The top ten Democratic candidates for President took the stage in Houston, Texas, for a one-night event aired on ABC. For the first time in any of the debates up to this point, all the top polling candidates were on stage at the same time including former vice president Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Below you will find a direct embed of the debate and links to alternate sources where the full video will be available for viewing.
Debate Details
Air Date: Thursday, September 12, 2019
Location: Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas
Moderators: George Stephanopoulos, David Muir, Linsey Davis, and Jorge Ramos
Full Debate Video
The video below comes courtesy of ABC News via Facebook. The full debate video can also be viewed on YouTube.
Transcript: Third Democratic Debate Transcript
September Debate Candidates
These ten candidates participate in the third Democratic debate, in order on stage from left to right:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Sen. Cory Booker
Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Sen. Bernie Sanders
Former VP Joe Biden
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Sen. Kamala Harris
Businessman Andrew Yang
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke
Former Hud Secretary Julian Castro
Debate Analysis
The third Democratic debate started with a three-way brawl over healthcare policy. Joe Biden went on the offense early against the “Medicare-for-all” plans from Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Biden tried to be more aggressive at the prior debates, but this was the first time his points seemed to land, putting Sanders and Warren on their heels over the question of tax increases to pay for their plans.
From there, the discussion became more heated over Biden’s defense of the Affordable Care Care under President Obama. At one point, Julian Castro accused Biden of forgetting a statement he made minutes ago, taking a clear swipe at the former vice president’s age.
The ongoing question of how much Biden can be tied, and tries to tie himself, to the Obama administration was also a hotly debated topic. Biden held his own during the fray and he clearly came to play a much stronger game than prior debates.
These short paragraphs don’t do the event justice and we will have further analysis coming out later today.
Next Democratic Debate
The next Democratic debate is scheduled for two nights, on October 15 and 16, set for a venue in Ohio. The Democratic National Committee has not yet named the broadcast partner or a specific venue. So far, 11 candidates have qualified for the October debate, the fourth debate in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Follow the 2020 Democratic Debate schedule page for all the upcoming details.
