The next democratic presidential debate will be the biggest debate ever, with a record 12 candidates set to appear on stage.

The debate will be on Oct. 15 and will air on CNN for three hours from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. And, as mentioned above, a record 12 candidates will be on the stage.

We at The Daily Eastern News feel that 12 candidates is too many for this point in the election cycle and it is time for some of the candidates polling at the lower end of the spectrum to consider dropping out of the race.

The field is as follows: former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Cory Booker, Senator Kamala Harris, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Bernie Sanders, former housing secretary Julian Castro, Representative Tusli Gabbard, Senator Amy Klobuchar, former Representative Beto O’Rourke, hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, Senator Elizabeth Warren and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

That is going to be a lot of voices for viewers to try and dissect over the course of the three-hour broadcast, and at some point the Democratic Party needs to come together and realize that 12 candidates all vying for speaking time and attention is simply too many.

CNN, of course, will love the ratings this will likely poll as having so many candidates will likely draw more eyes, but this voting cycle is important, especially for the Democratic Party, and some of these candidates probably need to look reality in the face and realize it is time to drop out.

It is important to remember that the Republican Party has had its candidate since 2016: President Donald Trump. If the Democratic Party and its voters truly want to beat him in 2020, like it has so often stated is its goal, then the time to narrow down the field of potential advisories to President Trump is approaching, fast.

There are just too many candidates right now. There are so many different voices speaking at the debates and so many different policies and ideas getting thrown around that it is becoming increasingly difficult for voters to decipher who stands where on what issues. And with a record field of 12 candidates set for the Oct. 15 debate, this problem is only going to get worse.

It will take a lot of focus and a lot of planning for a democrat to challenge Trump in 2020, and instead of doing that right now, these candidates have to focus on beating the other 11 people around them first.

It is too many. It is too many for television, too many for voters, too many to beat Donald Trump.

The time for democrats to narrow the field has come.

The Editorial Staff can be reached at 581-2812 or dennewsdesk@gmail.com