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| Democratic Debate Live Updates: Candidates Take Their First Questions | Democratic Debate Live Updates: Candidates Take Their First Questions |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Moderators: Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Kristen Welker and Ashley Parker. | Moderators: Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Kristen Welker and Ashley Parker. |
| Candidates: Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Kamala Harris, the entrepreneur Andrew Yang, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Cory Booker, Representative Tulsi Gabbard and the billionaire Tom Steyer. | Candidates: Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Kamala Harris, the entrepreneur Andrew Yang, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Cory Booker, Representative Tulsi Gabbard and the billionaire Tom Steyer. |
| The moderator Andrea Mitchell asked Mr. Buttigieg the question his rivals have been muttering to reporters for weeks: Why should a guy who won 8,500 votes in his last race and lost a statewide race by 25 percentage points lead the party when it will need tens of millions of votes to defeat President Trump? | |
| Mr. Buttigieg, who has faced a version of this question repeatedly from reporters and early-voting state Democrats on the campaign trail, delivered what has become his standard response: It’s not about what he’s done in the past, but what he would do as president. | |
| “I have the right experience to take on Donald Trump,” he said. “I get it’s not traditional establishment Washington experience, but I would argue we need something very different right now.” | |
| Mr. Buttigieg pivoted his Midwestern sensibility, saying the country needs someone who “comes from the kinds of communities that he’s been appealing to,” an unsubtle reference to the white working-class voters Mr. Buttigieg hopes to win over. | |
| Ms. Klobuchar rattled off one of her favorite jokes from the campaign: just how much money she raised from her exes. | |
| “My first Senate race, I literally called everyone I knew and I set what is still an all-time Senate record. I raised $17,000 from ex-boyfriends,” she said. | |
| Ms. Klobuchar used humor a few moments later when asked about her recent comments about Mr. Buttigieg, whom she said would not be getting as serious consideration, based on his resume, if he were a woman. | |
| Ms. Klobuchar began by saying Mr. Buttigieg deserves his spot on stage but said women are treated differently. | |
| “Otherwise we could play a game called name your favorite woman president,” she said to laughs. | |
| She had one more humor-infused line up her sleeve. “If you think a woman can’t beat Trump,” she said, “Nancy Pelosi does it every day.” | |
| Ms. Gabbard’s first moment in Wednesday’s debate did not disappoint. She launched a broadside against Hillary Clinton, tying her to President George W. Bush and Donald Trump as military adventurists. | |
| Ms. Gabbard called for “an end to this ongoing Bush, Clinton, Trump foreign policy doctrine of regime change wars, overthrowing dictators in other countries. Needlessly sending my brothers and sisters in uniform into harm’s way to fight in wars that actually undermine our national security and have cost us thousands of American lives.” | |
| For some reason, the moderators asked Ms. Harris to respond. | |
| And respond she did, voicing grievances about Ms. Gabbard Democrats across the party’s spectrum have been muttering for months: that she’s a closet Republican, a regular Fox News panelist who pals around the war criminals and loves nothing more than attacking the Democratic Party she aims to lead. | |
| “I think that it’s unfortunate that we have someone on this stage who is attempting to be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States, who during the Obama administration spent four years full time on Fox News criticizing President Obama,” Ms. Harris said. “When Donald Trump was elected, not even sworn in, buddied up to Steve Bannon to get a meeting with Donald Trump in the Trump Tower, fails to call a war criminal by what he is, as a war criminal. And then spends full time during the course of this campaign, again, criticizing the Democratic Party.” | |
| Ms. Gabbard declined to engage in the attacks on her. | |
| “What Senator Harris is doing is continuing to traffic in lies, smears and innuendo,” she said. | |
| Declaring, again, that he “wrote the damn bill,” Mr. Sanders tried to steer the debate conversation to “Medicare for all,” promising he would pursue the legislation in his first week. That represented an unstated contrast with Ms. Warren, who has said she would pursue a public option first, delaying Medicare for all until year three of her administration. | |
| “Some of the people up here think we would not take on the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry,” Mr. Sanders said. | |
| Mr. Biden said, accurately, that Medicare for all does not have the votes to pass the House or Senate, even among Democrats. | |
| “Nancy Pelosi is one of those people,” Mr. Biden said of skeptics of the plan. “I trust the American people to make a judgment,” about choosing either private insurance or Medicare. | |
| “My friends say you have to only go Medicare for all,” he added. | |
| Mr. Buttigieg is the first candidate to invoke former President Barack Obama, saying that Democrats need to avoid alienating Republicans and center-right voters with massive social programs like Medicare for all. | |
