3:51
Tom Steyer just invoked a prominent supporter of Joe Biden in the state of South Carolina, referencing a story from the Charleston Post and Courier that uncovered a large payment his campaign made to state Rep. Jerry Govan, the Chair of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus. That report alleges that Steyer's campaign paid Govan more than $43,000 to be a senior advisor to his campaign, an amount much higher than the normal salaries of Steyer's top staffers.
In that story, state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a prominent support of Biden in the state and a bundler, is quoted as saying: \"[Govan] told me he was with Joe Biden until Mr. Moneybags showed up...This is what happens when billionaires get involved, whether its Donald Trump or Tom Steyer. They just buy things. They don’t have to persuade anybody, they just buy them.”In Biden's answer tonight, he made it clear he has talked to Harpootlian and he has apologized.
\"I think you should come over and disavow the statements that this man made that were openly racist, that were wrong, and the legislative black caucus is against. I'm asking you to join us and do the right thing,\" Steyer said to Biden.
\"I've already spoken to Dick Harpootlian, and he in fact is -- was -- is -- I believe is sorry for what he said,\" Biden responded.
ABC News' Johnny Verhovek reported.
“Tom Steyer has his moment, seizing the spotlight with a passionate call for diversity: “We have the most diverse party. We have a very diverse country. We have a very diverse party. The heart and soul of this party is diversity,” he said. “The question we have is how are we getting that diverse group of people to the polls?” Joe Biden is probably the candidate with the most riding on getting that diverse group of people to the polls, hoping his strength with African American voters will help deliver him a much-needed win in South Carolina,” ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce said.
“Race comes up 90 minutes in debate,” ABC News “Nightline” co-anchor Byron Pitts noted.
Throughout the 2020 contest, issues dealing with race and discrimination have permeated a number of heated discussions among the candidates. From South Bend, Indiana Mayor's Pete Buttigieg's low polling Among African Americans to reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans, to candidate plans on criminal justice reform, the presidential hopefuls have sparred on the issues.
In a debate with only one person of color, in a field with waning diversity, Tom Steyer called out his rivals for the lack of discussion on race.
\"We're in trouble,\" he began. \"And so the question is going to be, look at these people, who can pull together the Democratic party? And let me say this, we have not said one word tonight about race. Not one word. Are you kidding me? We have the most diverse party. We have a very diverse country. We have a very diverse party. The heart and soul of this party is diversity. Black people, Latinos, AAPI people, Native Americans, and white people.\"
\"But for goodness' sake, pull it together,\" he said.
\"No one would denounce socialism, no one would have taken out [Iranian General] Soleimani,\" The Trump campaign's communications director told ABC News. \"This is a clinic on how to weaken America.\"
The campaign, following the debate closely, continues to post counter-messages on its Twitter feed.
ABC News' Will Steakin reported.
\"Look, I've lived in an America in which abortion was illegal, and rich women still got abortions, and that's what we have to remember about this,\" Warren said. \"States are heading toward trying to ban abortion outright. The Supreme Court seems headed in exactly that direction as well. If we are going to protect the people of the United States of America and we are going to protect our rights to have dominion over our own bodies, then it's going mean we simply can't rely on the courts.\"
She takes it a step further, adding, \"it is time to have a national law to protect the right of a woman's choice.\"
“This is Amy Klobuchar’s best debate. She’s hit Buttigieg hard, and taken on Bernie to good effect as well,” ABC News Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran said. “And she’s done it while delivering her message—that she is the most pragmatic, optimistic, centrist candidate on that stage. Probably too little, too late. And Klobuchar wasted long months struggling to shed her in-the-weeds, legislative diction (a common DC condition I call “senatoritis”) and find a truly national voice. But she is shining here tonight.”
The one candidate who faced early criticism for his stance on abortion, Joe Biden, told the crowd in Manchester, N.H., that he would have a litmus test on abortion when it comes to nominating judges to the Supreme Court.
\"Yes, look. Here is the deal. A litmus test on abortion relates to the fundamental value of the constitution. A woman does have a right to choose...If you call that a litmus test it is a litmus test,\" he said.
