Democratic debate: Latest news and analysis after Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden battle in first one-on-one showdown

Pandemic frames a conversation-style debate in unprecedented election cycle

Bernie Sanders dealt a blow as rival Joe Biden takes Michigan primary win

After a stunning series of wins, Joe Biden has seized the mantle of frontrunner in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race. Though Bernie Sanders' path to the nomination has narrowed, he persists on his campaign to upset the status quo.

As the coronavirus pandemic grips the US, the candidates met n their first one-on-one Democratic debate of this election cycle.

Without an audience, the former vice-president faced off against the Vermont senator after Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar all dropped out following Super Tuesday.

Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard remains in the race but did not qualify for the latest debate.

The debate gave the senator his biggest and best chance yet to frame his signature progressive policies to a national audience against the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis and its revelation of the kinds of national failures that his platform aims to address on a systemic and fundamental level.

Mr Biden, on the other hand, used the moment to highlight his front-runner status. As the clear delegate leader in the field, and without a stage of contenders competing for the spotlight, the former vice president was more focused and in-control than in previous debates.

"This is bigger than any one of us", he said.

He underlined their ideological differences, saying voters are "looking for results" and "not a revolution" — what would be a drawn-out political fight — while Mr Sanders stressed the "dysfunction" in government that has led to the inequities Americans are faced with in the midst of the crisis.

Both men supported picking a woman vice president, and both men rallied around defeating the incumbent in November by committing to campaign for the nominee.

Though Mr Biden's past — potential cuts to Social Security, wavering on abortion rights, supporting the Wall Street bailout, super PAC support — came back to haunt him, the debate fell away from substantive policy decisions and came back to the coronavirus threat, and whether the candidates are prepared to meet it.

The debate was originally scheduled to take place in Phoenix, Arizona but has been moved to Washington DC, days before another round of crucial primaries scheduled for 17 March: Florida (with 219 delegates), Illinois (155), Ohio (136) and Arizona (67).

There is one more Democratic debate in the primary calendar which will take place in April, as long as both Mr Biden and Mr Sanders are still in the race. A date and location for that debate have not yet been finalised.

Follow live coverage as it happened

Key Points

• Candidates do an 'elbow bump' over handshake
• What would you do about coronavirus right now?
• Sanders traps Biden on Social Security
• On climate change: Time to unite against 'common enemy'

[16 March 2020 02:02 · Alex Woodward]

And that's a wrap on the debate.

[16 March 2020 02:13 · Alex Woodward]

Andrew Yang is out of the running-mate race, folks:

[16 March 2020 02:32 · Alex Woodward]

Team Trump and Republicans are hammering Biden, the presumptive nominee, for his stance on abortion and immigration, if you want a preview of the next few months.

Meanwhile, Sanders' campaign is declaring victory in tonight's debate — which was among his best shots yet on a national stage to relate his platform, now that there are fewer people on the stage (and no audience).

And no word from the president on Twitter.

[16 March 2020 02:40 · Alex Woodward]

How do we feel about an audience-free debate?

There are obviously fewer distractions, but the moderators didn't do much moderating when things got off the rails.

Biden lobbed a few attacks on Sanders that didn't get a fact-check, to the point where Sanders told viewers to Google his claims. CNN et al should've taken that time to clarify or follow up rather than let them yell at one another, which appears to tune people out completely.

[16 March 2020 02:45 · Alex Woodward]

This isn't the first time we'd heard this, but it's the most condensed version of Biden's side of the debate — and why voters are turning out to vote, despite supporting Sanders' platform.

[16 March 2020 02:50 · Alex Woodward]

That's it for our live coverage of this debate.

Thank you for reading. Stay tuned with The Independent for more.