NBC says last Democratic debate 3rd most watched in history

The democratic presidential candidates have their final showdown, before voters have their say in Iowa. She did, however, have her talking points ready on rival Bernie Sanders’ record on the issues.

There was symbolism in the event organized by the NAACP in front of a statehouse that flew the Confederate battle flag until it was taken down previous year. The event was replete with Obama’s influence: as Clinton’s two main challengers marched to the capitol, hundreds of faithful chanted the president’s campaign mantra, “Fired Up.

Ms Clinton worked to associate herself with Mr Obama, claiming credit for her role in the run-up to the Iran nuclear deal as well as praising the healthcare law.

On health care, Mr. Sanders released his plan for a government-run single-payer plan just hours before the debate, and used his opening statement to call for health care “for every man, woman and child as a right”.

She said jokingly that it would start first at the kitchen table and see how it goes from there. But Monday ended with dueling rallies where each Democratic presidential hopeful made the argument for where they are the most electable in a general election.

Clinton maintained a tight smile throughout that exchange, and nodded as Sanders said he preferred to concentrate on policy matters.

Sanders, then a member of the House, voted in favor of the bill – along with 376 other members of the House.

Clinton defended the Affordable Care Act, saying that the discussion needs to shift away from replacing the health care law with a single-payer system.

“I think Secretary Clinton knows what she says is very disingenuous”, said Sanders.

On the other hand, Senator Sanders highlighted that the ACA had left no positive outcomes. She noted that Sanders voted against the Brady Bill not just once, but five times. “Guns go into national parks”, said Clinton.

Without getting into the details of such a heavy, problematic lift, what Clinton did Sunday was take a new theory of the primary race for a spin: Having been thumped by the unexpected Obama in 2008, she’s beginning to sound like someone eager to carry out his third term.

Sanders dismissed the idea that he’d endanger Obama’s hard-won victories, insisting: “No one is tearing this up”.

Sanders called the attack that he wanted to repeal Obamacare “nonsense”, adding “we are going to move on top of that to a Medicare-for-all system”.

“So if somebody were to win Iowa and New Hampshire, it definitely puts momentum, it puts the wind at their backs, and these are people that have a lot of strength going into SC and Nevada and even more so, Super Tuesday”, said Espinoza.

While Clinton continues to comfortably lead national Democratic primary polls, Sanders has been leading by big margins in New Hampshire, which is next door to his home state of Vermont.

SC may be the place where this contest to pick the party’s nominee is decided on February 27th: it is the only state among the first three where Clinton still has a commanding lead. But Clinton has the backing of most of Obama’s close-knit political operation, as well as many senior administration officials, offering the clearest indication of the president’s own views.

Still, they gained respect for her during her tenure as secretary of state and see her as the Democrat most likely to protect Obama’s domestic and foreign policy legacy.