Chief National Affairs Correspondent Tom Llamas asks Warren if she could change one thing about America's gun culture, what would it be, and she responds saying she'd have lawmakers \"treat it like the public health emergency it it is.\"
\"We can't get a vote in the United States Senate because it is the gun industry that continues to call the shots. Until we attack the corruption in Washington, the influence of money on campaigns and lobbying, we're not going to be able to meet your promises,\" Warren said.\"Until we are that we're willing to roll back the filibuster, the gun industry is going to continue to have a veto and we'll never make the changes,\" she adds. \"We have to be willing to build a future that works not for a gun industry but that work for the rest of America and protects our children.\"
When Bernie Sanders, who often touts his consistency throughout his long career, was asked about his record in the 1990s when he voted against background checks and also against a waiting period for purchase of a firearm, he addressed his change of heart.
\"Let me also say that in 1988, I probably lost a race for Congress and we only have one Congress person in the whole state, because in 1988 I said that we should ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons in this country. That was 30 years ago,\" Sanders said pushing against the notion that he wasn't consistent on guns. \"I am very proud that today I have a D-minus voting record from the NRA.\"
\"The world has changed and my view has changed,\" he added.
At the halfway mark, here's who's talking the most in ABC News' Democratic debate.
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been holding the floor longer than any rival at Friday night's ABC News Democratic debate -- the first of the 2020 primary contest. This may reflect is presumed strong first-place finish in the Iowa contest and headwind heading into the New Hampshire primary. Candidates on stage have directly addressed Buttigieg on a number of issues aimed at highlighting what they claim is his relative inexperience.
When asked how he would address America's opioid epidemic when resources are already sparse, Yang said the federal government is fiscally responsible for helping people.
\"This is not a money problem, fundamentally, this is a human problem, but money cannot be the obstacle. This is something that happened on the government's watch,\" Yang said.
\"We have someone in the White House that told over 15,000 lies,\" Klobuchar said, after outlining her plan to hold opioid manufacturers accountable. \"I will get this done and it is personal for me,\" in a nod to her father who struggled with alcoholism.
“Great and powerful responses from Sanders, Warren and Steyer for the need for strategy, diplomacy and cooperation with our allies rather than relying primarily on a military response,” ABC News Political Contributor Yvette Simpson said.
As part of the debate, WMUR-TV Political Director Adam Sexton and WMUR-TV News Anchor Monica Hernandez, from ABC News' New Hampshire affiliate, asked the Pete Buttigieg a question from a New Hampshire voter on his policies on the decriminalization of all drugs.
\"What I am calling for is that we end the use of incarceration as a response,\" he responded. \"This does not mean that it will be lawful to produce or distribute those kinds of harmful drugs.\"Another question on the issue was thrown to Andrew Yang, who was asked how he would make sure treatment is available for all overdose patients.
\"That's what we have to change,\" he said. \"I’ve heard heart breaking stories from family is here in New Hampshire that have been destroyed, torn apart by the opioid epidemic. You have to look at the companies that profited to tune of tens of billions of dollars in profits of essentially blood money. As president, we will take back those profits and put them to work right here in New Hampshire so that if you are seeking treatment, you have resources to be able to pursue it.\"
In the lead up to early voting, Bernie Sanders has often slammed Joe Biden's vote supporting the Iraq War on the trail.
As the fierceness of the primary content ramps up, Sanders once again took aim at Biden's 2002 vote in order to contrast himself with the his rival, saying, \"If I might, like Joe and others, I also heard the arguments in terms of the war in Iraq from [George W.] Bush, from [Dick] Cheney, from John Bolton, from the whole administration. I listened very carefully. And I concluded that they were lying through their teeth. And I not only voted against that war but I helped lead the opposition.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/abcdebate-4-gty-ps-200207_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
“World News Tonight” Anchor and Managing Editor David Muir asks Steyer about an attack ad Steyer's campaign is running in New Hampshire which attacks Buttigieg's experience. It's the first negative ad of the cycle that is paid for by a candidate and invokes another candidate's name of the cycle.
Steyer doesn't take his chance to pitch himself as Commander-in-Chief and instead, shifts his focus to climate change.
