MANCHESTER, N.H., Feb. 4 (UPI) — Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will go mano e mano Thursday evening in their first debate since the Iowa caucuses.
Now that former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has exited the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sanders and Clinton will have their first head-to-head debate. MSNBC will host the debate in Manchester, N.H., at 9 p.m. EST. It will be livestreamed on NBCNews.com and MSNBC.com.
The two nearly tied on Monday, with Clinton seizing the day by a hair’s breadth margin. Wednesday night, they appeared at a town hall hosted by CNN where both of them appeared to be spoiling for a fight.
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Sanders attacked Clinton’s Wall Street ties and her vote for the Iraq war, while Clinton criticized Sanders’ remarks on whether or not she was “progressive” enough.
Thursday’s debate is the first of four brand news debates sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee. Without the additions, Sanders and Clinton would have only had two more chances to debate before the end of primary season.
With just days left before the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, Sanders holds a comfortable 30-point lead over Clinton in the state. However, he faces challenges down the road. Good showings in predominantly white states like Iowa and New Hampshire boost Sanders’ momentum among white Democrats, but do little to chip away at Clinton’s lead among black and Latino voters. Those voting blocs will be a challenge for Sanders in the Nevada and South Carolina primaries in weeks to come.
On the flip side, Clinton has catching up to do when it comes to appealing to younger voters. According to Iowa caucus entrance polls, Sanders does very well with voters under 30. Clinton is solid among voters over the age of 45.
Both candidates are expected to start firing shots across the field. As the Republican field has dwindled to nine candidates — who are set to debate just two days from now — attacks are expected to shift from Donald Trump to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who finished first in the Iowa caucuses.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who finished third, is seen as the more “establishment” Republican of the three, and has garnered significant support in recent days from Republicans. No doubt Democrats will take aim at him as well.