour-long contests.

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