\"This view of the world that our response should be military is driven by our gigantic military complex and ignores the biggest problem we face in the world, which is climate change. It cannot be solved with guns and tanks and planes. The only be solved with diplomacy and allies and interaction with other countries.\"
During an answer on foreign policy, Joe Biden, as he often does on the campaign stump, leaned into his long record on foreign policy, saying, \"I've been to every part of Afghanistan, not in combat like my friend has, but in a helicopter and/or on a vehicle. In every part of it as a senator and vice president. Here's what I saw. There's no possibility of uniting that country. No possibility at all of making it a whole country.\"
The debate then turned to Buttigieg, who asked if as commander-in-chief would he have better judgment than Biden, to which he replied by taking aim at Biden's complicated record, \"I believe that I have the judgment to help us get through these situations where obviously the vice president made the wrong decision when it came to such an important moment in our foreign policy.\"
Former Vice President Joe Biden weighed in on U.S. service members who suffered traumatic brain injuries following Iranian missile attack: \"What'd the president say? He said, headaches...that's all they are. This guy doesn't deserve to be commander-in-chief for one more day!
Joe Biden on U.S. service members who suffered traumatic brain injuries following Iranian missile attack: \"What'd the president say? He said, headaches...that's all they are. This guy doesn't deserve to be commander-in-chief for one more day!\" https://t.co/93QauZSK6e #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/0fOeUT1nOl
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 8, 2020
With the most speaking time thus far, according to ABC News' partners at FiveThirtyEight, Buttigieg is on fire.
Much like the results from Iowa, Sanders is following closely behind.
Yang, the lone candidate of color, looks to be at the bottom of the pack -- but there's more time when ABC News returns from the break.
“World News Tonight” Anchor and Managing Editor David Muir asks Buttigieg, who is the only candidate on stage with military experience, if he would have called for the killing of Solemani as Commander-in-Chief.
\"There is no evidence that that made our country safer,\" Buttigieg said. \"It's also the case that if we learned nothing else from the war in Iraq, it's that taking out a bad guy is not a good idea if you do not know what you are doing.\"
\"This president has insulted the intelligence community, but they put their lives on the line to gather the information that will help the decision-maker evaluate whether or not something like that is justified. I don't think he even reads it.\"
Addressing the day's headlines that the White House's has fired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Buttigieg adds, \"Not only punishing a veteran today but pardoning war criminals in a way that undermines the sense of good order and discipline and military honor. We deserve a better Commander-in-Chief.\"
Pete Buttigieg on strike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani: \"If we learned nothing else from the war in Iraq, it's that taking out a bad guy is not a good idea if you do not know what you are doing.\" https://t.co/1KRijhR9Ie #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/AxnoAHxPgA
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 8, 2020
“This discussion on holding Trump accountable is GREAT for Democrats -- all of them are demonstrating a commitment to fighting Trump that Democrats are hungry to see,” ABC News Political Contributor Yvette Simpson said. “This is the fight that Democratic voters want to see from their candidates.”
“Elizabeth is not offering anything different from what she offered voters prior to Iowa,” ABC News Contributor Rahm Emanuel said. “She is not cognizant of the stakes.”
With their eyes on the debate, The Trump campaign is calling out Democrats for \"hesitating\" to say they were concerned about a Democratic Socialist becoming president.\"STUNNING! Watch every leading Democrat hesitate to say they are concerned about having a Democratic Socialist at the top of the Democratic ticket,\" they tweeted.
Trump and his campaign have continued to hammer Sanders for the political label, with Trump even calling him a \"communist\" at a recent event.
His campaign has continued firing off a string of counterpoints to the Democrats as well, especially targeting Buttigieg, who they call a \"human weather vane.\"
ABC News' Will Steakin reported.
“Good answer by Mayor Pete on Hunter Biden,” ABC News Contributor Chris Christie said.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/abcdebate-buttigieg-klobuchar-1-rt-ps-200207_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
In a rare moment of unity amid a heated primary contest, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg firmly defended former Vice President Joe Biden, amid Republican attacks on his family over his son, Hunter Biden's role with the Ukrainian company Burisma.
When asked if he thought there is a danger for the Democratic party to nominate a candidate who is under the threat of investigation, Buttigieg responded, \"No. We are not going to let them change the subject. This is not about Hunter Biden or Vice President Biden or any Biden. This is about an abuse of power by the president. The vice president and I all are competing but we've got to draw a line here.\"
No evidence of illegal wrongdoing has been found against Hunter Biden or his father regarding his ties to Ukraine.
