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The ninth Democratic presidential debate is set for Wednesday in Las Vegas, and it will feature a new billionaire on the stage.
While Mike Bloomberg qualified to make the debate stage for the first time, Tom Steyer, the other billionaire in the race who's been a frequent presence at the Democratic debates, did not.
The debate is the last before the Nevada caucuses on Saturday.
FOLLOW LIVE: Updates and analysis from the Las Vegas Democratic debate
Here's what you need to know:
What time is the Democratic debate?
The two-hour debate, which is being hosted by NBC News, MSNBC, Noticias Telemundo and The Nevada Independent, is being held at the Paris Theater in Las Vegas. The debate start time is 9 p.m. ET.
The event has five moderators — "NBC Nightly News" and "Dateline NBC" anchor Lester Holt; NBC News political director Chuck Todd, moderator of "Meet the Press"; NBC News chief White House correspondent Hallie Jackson, host of "MSNBC Live"; Noticias Telemundo senior correspondent Vanessa Hauc; and Jon Ralston, editor of The Nevada Independent.
Candidates will have 1 minute 15 seconds for answers and 45 seconds for follow-ups at the moderators' discretion.
Who made the stage?
Six candidates qualified for the debate — former Vice President Joe Biden; former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg; Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
There were two routes to qualification — hit 10 percent in four different national polls or 12 percent in two Nevada and/or South Carolina polls, or win a pledged national convention delegate in Iowa or New Hampshire.
Biden, Sanders and Warren hit both benchmarks. Bloomberg qualified because of polling, and Buttigieg and Klobuchar got in with delegates. Steyer, who made the stage at the previous five debates, fell short on both avenues.
Where to watch the debate?
The debate will air live on NBC News and MSNBC, and it will stream live on NBC News NOW on OTT devices, NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, the NBC News mobile app, NBC News' and MSNBC's Facebook pages and online at The Nevada Independent. It will also air live in Spanish on Universo, as well as the Noticias Telemundo mobile app and website and Noticias Telemundo's Facebook page.
NBCNews.com will also live blog the debate, including fact checks and analysis.
When is the next round?
There are three more Democratic debates, including another one this month, ahead of the South Carolina primary Feb. 29. That debate, being held Feb. 25 in Charleston, South Carolina, is co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute.
The final two debates are in March and April.
Updated at 1:15 p.m. ET Thursday
A former vice president, four senators, a representative, a former governor, a mayor and a pair of entrepreneurs walk onto a stage ... where 10 other candidates tried to get their messages across to voters on Wednesday night.
Millions of television viewers are getting their first extended look at the historically sprawling Democratic primary field over two nights in Miami this week.
The field is so large that the Democratic National Committee and NBC News split it into two 10-person debates, with the second round from 9 to 11 p.m. ET on Thursday, airing on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo.
There are half as many moderators as there will be candidates onstage each night: NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie, Telemundo and NBC Nightly News anchor Jose Diaz-Balart, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd and MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow.
While watching the debate, you can follow along with live fact-checking and analysis at NPR.org, with many NPR reporters covering politics, health care, foreign policy, immigration and more. (Check out our live reporting on the first night here.)
Desperate to avoid the 2016 Republican primary field's "undercard" debate stages, the Democratic National Committee and NBC divided the candidates into two groups, those polling at 2% or above and those polling below 2%. Through random drawing, the candidates in each group were evenly split between the two nights.
The system left Warren as the lone representative of the five top-polling candidates on Wednesday night. The other four — former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg — will all appear on the Thursday debate stage.
Also on Thursday's stage will be Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, California Rep. Eric Swalwell, writer and spiritual guru Marianne Williamson and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
Candidates will have to be succinct: The debate's rules grant 60-second answers and 30-second follow-ups. There will be no opening statements. Each night will offer some chances for candidates to catch their breath — four commercial breaks among five segments during each two-hour event.
Here are the lineups for each night of the debate, along with analysis of their core messages by NPR's Domenico Montanaro. (Can't see the graphic below? Click here.)
Democratic presidential hopefuls took the stage together for the fifth time Wednesday night as the top contenders jockey for position and the flagging candidates look for a breakout moment.
CNBC tweet: Watch the debate live here.
The 2020 presidential primary debate runs from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET in Atlanta. The event, co-hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post, features 10 contenders for the Democratic nomination.
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.
- South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii
- Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
- Billionaire activist Tom Steyer
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
- Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
The presidential hopefuls quickly faced questions about the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump following the Wednesday testimony of Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. They also addressed taxes, health care, child care and criminal justice.
Read more coverage from the debate:
Elizabeth Warren pushes her wealth tax plan as a way to unite the country during Democratic primary debate
Joe Biden says he would let Justice Department decide whether to prosecute Trump if he is elected
The qualifying standards for debates have grown tougher as the race inches closer to the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses in February. Seventeen Democratic candidates remain in the race, and hopefuls including former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., find themselves banished from the debate stage.
(L-R) Democratic presidential hopefuls New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Representative for Hawaii Tulsi Gabbard, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, Mayor of South Bend Pete Buttigieg, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, California Senator Kamala Harris and tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang arrive for the fifth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season co-hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia on November 20, 2019.
Though nominating contests start in less than three months, the field continues to morph as some Democrats worry about the current contenders' ability to beat Trump in next year's general election. Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick jumped into the race earlier this month.
Ex-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is also considering whether to enter the fold.
Biden, Warren and Sanders have dominated both national and early state polls during most of the primary. Buttigieg has started to gain more ground in recent surveys of Iowa, which could open him to more attacks from competitors.
As she gained a foothold as one of the race's clear leaders last month, Warren started to face more skepticism from her rivals. Biden and Buttigieg have targeted her plan for "Medicare for All" and appear poised to do so again on Wednesday night.
At the same time, Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., find themselves slumping in the polls. Harris recently redirected her campaign resources to Iowa as she struggles to keep up with the top tier of candidates.
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