| “As President Obama commented recently, we are now in a different reality that we were even 12 years ago,” Mr. Buttigieg said. “And to me the extraordinary potential of the moment we’re in right now is that there is an American majority that stands ready to tackle big issues, that didn’t exist in the same way even a few years ago.” | |
| “Even on issues where Democrats have been on defense, like immigration and guns, we have a majority to do the right thing,” he said. “If we can galvanize, not polarize that majority.” | |
| That last line came as a clear shot at Ms. Warren, who has emerged as Mr. Buttigieg’s chief sparring partner on the campaign trail. But more important may be his invoking the legacy of Mr. Obama, whose from-nowhere campaign the South Bend mayor is very clearly trying to emulate to Iowa voters who remain proud that they were responsible for launching Mr. Obama to the White House. | |
| Mr. Booker has, for the most part, been Mr. Agreeable at the debates, besides a brief confrontation with Mr. Biden over the summer. But he decided to disagree with Ms. Warren’s core wealth tax proposal on Wednesday. | |
| Very gently. | |
| He said he agreed with her approach in focusing on the rich but disagreed with the structure of taxing assets above $50 million. | |
| He said the idea had been “tried by other nations” and was “cumbersome.” | |
| Ms. Warren defended the idea. More interestingly, no one else onstage decided to join with Mr. Booker in criticizing her proposal, which Mr. Yang raised similar questions about at the last debate. | |
| The first question to Mr. Biden was how, as president, he would work with a Republican Party in Congress demanding an investigation into him. He answered by declaring he was the candidate best situated to defeat Republicans in 2020 — not just Mr. Trump but in the Senate, where he said he would “be able to go into states like Georgia and North Carolina and other places and get a Senate majority. That’s what I’ll do.” | |
| Mr. Biden said that the impeachment inquiry had showed that “Donald Trump doesn’t want me to president,” and neither does Russia President Vladimir Putin. | Mr. Biden said that the impeachment inquiry had showed that “Donald Trump doesn’t want me to president,” and neither does Russia President Vladimir Putin. |
| “Who is most likely to do what needs to be done? Produce a Democratic majority in the United States Senate,” he said. | “Who is most likely to do what needs to be done? Produce a Democratic majority in the United States Senate,” he said. |
| The opening minutes of Wednesday’s debate are showing the Democratic candidates as a united front against President Trump. The candidates are using the impeachment question an opportunity to pivot to elements of their own stump speeches. | |
| Mr. Sanders spoke of economic inequality while Ms. Klobuchar and Mr. Buttigieg, both fighting to be the party’s moderate standard-bearer, spoke about uniting the country in a post-Trump world. | |
| It’s unlike most of the previous debates, that have opened with sharp exchanges about the candidates’ differences in health care policy and quibbles with President Obama’s legacy. | |
| The first question went to Ms. Warren: Will she try to convince Senate Republicans that the president should be removed? | |
| Ms. Warren takes the softball. Yes, she will. | Ms. Warren takes the softball. Yes, she will. |
| “We have to establish the principle: No one is above the law,” she said, before pivoting to one of the reforms she’d implement as president: No donors will be appointed ambassador anywhere in the world. | “We have to establish the principle: No one is above the law,” she said, before pivoting to one of the reforms she’d implement as president: No donors will be appointed ambassador anywhere in the world. |
| “We are not going to give away ambassador posts to the highest bidder,” she said. | “We are not going to give away ambassador posts to the highest bidder,” she said. |
| She challenged her rivals to take the same pledge. | She challenged her rivals to take the same pledge. |
| “Anyone who wants to give me a big donation, don’t ask to be an ambassador because I’m not going to have that happen. I asked everyone who’s running for president to join me in that. And not a single person has so far,” Ms. Warren said. | “Anyone who wants to give me a big donation, don’t ask to be an ambassador because I’m not going to have that happen. I asked everyone who’s running for president to join me in that. And not a single person has so far,” Ms. Warren said. |
| When it was Mr. Sanders’s turn, he called Mr. Trump a “pathological liar” and the “most corrupt” president in American history. But he warned Democrats against focusing solely on Mr. Trump in 2020, lest they lose. | When it was Mr. Sanders’s turn, he called Mr. Trump a “pathological liar” and the “most corrupt” president in American history. But he warned Democrats against focusing solely on Mr. Trump in 2020, lest they lose. |
| “We cannot simply be consumed by Donald Trump. Because if we are, you know what? We’re going to lose the election,” Mr. Sanders said. “We can deal with Trump’s corruption, but we also have to stand up for the working families of this country,” he said. | “We cannot simply be consumed by Donald Trump. Because if we are, you know what? We’re going to lose the election,” Mr. Sanders said. “We can deal with Trump’s corruption, but we also have to stand up for the working families of this country,” he said. |
