Democrats kick off first night of primary debates in Miami — live updates

FAN Editor
CBSN

Ten candidates are on the stage in Miami, Florida, Wednesday evening for the first night of the Democratic Party presidential primary debates. The debate kicked off at 9 p.m. ET and runs until 11 p.m.

Cory Booker, Bill de Blasio, Julián Castro, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Tim Ryan and Elizabeth Warren are on the stage for this first night of the debate.

The debate is being broadcast live on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo. Free online streams are available on NBCNews.com, NBC News apps, Telemundo and NBC News’ Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages.

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Watch CBSN for live coverage of the debate, and follow updates below

Democrats prep for first round of presidential debates

Candidates take the stage in Miami

8:55 p.m.: The 10 candidates participating in tonight’s debate took the stage shortly before it began, with Warren and O’Rourke in the middle. The placement of the candidates was determined by their standing in polls.

Stefan Becket

Trump urges debate watchers to follow his campaign team

Tweeting from Air Force One en route to the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, President Trump urged debate watchers to follow members of his campaign team for “FACT CHECKING.” Mr. Trump indicated that he would not be live-tweeting the debate, as he is “off to save the Free World.”

“For tonight’s #DemDebate, be sure to follow @TeamTrump, @TrumpWarRoom, @Parscale, @KayleighMcEnany, @TimMurtaugh, and @Marc_Lotter for RAPID RESPONSE, FACT CHECKING, and the TRUTH! #MAGA #KAG Sorry, I’m on Air Force One, off to save the Free World!” Mr. Trump wrote.

Facts behind key issues likely to come up in the debate

The 20 presidential candidates set to kick off two nights of debates as part of the 2020 Democratic primary season will need sharp elbows — and tongues — to stand out in the jam-packed field. Expect much of the discussion to focus on the U.S. economy, especially kitchen-table matters such as jobs, taxes and health care.

Read the facts behind some of the key issues that are likely to come up here.

DNC chair: “There will be no one talking about hand sizes” at debate

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez spoke to reporters before the debate Wednesday, asserting that unlike in the Republican primary debates in 2016, “there will be no one talking about hand sizes.”

Perez alluded to the Republican debate in February 2016 where Sen. Marco Rubio mocked then-candidate Donald Trump’s seemingly small hand size.

Perez said there was a “deep bench” for tonight’s debate, noting that Warren is “tied for second place” with Sanders behind Biden.

He also defended the DNC’s decision not to include Montana Gov. Steve Bullock in the first debates, due to a dispute over one of the polls Bullock used to try to qualify for the debates.

“I can’t change the rules because we’re friends,” Perez said. Bullock has qualified for the second round of debates in July.

Warren and Klobuchar visit migrant detention center ahead of debate

Warren and Klobuchar visit Homestead detention center

Warren and Klobuchar visited a troubled detention center for unaccompanied migrant children in Homestead, Florida, on Wednesday, hours before taking the stage in Miami for the first Democratic debate.

Warren and Klobuchar weren’t the only presidential candidates visiting Homestead this week. Other visitors will include Harris, Gillibrand, Castro, Gabbard, O’Rourke, de Blasio, Buttigieg and Williamson. Jane Sanders, Sanders’ wife, also visited the facility on Wednesday. Swalwell visited the facility on Monday.

Read more here.

What to expect from the debates

Each candidate will be trying to figure out how to use his or her precious few minutes of speaking time to stand out in the crowd. Here’s what to look for during the debate:

  • Candidates trying to create moment that people remember: “What will matter most in these initial debates is to have a moment,” says Bob Shrum, director of the Center for the Political Future at USC Dornsife and top adviser on both John Kerry’s and Al Gore’s presidential campaigns. “A moment that people remember. A moment where you crystallize what your candidacy is about. A moment where you somehow push off against the field in a way that benefits you.”
  • Candidate prep: Many of the candidates have done their share of town hall events, fielding unscripted questions from voters in the early-voting stages. But until now, they haven’t had to prepare for facing off with each other on a crowded stage. There’s also the time crunch, the red lights and the chime that’ll tell them their time to talk is up.
  • Confrontation: Candidates may choose to go after each other onstage, and President Trump may be another target. While the president won’t physically be on the debate stages, his presence looms.
  • Unequal answering time: Most of the questions will be directed to one specific candidate, and that candidate is often given the chance to respond if mentioned by an opponent. Because there will be ten candidates onstage, some — generally the lower-ranked candidates — will go long stretches of time without speaking — and it’s a near certainty that the moderators will field complaints about the unequal distribution of time.

What are the rules for the first Democratic debate?

According to NBC News, candidates will have 60 seconds to answer questions and 30 seconds to respond to follow-ups. There will be no opening statements, but the contenders will have a chance to deliver closing remarks at the close of the debate.

How did the Democratic candidates qualify for the first debate?

To qualify for the first debate in Miami, which will play out over two nights, candidates had to fulfill one of two criteria: either get 65,000 donors to their campaigns, with at least 200 donors in 20 different states, or obtain at least 1% in three polls recognized as legitimate by the committee. According to NBC News, which is hosting the debate, candidates’ podium placements will be “based on polling.”

Because so many of the contenders qualified for the first round of debate, the Democrats will be split into two groups across two consecutive nights totaling four hours. Ten candidates were randomly chosen to appear on each night.

Which candidates are appearing on the first night of the debate?


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CBS News
  • Cory Booker
  • Bill de Blasio
  • Julián Castro
  • John Delaney
  • Tulsi Gabbard
  • Jay Inslee
  • Amy Klobuchar
  • Beto O’Rourke
  • Tim Ryan
  • Elizabeth Warren

Which candidates are appearing on the second night?


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CBS News
  • Michael Bennet
  • Joe Biden
  • Pete Buttigieg
  • Kirsten Gillibrand
  • Kamala Harris
  • John Hickenlooper
  • Bernie Sanders
  • Eric Swalwell
  • Marianne Williamson
  • Andrew Yang

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