Clinton, Sanders and O’Malley face off in Des Moines, Iowa
CBS adds national security to questions on familiar social issues
Minute-by-minute live debate coverage
Ongoing live blog coverage of Paris attacks and aftermath
1.24am GMT
The crowd gathers in Des Moines. Via the Des Moines Register:
Dem heavyweights in #Demdebate crowd include US Sens Claire McCaskill and Amy Klobuchar, philosopher Cornel West, strategist Donna Brazille.
Democrats will discuss the economy, national security, higher education and more. Tune in. #DemDebate. @CBSNews. pic.twitter.com/zeSpL6VkYa
1.06am GMT
Olivier Knox of Yahoo News poses 5 questions about Paris for Clinton, Sanders and O’Malley. Question 1:
1. How would your approach to the Islamic State differ from President Obama’s?
This is a question about policy, but it has significant political ramifications.
1.02am GMT
Why are the Democrats holding this debate on a Saturday night, when fewer people are likely to watch?
The Democratic forum last week fell on a Friday night.
In an interview, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said the weekend dates are because four of the DNC’s six debates are on broadcast networks, which are hesitant to move blockbuster prime-time shows like “NCIS” or “Scandal” — with guaranteed high ad dollars — in favor of a debate.
[...]
12.56am GMT
Some Bernie Sanders fan art at the debate, via Dan Roberts:
12.52am GMT
The WiFi password for media at the last Republican debate was StopHillary. Tonight it’s 13MillionNewJobs:
[kisses fingertips] pic.twitter.com/n44Knarwtr
12.49am GMT
Iowa Democrats are increasingly worried the state party may not be prepared for the caucuses on 1 February, putting Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status at risk, reports Ben Jacobs (@bencjacobs):
With a little more than 80 days left, a number of top Democrats in the state expressed their concerns to the Guardian that the party has not done the work necessary to ensure that the caucuses, run solely by the Iowa Democratic party, will go smoothly.
Iowa Democrats described growing anxiety over a state party they said was drifting and unprepared to organize in 1,681 precincts to ensure the result of the contest to pick Iowa’s choice for the Democratic presidential nomination is promptly reported.
Hillary: 78 paid Iowa organizers Sanders: 71 O'Malley: 34 Trump: 12 Bush: 11 Cruz: 9 Rubio: 4 https://t.co/ZUUt2lsEu0
12.42am GMT
In advance of tonight’s debate, each of the Democratic candidates released statements on the Paris attacks. Here are excerpts:
12.38am GMT
The Bernie Sanders campaign team have described any suggestion that he does not want to talk about foreign policy as “nonsense”, after reports emerged of a backroom row over changes to tonight’s debate format, reports Guardian Washington bureau chief Dan Roberts (@robertsdan) in Des Moines:
Yahoo News reported an allegedly heated discussion between campaign aides and CBS executives over their decision to increase the foreign policy component of the Democratic debate in the wake of the Paris attacks.
Team Sanders don’t deny that conversations took place over various format tweaks but insist they were “very minor technical discussions” and they are “fine” with the changes now they know what they are.
12.36am GMT
We’ll hear tonight what the Democratic candidates have to say about the attacks and what should be done.
Republican candidates have issued statements on the attacks today, ranging from a condemnation of president Barack Obama’s decision to take more refugees from Syria to the diagnosis, by Florida senator Marco Rubio, of “a civilizational conflict with radical Islam”.
Ted Cruz led Republican criticism of White House policy on Syria on Saturday, in light of the devastating terror attacks in Paris, deriding President Obama’s pledge to take more refugees and calling for intensified action against Islamic State. Marco Rubio took a different tack, however, in declaring “a civilizational conflict with radical Islam”.
“This is not a grievance-based conflict. This is a clash of civilizations,” Rubio said in a video released by his presidential campaign. “This is a clash of civilizations. And either they win, or we win.”
Cruz and presidential candidates including Donald Trump, Bobby Jindal and Mike Huckabee seized on the news to demand drastic action on immigration, a hot-button issue on the campaign trail. Rubio, however, has made foreign policy a central focus of his run for the White House. In that light, he said the attacks in Paris were “a wake-up call”.
“They literally want to overthrow our society and replace it with their radical, Sunni Islamic view of the future,” the Florida senator said. “They do not hate us because we have military assets in the Middle East.
12.31am GMT
USA Today reports that tonight’s debate will begin with at least 20 minutes on terrorism and the Paris attacks.
Campaign source tells me @CBSNews has pledged at least first 20 mins of #DemDebate in Des Moines will be on terrorism #ParisAttacks
12.30am GMT
Our ongoing live blog coverage of the Paris attacks and their aftermath is here.
12.16am GMT
The Guardian team for tonight’s debate includes Dan Roberts and Sabrina Siddiqui, attending in Des Moines, and contributions from Ben Jacobs and opinion editor Megan Carpentier.
Here’s a line from Dan and Ben’s debate preview, about whether Bernie Sanders’ campaign is running out of steam…
Two thirds of the way into one of the most unlikely political insurgencies of modern times, the once electrifying campaign to elect Bernie Sanders as Democratic nominee for president is looking for a new jolt of energy from Saturday’s second television debate.
But with poll numbers flatlining in the face of Hillary Clinton’s invigorated electoral machine, those close to team Bernie privately concede the momentum they really need to recapture can only come now from victories in early-voting states – particularly Iowa and New Hampshire…
11.54pm GMT
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the second Democratic presidential debate, convening tonight in Des Moines, Iowa – the first state to vote.
CBS News, which is hosting the debate with the Des Moines Register, has announced that moderators will focus on terrorism and national security issues, a day after co-ordinated attacks in Paris killed at least 129 people. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
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