A moment later, after Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar was asked if Sanders could gain support from any Republicans.
“I like Bernie just fine. We actually worked together on a number of things,” Amy Klobuchar said when asked about Hillary Clinton saying Sanders did nothing and nobody likes him, but adds “we’re better off” with someone who won in red districts. https://t.co/93QauZSK6e #demdebate pic.twitter.com/jw2mfuAuqq
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 8, 2020
Biden walked over to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and gave him a hug.
“Mayor Pete’s big showing in Iowa is making him the big target tonight. Even billionaire Tom Steyer is going after him,” ABC News Chief National Affairs Correspondent Tom Llamas said. “Senator Amy Klobochar had the sharpest attack comparing Mayor Pete’s popularity to President Trump’s in 2016: “we have a cool newcomer in the White House and look where it got us.””
ABC News Live Anchor Linsey Davis asks Andrew Yang about him past comments that a president's conduct shouldn't be investigated. Yang has said, if elected president, he would consider pardoning a President Trump, if convicted after office.
\"If you look around the world, the countries that have thrown past presidents into jail have generally been developing countries. That's a pattern that once you establish is very hard to break,\" Yang said. \"Most Americans don't care about what a particular individual did. They care about their family's well being, their town, their community.\"
\"We should not fall onto a policy that's been disastrous in other countries.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/abcdebate-audience-gty-ps-200207_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
\"Donald Trump is the not the cause of all of our problems and we're making a mistake when we act like he is. He is a symptom of a disease that has been building up in our communities for years and decades, and it is our job to get to the harder work of actually curing the disease,\" said tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang who has argued on the trail that his outsider status is the antidote.
“Mayor Pete’s message on needing a person who can meet this moment was a powerful contrast to those who have been in D.C. for years,” ABC News Chief Political Analyst Matthew Dowd said.
\"Here's how we're going to win: We're going to force this president to stand on that debate stage next to somebody who actually lives in a middle class neighborhood in the industrial Midwest in the exact kind of community that he pretends to speak for but turns his back on,\" said former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who at 38, is the youngest candidate on stage.
\"If we want to beat this president we have to move on from the playbook we have relied upon in the past and unify this country around a new and better vision.\"
From the wings of the stage, Tom Steyer, a billionaire and political outsider, received a loud applause for railing against a divided party as Democrats are eager to oust President Trump.
\"I have heard this conversation on this debate stage from these people now every single debate, and they're all right. Everybody on this stage is better on economic justice and health care than anybody in the Republican Party and a million times better than Donald Trump,\" he began.
\"That is not the question in front of us today,\" he continued, before adding that, \"We need people with experience. That's why I'm worried about Mayor Pete. That's the issue in front of Democratic voters...If we win, we can get the right thing, Bernie. I am with you. But we've got to win or we are in deep trouble and we keep not talking about the facts.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/abcdebate-18-as-gty-200207_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
“Bernie Sanders started the debate with a plea for unity — a vow to support the nominee “no matter who wins this damn thing” — but the others are attacking him like he is the front runner and time is running out to take him down,” recounts ABC News Chief White House Correspondent John Karl.
“Ouch. Double barrel attack on Buttigieg from Klobuchar. Bringing up the cartoon comment a dig at his age as well as inexperience?” ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz said.
Age and stamina has been an undercurrent throughout the election season.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, one of four senators in the contest who raced between Washington, D.C. and the campaign trail during the impeachment trial, thanked her colleagues who she said had 'courage' to support convicting President Trump.
\"Meeting the moment. We had a moment the last few weeks...and that moment was the impeachment hearings,\" she said. \"There was a lot of courage you saw from only a few people. There was courage from Doug Jones, our friend in Alabama who took that tough vote. There was courage from Mitt Romney, who took a very, very difficult vote.\"
“After a poor showing in Iowa, Klobuchar has a lot on the line tonight and she came to play,” ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega said of the Minnesota lawmaker. “Trying to seize her moment in the spotlight as a moderate and introduce herself to NH voters. “59 is the new 38,” she said with a smile.”
