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Everything You Need to Know About Sunday’s Democratic Debate

Andrew Burton/Getty Images

On Sunday, January 17, the three Democratic presidential candidates will gather in Charleston, South Carolina, for their fourth of six primary debates. Follow along at New Republic’s Minutes for live updates and analysis starting at 8:30 P.M. ET. The debate begins at 9 P.M.

NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt will moderate. NBC News’s chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell will also ask questions.

Viewers should expect to see some rigorous sparring between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, following Sanders’s rise in the polls and their recent battles over guns, health care, and regulating Wall Street. Clinton leads Sanders nationally by nine percentage points, according to RealClearPolitics’s poll data average, but they are much closer in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two contests in the primary calendar. Martin O’Malley trails far behind, with 2.3 percent support nationally. 

Here are some highlights of New Republic’s coverage of the candidates since the last debate in December.

Hillary Clinton

As the race tightens, Clinton needs to clarify her policy vision to win back support, writes Suzy Khimm. She used a recent campaign ad to rip Sanders on gun control, notes Laura Reston. President Barack Obama recently upped the stakes in the “war on coal,” and Clinton’s going to have to address it, says Rebecca Leber. Will she also address structural racism? Jamil Smith wonders.

Bernie Sanders

The Vermont senator could actually win this thing, but he’s not acting like he believes that, says Brian Beutler. He’s also going to have a hard time picking a health care fight with Clinton. He has fundamental differences with Clinton on financial reform, notes David Dayen, which his campaign highlighted in a recent ad, adds Laura Reston. And believe it or not, Sanders’s strategy isn’t as different from Donald Trump’s as you might think, writes Elizabeth Bruenig.

Martin O’Malley

After the last debate, Rebecca Leber made the case for taking the former Maryland governor seriously as a presidential candidate. He won’t win, but he has a purpose.