| After several debates centered on the thorny details of policy — most of all health care — tonight’s debate has the potential to return some focus in the primary campaign to matters of race and gender. | After several debates centered on the thorny details of policy — most of all health care — tonight’s debate has the potential to return some focus in the primary campaign to matters of race and gender. |
| As Mr. Buttigieg has risen in the polls, several African-American and Latino candidates have expressed concern about his lack of appeal to minority voters, and Ms. Klobuchar has said Mr. Buttigieg was getting a pass on his thin political résumé because he is male. In Nevada this week, Ms. Harris warned that the Democratic nominee had to be a person who was “relevant to the diversity of who we are as a country” — a particular challenge to Mr. Buttigieg, but perhaps also a critique of the all-white top tier of candidates in the race. | As Mr. Buttigieg has risen in the polls, several African-American and Latino candidates have expressed concern about his lack of appeal to minority voters, and Ms. Klobuchar has said Mr. Buttigieg was getting a pass on his thin political résumé because he is male. In Nevada this week, Ms. Harris warned that the Democratic nominee had to be a person who was “relevant to the diversity of who we are as a country” — a particular challenge to Mr. Buttigieg, but perhaps also a critique of the all-white top tier of candidates in the race. |
| As Mr. Biden has taken on Ms. Warren in sharply personal terms, Ms. Warren and her allies have questioned whether Mr. Biden’s criticism has been laced with sexism. The subject of gender arose in their heated clash over health care policy, after Ms. Warren suggested that Mr. Biden’s attacks on “Medicare for all” sounded like they belonged in a Republican primary and Mr. Biden blasted her worldview as “angry” and “elitist.” | As Mr. Biden has taken on Ms. Warren in sharply personal terms, Ms. Warren and her allies have questioned whether Mr. Biden’s criticism has been laced with sexism. The subject of gender arose in their heated clash over health care policy, after Ms. Warren suggested that Mr. Biden’s attacks on “Medicare for all” sounded like they belonged in a Republican primary and Mr. Biden blasted her worldview as “angry” and “elitist.” |
| “Over and over,” Ms. Warren responded in an email to supporters, “we are told that women are not allowed to be angry. It makes us unattractive to powerful men who want us to be quiet.” | “Over and over,” Ms. Warren responded in an email to supporters, “we are told that women are not allowed to be angry. It makes us unattractive to powerful men who want us to be quiet.” |
| Mr. Biden and Mr. Buttigieg have responded to criticism in different ways: Mr. Biden by dialing back some of his harshest language about Ms. Warren, and Mr. Buttigieg by acknowledging far more directly that he has work to do with voters who are not white. Whether they maintain those approaches on the debate stage, and whether voters find them convincing on these subjects, remains to be seen. | Mr. Biden and Mr. Buttigieg have responded to criticism in different ways: Mr. Biden by dialing back some of his harshest language about Ms. Warren, and Mr. Buttigieg by acknowledging far more directly that he has work to do with voters who are not white. Whether they maintain those approaches on the debate stage, and whether voters find them convincing on these subjects, remains to be seen. |
| Although the former cabinet secretary did not qualify for tonight’s debate in Atlanta, Mr. Castro said he has no plans of dropping out of the race and looks forward to “beating expectations” in the Iowa caucuses. | Although the former cabinet secretary did not qualify for tonight’s debate in Atlanta, Mr. Castro said he has no plans of dropping out of the race and looks forward to “beating expectations” in the Iowa caucuses. |
| In a phone interview, Mr. Castro criticized thresholds set by the Democratic National Committee for debate qualification. He said that by focusing on polling and donors with months to go before the Iowa caucuses, candidacies like his — which has been retooled to focus on social justice and systemic discrimination — have been unduly hurt. | In a phone interview, Mr. Castro criticized thresholds set by the Democratic National Committee for debate qualification. He said that by focusing on polling and donors with months to go before the Iowa caucuses, candidacies like his — which has been retooled to focus on social justice and systemic discrimination — have been unduly hurt. |
| “They need to be reviewed and they need adjustments,” Mr. Castro said of the rules. “It’s too easy for people to pump money to get onto the debate stage,” he added, though he declined to be specific. | “They need to be reviewed and they need adjustments,” Mr. Castro said of the rules. “It’s too easy for people to pump money to get onto the debate stage,” he added, though he declined to be specific. |
| Rejecting speculation that he would soon drop out of the race, Mr. Castro said, “We still have 10 weeks until the Iowa caucuses, and 10 weeks is 10 lifetimes in politics these days.” | Rejecting speculation that he would soon drop out of the race, Mr. Castro said, “We still have 10 weeks until the Iowa caucuses, and 10 weeks is 10 lifetimes in politics these days.” |