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/abcdebate-17-as-gty-200207_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
“Joe Biden has shied away from direct attacks in previous debates, no more,” ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce said of the former vice president who appears to have come in fourth place in the problem-plagued Iowa contests. “Biden tonight is clearly sharpening his attacks. He’s already going after Bernie Sanders over Medicare For All, hitting him on a lack of specifics, saying if you ask Sanders how much his plan will cost he said “go figure.” Biden is trying underscore his experience tonight, saying he “busted his neck” getting Obamacare passed.”
\"Look, I freely admit that if you're looking for the person with the most years of Washington establishment experience under their belt, you got your candidate, and of course it's not me. The perspective I'm bringing is that of somebody whose life has been shaped by the decisions made in the big white buildings in Washington, D.C.,\" the former South Bend, Indiana mayor said. \"We need a perspective that will allow us to leave the politics of the past in the past, turn the page, and bring change to Washington.\"
\"Politics of the past were not all that bad,\" Biden responds. \"I don't know what about the past of Barack Obama and Joe Biden was so bad.\"
Buttigieg returned with: \"Those achievements were phenomenally important because they met the moment. But now we have to meet this moment. And this moment is different.\"\"We have to be ready to turn the page and change our politics before it's too late.\"
Amid a heated exchange on healthcare, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar slammed a slate of her Democratic rivals in an effort to differentiate her candidacy from the others.
\"I keep listening to this same debate, and it is not real,\" she said on the debate over health care. \"It is not real, Bernie, because two-thirds of the Democrats in the Senate are not on your bill and because it would kick 149 million Americans off their current health insurance in four years. And let me say what else. Elizabeth wants to do it in two years. And Pete, you sent out a tweet just a few years ago that said affirmatively you are for Medicare for All for the ages. So I would like to point out that worship is taking a position, looking at things and sticking with them.\"
“Joe Biden, if he is going to win tonight, needs to stop the process arguments and present a vision,” ABC News Chief Political Analyst Matthew Down said. “His entire first answer was on process.”
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/klobuchar-steyer-abcdebate-gty-ps-200207_hpEmbed_19x12_384.jpg\")
“Sanders clearly the main target so far,” ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega said. “Taking hits from all sides forced to defend his stance on socialism. And he came ready to fight back.”
“What did Mayor Pete just say? My goodness, he uses more words to say nothing than anyone on that stage,\" ABC News Contributor Chris Christie said.
Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg pivoted away from a direct hit on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, when asked about the label of socalism, saying, \"I'm not interested in labels. I'm not interested in what Republicans are going to say. I'm interested in the style of politics that we need to put forward to actually, finally turn the page.\"
\"So the biggest risk we could take at a time like this would be to go up against that fundamentally new challenge by trying to fall back on the familiar or trying to unite this country at a moment when we need that kind of unification when our nominee is dividing people with a politics that said if you don't vote all the way to the edge, it doesn't count,\" he continued.But when pressed if he is talking about Sanders, the other possible winner in Iowa, Buttigieg said \"yes.\"
\"Because we've got to bring as many people as we can into this process. Look, all of us have been saying that we can build the majority that it's going to take in order to win. But the process of actually proving it is now underway,\" he said.
\"And now it comes to New Hampshire, a state that thinks for itself, is not going to be told what to do by anyone and that has a very independent streak that is going to respond to those who are reaching out in a politics of addition and inclusion and belonging. Not one that beats people over the head and said they shouldn’t even be on our side if we don’t agree 100 percent of the time,\" he added.
But Sanders dismissed Buttigieg's first line of attack, responding with his own swipe, \"Needless to say, I've never said that. But let me tell you what I do say. The way you bring people together is by presenting an agenda that works for the working people of this country, not for the billionaire class.\"
ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos asks Biden how he'll unify the country, and he takes a aim at Sanders and Medicare-for-All, an issue that has been a particular dividing line for moderate versus progressive candidates in the race.
\"Bernie said tough bring people together, and you have to have medicare for all, but Bernie said -- and he said he wrote the damn thing -- but can't say what the damn thing is going to cost,\" Biden said. \"Who do you think it going to get the passed? I busted my neck getting Obamacare passed. I know how hard it is.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/abcdebate-5-gty-ps-200207_hpEmbed_23x13_384.jpg\")
\"First let me say, America, it's great to be back on the debate stage,\" tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang said on his return, after failing to quality for the DNC's January debate in Iowa. He is the only candidate of color left in the Democratic race for president-- a dwindling which has been a source of criticism both of the DNC's debate qualifying rules process and former candidates.
