How did each candidate in the Democratic debate do?

Klobuchar, Booker, Buttigieg, Sanders, Biden, Warren, Harris, Yang, O’Rourke and Castro – all 10 hopefuls rated

The candidates gathered in Houston, Texas, for the latest Democratic debate represented the top tier of the large field campaigning for the party’s 2020 nomination. But how did each of them fare during a night of policy cut and thrust, some mutual admiration and also some caustic attacks – on each other and on Donald Trump.

Related: Biden clashes with Warren and Sanders in lively Democratic debate

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Democratic debate: the five key takeaways

Biden was Biden but despite a smaller field sparks failed to fly with Warren, while O’Rourke had a good night – as did Obama

The Democratic debate in Houston was a mix of smackdown, backslapping and policy gab-fest as the 10 top-tier candidates faced off against each other while at least 10 others were only able to watch from the sidelines, having failed to qualify.

Related: Biden clashes with Warren and Sanders in lively Democratic debate

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Democratic debate: Warren and Sanders clash with Biden over healthcare – live

The 10 candidates on stage in Houston offered competing visions based on Obamacare and Medicare for All

Joe Biden is taking a question on gun control and once again arguing he has the best (and certainly the longest) record on the issue. “I’m the only up here who’s ever beat the NRA,” the former vice president and senator said.

Biden then similarly applauded Beto O’Rourke for his efforts to help his hometown of El Paso heal from the mass shooting that killed 22. Biden originally referred to the former congressman as “Beto.” He then apologized and O’Rourke interjected, “Beto is good.”

In the midst of a discussion on race and criminal justice, Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot, has made this important point:

You know what else is racist? Preventing people from voting. There have been 29 presidential debates in 2020 & 2016 and no questions about voting rights

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Democrats condemn reported Trump plan to bar most refugees from US

  • Administration officials reportedly aim to slash admissions
  • Beto O’Rourke: ‘We need more refugees, not fewer’

Leading Democrats have condemned reported moves by the Trump administration to effectively bar refugees arriving from most parts of the world.

As reported by the New York Times, the administration plans to cut back on a decades-old programme that each year admits tens of thousands fleeing war, persecution and famine.

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Democratic 2020 hopefuls split over tackling climate crisis

Candidates warn of ‘irreparable damage’ in marathon town hall but can’t agree on how aggressively to tackle problem

Democrats vying for president revealed a fundamental split over how aggressively the US should tackle climate change in a seven-hour town hall meeting on Wednesday.

Bernie Sanders painted an apocalyptic future wreaked by the climate crisis and pledged to wage war on the fossil fuel industry. A high-energy Elizabeth Warren urged optimism for building a better America and the former vice-president Joe Biden, who has a pitched a more moderate proposal, said he would push other nations to recommit to stronger action.

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‘I am sorry for the harm I have caused’: Elizabeth Warren at Native American forum – video

The Democratic presidential candidate offered a public apology on Monday to Native Americans over her past claim to tribal heritage, directly tackling an area that has proved to be her biggest political liability. 'Like anyone who has been honest with themselves, I know I have made mistakes,' the Massachusetts senator said at the start of her appearance at the forum in this pivotal early voting state

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Warren and Sanders give rivals Bonnie and Clyde treatment during fiery debate

Analysis: pair were dominant at event showcasing Democratic party’s split personality, pitting progressives against moderates

Bonnie and Clyde. Mulder and Scully. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. On Tuesday night it was Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders who, defying predictions that they would turn on each other, instead formed a leftwing tag team against the forces of moderation at the latest Democratic primary debate on Tuesday.

Warren and Sanders stood centre stage in the ornate Fox Theatre in Detroit, had the most speaking time – more than 35 minutes between them – produced the best lines of the night (with the possible exception of self-help guru and long-shot candidate Marianne Williamson) and had all the appearance of incumbents fending off pesky challengers. Barack Obama’s party this isn’t.

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Democratic debates: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren among 10 candidates set to face off – live

Ten of the 20 candidates participating in the debates, which are hosted by CNN, will appear on the debate stage tonight in Detroit

The main attraction tonight is the duel on the left between septuagenarian senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. In football or soccer terms, it’s like a local derby. Could it turn nasty?

Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan, said: “The key $10,000 question is whether the friendship lasts for the two hours of the debate because they’re colleagues and they have not gone negative with each other on the campaign trail. When you get on the stage under the bright lights, it could certainly change.

“I think Sanders has the incentive to do that, frankly, because he fared much better in the last cycle. He’s slipping to almost single digits now. If anyone needs to make a move and have the focus on the campaign it’s Sanders and, by going negative against Warren, that could be the way.”

Kall, editor of the book Debating the Donald, added: “I think she would be hesitant to respond and we saw in the first debate there were many instances where she could have interjected herself forcefully into the debate but she kind of disappeared for an hour. So if she doesn’t respond, it could be successful for him and put some more spotlight on him, which has been lacking in the last several weeks or months of this campaign.”

The debate’s proximity to Flint, Michigan, has thrown a spotlight on the need for candidates to better flesh out their plans to ensure safe drinking water and fight environmental racism.

The facts are clear: climate change and pollution disproportionately harm low-income communities and communities of color — and are major contributors to ongoing economic and racial inequality.

Today, I’m releasing my plan to build a just and inclusive clean energy economy. pic.twitter.com/qfb7xznEJd

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Democratic candidates fail to challenge opponents or convey scope of climate crisis in debate

Presidential hopefuls mostly reiterated campaign talking points and policy proposals during seven minutes on climate discussion

The first Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday night spent around seven minutes on a discussion around climate change, exceeding the total time spent on the crisis during all of the 2016 general election debates.