| Mr. Castro plans to watch the debate in his San Antonio headquarters, after spending the day touring black communities in Atlanta that are facing housing displacement. He said his focus on issues such as housing, police brutality and immigration has already “shaped the debate” and pushed other candidates to the left. | Mr. Castro plans to watch the debate in his San Antonio headquarters, after spending the day touring black communities in Atlanta that are facing housing displacement. He said his focus on issues such as housing, police brutality and immigration has already “shaped the debate” and pushed other candidates to the left. |
| When asked what has hindered his campaign, Mr. Castro said that voters and pundits are tied to a model of “electability” that hurts minority candidates. | When asked what has hindered his campaign, Mr. Castro said that voters and pundits are tied to a model of “electability” that hurts minority candidates. |
| “The challenge has been,” he said, “the deeply ingrained perception of who is the most electable against Donald Trump.” | “The challenge has been,” he said, “the deeply ingrained perception of who is the most electable against Donald Trump.” |
| He talked down those who said he’d make a good vice president. | He talked down those who said he’d make a good vice president. |
| “I’m running for president. And that’s what I’m focused on.” | “I’m running for president. And that’s what I’m focused on.” |
| One thing to watch for will be which of the 10 candidates onstage will be the first to invoke the name of Stacey Abrams, the failed 2018 Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia, who is popular across some of the party’s ideological divisions. | One thing to watch for will be which of the 10 candidates onstage will be the first to invoke the name of Stacey Abrams, the failed 2018 Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia, who is popular across some of the party’s ideological divisions. |
| Ms. Abrams, the 45-year-old former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, was tapped to deliver the Democratic response to the State of the Union this year and has said she is open to joining a 2020 ticket as vice president. | Ms. Abrams, the 45-year-old former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, was tapped to deliver the Democratic response to the State of the Union this year and has said she is open to joining a 2020 ticket as vice president. |
| Given the fact that the debate is in her home state, the question is how many candidates will seek to win over the crowd with a reference to Ms. Abrams. | Given the fact that the debate is in her home state, the question is how many candidates will seek to win over the crowd with a reference to Ms. Abrams. |
| Since the last debate, former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts has joined the race and the billionaire Michael R. Bloomberg has inched toward a run, including filing for the ballot in two states. While neither will be onstage, both will be part of the political calculus of those in the spotlight. | Since the last debate, former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts has joined the race and the billionaire Michael R. Bloomberg has inched toward a run, including filing for the ballot in two states. While neither will be onstage, both will be part of the political calculus of those in the spotlight. |
| It is hard not to view these late entrants as a judgment on the strength of Mr. Biden, who has occupied the moderate lane of the party. But a strong performance from him could send a message to Mr. Bloomberg. | It is hard not to view these late entrants as a judgment on the strength of Mr. Biden, who has occupied the moderate lane of the party. But a strong performance from him could send a message to Mr. Bloomberg. |
| The Patrick candidacy is also a statement on the other two black candidates in the race, Mr. Booker and Ms. Harris, whom Mr. Patrick sees as failing to successfully bridge the party’s racial and ideological factions. | The Patrick candidacy is also a statement on the other two black candidates in the race, Mr. Booker and Ms. Harris, whom Mr. Patrick sees as failing to successfully bridge the party’s racial and ideological factions. |
| One other big name not onstage: Hillary Clinton, who since the last debate has suggested that Ms. Gabbard was being “groomed” for a third party run, and that she is a favorite of the Russians. Ms. Gabbard, ever a debate wild card, has already gotten some political mileage out of the attack and could raise the issue herself. | One other big name not onstage: Hillary Clinton, who since the last debate has suggested that Ms. Gabbard was being “groomed” for a third party run, and that she is a favorite of the Russians. Ms. Gabbard, ever a debate wild card, has already gotten some political mileage out of the attack and could raise the issue herself. |
| This could well be the last time we’ll see Mr. Booker on a 2020 presidential debate stage. The New Jersey senator has not reached the threshold in any qualifying polls for December’s debate. Nor has he reached the 200,000-donor requirement, though an aide said he is close. | This could well be the last time we’ll see Mr. Booker on a 2020 presidential debate stage. The New Jersey senator has not reached the threshold in any qualifying polls for December’s debate. Nor has he reached the 200,000-donor requirement, though an aide said he is close. |
