The Democratic establishment candidate leading in the polls won't face one of his closest competitors and a progressive favorite. A sitting governor and rising-star congressman won't be there at all, while a self-help author made the cut. And Mayor Pete will be heard, but a lesser-know mayor named Wayne won't be on the stage.

The results are in – for the first Democratic presidential debates, that is. With so many candidates running, the Democratic National Committee had to limit it to 20, with 10 candidates on stage on each of two nights. The debates will be in Miami and are sponsored by NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo.

On Night One, June 26, the debate contenders will include Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; Reps. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and Tim Ryan of Ohio; former Reps. John Delaney of Maryland and Beto O'Rourke of Texas; former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro; New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

On Night Two, June 27, the debate stage will include former Vice President Joe Biden; Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kamala Harris of California and Bernie Sanders of Vermont; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; Rep. Eric Swalwell of California; self-help author Marianne Williamson and former tech executive Andrew Yang.

The names were drawn from gift-wrap decorated boxes by Democratic officials. Qualifying candidates had to reach a threshold of 1 percent in several polls or individual donations by at least 65,000 donors.

That standard means that four candidates – Montana Gov. Steve Bullock ; Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts; former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska; and Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam did not make the cut.

"We had to draw the line. … I think it's the right place to draw the line," DNC chairman Tom Perez said on MSNBC, adding that a 1 percent threshold in polls was not an onerous standard.

The random matchups mean that Sanders, who has been fighting off a strong challenge by Warren for the progressive vote, won't face her onstage. Nor will Warren tangle in person with Biden, who is leading in national and statewide polls and is facing criticism from some in the party that he is too establishment to represent a party that is moving to the left.

The Democratic field has been generally uncritical of each other, bur recently several have taken on Biden, seeking to oust him as the front-runner. President Donald Trump has also taken direct rhetorical shots at Biden, suggesting that the present sees Biden as his biggest threat.

"He can cut into blue collar voters Hillary Clinton lost in 2016," Rep. Peter King, Republican of New York, said on MSNBC, describing Biden as the strongest competition for Trump.

However, the Democratic Party's progressive wing is loud, if not the majority of the party, and is demanding a candidate that wants "Medicare for All" and other left-leaning policies. Sanders, who supports that health plan along with free public college tuition, has been dismissed by Trump as a "socialist" with views antithetical to American values.

Sanders is a democratic socialist who caucuses with the Democratic Party in the Senate.

Warren, too, has embraced many of those proposals and is gaining on Sanders in the polls as she hones her campaign style and delivers detailed plans for her hoped-for presidency.

The breakdown also means two of the party's new kids on the block won't be evaluated side by side either. They are O'Rourke, who narrowly lost a Senate race in Republican Texas last year, and Buttigieg, whose Ivy League credentials and youth have appealed to voters looking for a fresh voice.

Even with the field winnowed to 10 each night, it will be hard for candidates to talk in detail about issues. Instead, viewers may end up seeing 20 candidates desperately try to deliver a pithy one-liner that will dominate cable news coverage the next morning.

Perez said that's a temporary problem.

"Over time, I think, as the field narrows, we're going to be in a position to have deeper dives on a lot of issues," he told MSNBC.