Climate change is expected to feature more in the 2020 election than ever before, as experts offer unsparing warnings that the escalating crisis will deprive the poor of basic human rights. Still, it is not being discussed by most as a top-tier political issue.

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‘Warren’s to lose’: who won the first Democratic debate? | Panelists

Bold ideas on the debate stage in Miami – and an unexpected breakout star. Here’s the verdict from our panelists

Generously speaking, Democratic presidential candidates tonight spent a little less than 10 minutes after nearly an hour and a half had gone by answering a handful of direct questions about a climate crisis that could make large swathes of the planet horrifically uninhabitable by the end of this century. (NBC’s technical difficulties took nearly as long.) The best you can say is that tonight’s climate bit was still longer than the time spent on climate during the entirety of the 2016 debates.

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Democratic debates get underway as 2020 candidates go head to head – live

Ten Democrats begin debating each other tonight – will they attack the party’s frontrunner, Joe Biden, or sell their own vision for the future?

We’re less than ten minutes away! Here’s some things to know:

Related: Where do the 2020 Democratic candidates stand on the key issues?

Tonight, the first batch of 2020 presidential candidates will likely face questions about gun control. It’s an issue that many of them have been putting front and center.

So far, some gun violence prevention experts say, New Jersey senator Cory Booker has produced the most ambitious and comprehensive plan, including funding for local gun violence prevention strategies in communities burdened with daily gun violence, and endorsing federal licensing for gun ownership, a policy that Obama labeled out of the question just three years ago.

“The person that has had the most thoughtful approach, as well as the most robust approach, is Cory Booker,” said Dakota Jablon, director of federal affairs at the Coalition to Stop Violence, a gun violence prevention group.

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Democratic debates 2019: everything you need to know

20 presidential hopefuls go head-to-head in Miami on 26-27 June – but what will they discuss, and who needs it the most?

The Republican primary debates in 2015 featured 17 candidates – a number interpreted as unwieldy at best and, at worst, a bit ridiculous.

Well step aside, Republicans, because this year Democrats have gone one better. Or three better: over the evenings of 26th and 27th June, 20 presidential hopefuls will have it out on stage, as they attempt to sell themselves as the one Democratic candidate to take on Donald Trump in the 2020 US presidential election.

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Democratic 2020 candidates clash on healthcare, immigration and economy in first debate

Ten candidates took the stage for the first of back-to-back debates, and cast themselves in sharp contrast with Trump

Ten Democratic presidential candidates cast themselves in sharp contrast to Donald Trump in the first primary debate of the 2020 election on Wednesday night, even as they disagreed on how far left the next US president should lean.

The Democratic hopefuls took to the stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami for the first of back-to-back debates over two nights, which see the 2020 race kick-off in earnest and give the 20 candidates who qualified for the events a national platform that could help to clarify the leaders in the enormous and unsettled field.

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Elizabeth Warren gains momentum in the 2020 race plan by plan

The senator’s ‘I have a plan’ mantra has become a rallying cry as she edges her way to the top – but is it enough to get past the roadblocks of Biden and Sanders?

Plan by plan, Elizabeth Warren is making inroads and gaining on her rivals in the 2020 Democratic race to take on Donald Trump.

The former Harvard law professor’s policy heavy approach made an impression among activists at the She the People forum in Texas last month and was well-received at the California state party convention earlier this month.

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‘I won’t be silent’: Ilhan Omar answers Trump 9/11 attack

Congresswoman says rightwing vitriol cannot threaten her ‘unwavering love for America’ as president pushes video

In the face of attacks from Donald Trump, Republicans and rightwing media outlets, the Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar said on Saturday no one could “threaten” her “unwavering love for America”.

Related: Yemeni bodegas boycott New York Post over attacks on Ilhan Omar

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Joe Biden jokes about inappropriate touching complaints – live

Former vice-president makes joke at union event in Washington, while 20 states move to block funding for Trump’s border wall

A source tells CNN Donald Trump is willing to fight all the way to the Supreme Court to block a House Democratic request for his tax returns.

“This is a hill and people would be willing to die on it,” the official said.

California has filed its 50th lawsuit against the Trump administration. This one targets the feds’ withholding of data on the weakening of car emission standards, CNBC reports.

California files 50th lawsuit against Trump administration - Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom just announced state is suing fed govt "for withholding data on efforts to weaken vehicle emission regulations that place the health of millions of kids, families and communities at risk."

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#BreakUpBigTech: Elizabeth Warren says Facebook just proved her point

The platform briefly blocked some of Warren’s ads attacking it. Her response: ‘Curious why I think FB has too much power?’

Elizabeth Warren could not have asked for a better illustration for her point.

The US senator and Democratic candidate for president took aim at Facebook on Monday evening after the social network briefly blocked her campaign from running advertisements that just happened to call for breaking up Facebook.

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Elizabeth Warren is right – we must break up Facebook, Google and Amazon | Robert Reich

The titans of the new Gilded Age must be busted and the idea has bipartisan support. It’s time big tech was brought to heel

The presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren announced on Friday she wants to bust up giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon.

America’s first Gilded Age began in the late 19th century with a raft of innovations – railroads, steel production, oil extraction – but culminated in mammoth trusts run by “robber barons” like JP Morgan, John D Rockefeller, and William H “the public be damned” Vanderbilt.

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Elizabeth Warren launches 2020 bid with attack on ‘rigged politics’ – video

Senator Elizabeth Warren has officially launched her presidential campaign in Massachusetts, calling for a more equal society and an end to corruption. 'This is the fight of our lives,' she told supporters in the city of Lawrence, the site of a historic workers' strike in 1912 led by women and immigrants

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