Last debate, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders sparred over the possibility of a woman winning the presidency. ABC News Chief Global Affair Correspondent Martha Raddatz said it looks like Senator Warren is putting that fight behind her: “Warren putting Bernie fights behind her? First thing she said is she and Bernie are friends” she said.
For three of the seven candidates, the debate and Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary could be a final make-or-break moment for their campaigns as the field will likely winnow after more contests.
For three of the seven candidates, the #DemDebate and Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary could be a final make-or-break moment for their campaigns as the field will likely winnow after more contests. https://t.co/CoZ1zefbOD
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 8, 2020
ABC News' Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos asked all the candidates on stage if any of them are concerned about having a democratic socialist at the top of the Democratic ticket?
Amy Klobuchar's hand shot up, taking aim at Bernie Sanders' self-imposed label of \"Democratic Socialist.\"
\"Bernie and I work together all the time, but I think we are not going to be able to out divide the divider in chief,\" she said. \"I think we need someone to head up this ticket that actually brings people with her instead of shutting them out...And truthfully, Donald Trump's worst nightmare is a candidate that will bring people in from the middle, the people that are tired of the noise and the nonsense and they are tired of the tweets and the mean stuff and they are looking for someone else. I would submit that that is me.\"
\"We got to bring young people in the political process,\" former Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said when asked how to counter Trump's hit on Democratic socialism. \"I'm very proud that in Iowa we won the popular vote by 6,000 votes, but what was most significant is we increased voter turnout for young people under 29 by over 30%.\"
\"Young people came out in higher numbers [in 2016] than they did during Obama's historic 2008 campaign, and if that happens nationally we're going win and defeat Trump,\" he added.
Despite the Iowa caucuses delivering a split decision between former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden took on his expected fourth place finish in the first-in-the-caucus state.
When asked what risk Iowa Democrats missed, a nod to his remark that Democrats are taking too big a risk if they nominate Sanders Buttigieg, Biden said, \"Oh, they didn't miss anything. This is a long, a long race. I took a hit in Iowa and I'll probably take a hit here.\"
\"No matter what, I'm still in this for the same reason,\" he continued. \"We have to restore the soul of this country.\"
The candidates are now taking the stage.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/stage-abcdebate-gty-ps-200207_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
\"The race is on, the first votes have been cast, and tonight, the candidates are here,\" ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos said. \"Our New Hampshire debate starts right now.\"
The Democratic debate is now underway.
The ABC News #DemDebate is starting right now.
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 8, 2020
Follow along for live updates and tune in on @ABCNewsLive: https://t.co/TbQJqxjrKn
The moderators are in place and the candidates are backstage. As a reminder:
The debate will be moderated by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos, “World News Tonight” Anchor and Managing Editor David Muir and ABC News Live Anchor Linsey Davis. They will be joined in questioning by WMUR-TV Political Director Adam Sexton and WMUR-TV News Anchor Monica Hernandez.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/abcdebate-01-as-rt-200207_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
The following candidates will appear on stage, from left to right as viewed by the audience:
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
Former Vice President Joe Biden
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Businessman Tom Steyer
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/abcdebate-32-as-rt-200207_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
\"Joe Biden made a fundamental, flawed strategy, which is why he's in the position he's in,\" ABC News Chief Political Analyst Matthew Dowd said breaking down the former vice president's fourth place finish in Iowa and track for a potential third place finish in New Hampshire. \"You can no longer present yourself as the most electable candidate.\"
/>.@matthewjdowd calls Joe Biden's electability argument a \"flawed strategy.\"
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 8, 2020
\"The problem with an electability argument...You have to win races.\" https://t.co/93QauZSK6e #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/rhoDnRLoTt
World News Tonight” Anchor and Managing Editor David Muir offers insight into how local leaders see the debate.
“Local party leaders are calling this the most consequential debate they’ve ever had ahead of the New Hampshire primary, given the mess after the Iowa caucus; given the fact there’s no real front-runner.”