| Since it launched in February, the Booker campaign has been about love and hope, qualities that are in short supply for his presidential effort among Democratic primary voters. While he’s made a favorable impression in Iowa — especially among elected officials and county leaders — Mr. Booker has not demonstrated strong support among the public. | Since it launched in February, the Booker campaign has been about love and hope, qualities that are in short supply for his presidential effort among Democratic primary voters. While he’s made a favorable impression in Iowa — especially among elected officials and county leaders — Mr. Booker has not demonstrated strong support among the public. |
| Mr. Booker entered the campaign as an expected first-tier candidate. Dropping off the debate stage six weeks before the Iowa caucuses would be a disappointing end for a well-liked candidate. | Mr. Booker entered the campaign as an expected first-tier candidate. Dropping off the debate stage six weeks before the Iowa caucuses would be a disappointing end for a well-liked candidate. |
| Mr. Patrick says the first days of his newly announced presidential campaign have given him enough grass-roots signals to be confident: Voters are, in fact, open to his late arriving candidacy. | Mr. Patrick says the first days of his newly announced presidential campaign have given him enough grass-roots signals to be confident: Voters are, in fact, open to his late arriving candidacy. |
| “What I’m sensing is not some openness to someone new, but an openness to me,” Mr. Patrick said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I kept hearing that I’m pragmatic in South Carolina.” | “What I’m sensing is not some openness to someone new, but an openness to me,” Mr. Patrick said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I kept hearing that I’m pragmatic in South Carolina.” |
| Based on the rules from the Democratic National Committee, Mr. Patrick cannot participate in a debate until he secures several polls showing a baseline of support and hundreds of thousands of grass-roots donors. Instead, he is in Atlanta to meet with students at Morehouse College. The former governor said he has watched “every minute of every debate,” before today, and has decided to jump into the race because he sees a space for a uniting figure. | Based on the rules from the Democratic National Committee, Mr. Patrick cannot participate in a debate until he secures several polls showing a baseline of support and hundreds of thousands of grass-roots donors. Instead, he is in Atlanta to meet with students at Morehouse College. The former governor said he has watched “every minute of every debate,” before today, and has decided to jump into the race because he sees a space for a uniting figure. |
| Responding to questions, Mr. Patrick questioned two of the race’s biggest front-runners, Ms. Warren and Mr. Biden. Of Mr. Biden’s strong poll numbers with black people, Mr. Patrick said “I’ve thought all along that support was softer than it seems.” | Responding to questions, Mr. Patrick questioned two of the race’s biggest front-runners, Ms. Warren and Mr. Biden. Of Mr. Biden’s strong poll numbers with black people, Mr. Patrick said “I’ve thought all along that support was softer than it seems.” |
| He took issue with a line Ms. Warren has used in recent stump speeches — that if Democrats nominate a candidate without big ideas they will lose. Mr. Patrick zeroed in on the issue of health care, where Ms. Warren supports transitioning to a single-payer system. He supports a government run public option. | He took issue with a line Ms. Warren has used in recent stump speeches — that if Democrats nominate a candidate without big ideas they will lose. Mr. Patrick zeroed in on the issue of health care, where Ms. Warren supports transitioning to a single-payer system. He supports a government run public option. |
| “Every single one of us is talking about how to deliver universal health care. And it’s absolutely absurd to say that one person’s method is unambitious,” Mr. Patrick said. | “Every single one of us is talking about how to deliver universal health care. And it’s absolutely absurd to say that one person’s method is unambitious,” Mr. Patrick said. |
| Mr. Patrick will need significant financial investment to scale up a campaign that can win the nomination in a short time, which has led to some speculation that he’s entering the race to play spoiler to the progressives in the race or bring about a brokered convention. He laughed at the suggestion. | Mr. Patrick will need significant financial investment to scale up a campaign that can win the nomination in a short time, which has led to some speculation that he’s entering the race to play spoiler to the progressives in the race or bring about a brokered convention. He laughed at the suggestion. |
| “I’ve heard all of it and it’s gone in one ear and out the other,” Mr. Patrick said. | “I’ve heard all of it and it’s gone in one ear and out the other,” Mr. Patrick said. |
| “I can’t imagine why anybody would want to begin a process as grinding as this without wanting to win.” | “I can’t imagine why anybody would want to begin a process as grinding as this without wanting to win.” |
| Astead W. Herndon, Thomas Kaplan, Katie Glueck and Alexander Burns contributed reporting. | Astead W. Herndon, Thomas Kaplan, Katie Glueck and Alexander Burns contributed reporting. |