Seven Democrats are about to duke it out days ahead of the New Hampshire primary — and days after the Iowa caucus fiasco.
Friday's debate, the eighth of the 2020 Democratic primary, will take place at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire ahead of Tuesday's primary. The usual crop of contenders will take the stage: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, and businessman Tom Steyer.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg won't be joining this time, although recent changes to the debate rules suggest he may soon.
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The match-up pundits are keeping the closest eye on is that of Sanders and Buttigieg, who are nearly tied in the Iowa caucuses with 100 percent of precincts reporting; Buttigieg is very narrowly leading in state delegate equivalents, although as inconsistencies are found in the reported results, the deadline for campaigns to request a recanvass or recount has been extended.
Biden is also in need of a strong debate performance following a disappointing fourth place showing in Iowa. "I expected to do better," Biden said of the Iowa caucuses earlier this week. "And I expected that our organization would perform better."
Friday's Democratic debate, which will begin at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and is expected to last three hours, will air on ABC, and it can be streamed live on YouTube. Brendan Morrow
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