.@DavidMuir on ABC News #DemDebate: “Local party leaders are calling this the most consequential debate they’ve ever had ahead of the New Hampshire primary, given the mess after the Iowa caucus; given the fact there’s no real front-runner.” https://t.co/93QauZSK6e pic.twitter.com/0nuRpNGSWd
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 8, 2020
Check out these great shots of candidates' supporters braving the winter weather to show their support.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/supporters-abcdebate--gty-ps-200207_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
And here too.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/supporters-2-abcdebate-gty-ps-200207_hpEmbed_3x2_384.jpg\")
\"This is going to be the most consequential New Hampshire primary debate in history,\" Raymond Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said.
Friday's Democratic debate, hosted by ABC News and its Manchester, NH-based affiliate WMUR-TV, caps a tumultuous political week that included the highly contentious and deeply partisan impeachment trial of President Trump and the problem-plagued Iowa caucuses.
Without a clear front-runner, the debate in New Hampshire is the last chance for Democrats to make their case before the first-in-the-nation primary there next week.
ABC News will also be collaborating with Apple News for the event. For the first time, Apple News will provide real-time updates during a live television news event. While watching the debate on ABC News, viewers can go to the Apple News app on their iPhones and iPads to get real-time reporting, analysis and explainer guides from ABC News’ top correspondents and experts.
Read more about this unique viewing experience here.
\"What I would be focused on tonight is can Pete Buttigieg show that he's real?\" ABC News Contributor Chris Christie said, adding that attention will be on the former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor following his performance in Iowa. \"More than just play defense, Pete Buttigieg has to explain to people tonight why he should be the nominee, why he's the best person to take on Trump. I don't know if he's made that case yet.\"
/>.@GovChristie: \"What I would be focused on tonight is, Can Pete Buttigieg show that he's real?\" https://t.co/3ReeqOCv5u #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/0ix6Hu3Bvw
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) February 8, 2020
Per the Biden campaign, Joe and Jill Biden's guest at tonight's debate in Manchester, New Hampshire will be Stephanie Oulette, a Gold Star sister whose brother was killed in the line of duty while serving in Afghanistan.
Marine Cpl. Michael Ouellette of Manchester was killed after an improvised explosive device detonated underneath him while he was patrolling in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 22, 2009. Cpl. Ouellette continued to lead his squad by directing fire from his riflemen and calling in the ambush over the radio, despite his mortal wounds. Ouellette succumbed to his injuries as he was evacuated from the battlefield. His mother, Donna Ouellette, was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously in 2010.
ABC News' Johnny Verhovek reported.
President Donald Trump's big-dollar fundraising vehicle Trump Victory raised at least $25 million on Friday after more than 300 allies of the president gathered at Mar-a-Lago for a donor \"call day,\" two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Among the bundlers that made calls on Friday to raise money for the president are President Trump's family members -- Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Lara Trump -- as well as his current and former campaign officials -- Kimberly Guilfoyle, David Bossie, Corey Lewandowski and RNC chair Ronna McDaniel.
ABC News' Will Steakin and Soorin Kim reported
The Buttigieg campaign updates their fundraising numbers, telling ABC News they’ve raised $4 million since Tuesday at 12:01am. $1 million was raised in the last 24 hours. The campaign said 33% of that is from 30,000 new donors. Because of this new influx of cash, the campaign said they’ll be launching paid digital ad programs in Nevada and South Carolina beginning tomorrow.
ABC News' Justin Gomez reported.
The matchup, hosted by ABC News, WMUR-TV, and Apple News, comes only four days after the Iowa caucuses and less than a week before Granite State voters head to the polls on Tuesday -- marking one of their last opportunities to pitch a decisive electorate on why they should be the nominee in July.
Here is the podium order for the qualifying candidates, from left to right as viewed by the audience:
The Democratic Debate which airs from 8 p.m. (EST) to 11 p.m. (EST) will air live nationally on the ABC Television Network and locally on WMUR-TV.
ABC News will livestream the debate on ABC News Live featured on Apple News, Roku, Hulu, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV, Xumo, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and the ABC News site and mobile phone apps.
WMUR-TV will also livestream the debate on www.WMUR.com and WMUR's mobile app.
ABC News' Quinn Scanlan contributed to this report.
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