Democratic debate: Winners, losers, protests, arguments and all the key moments from Las Vegas

Follow the latest updates, as they happened

Buttigeig slams Trump and Limbaugh over family values

The six leading Democratic presidential candidates have have sparred on stage in Las Vegas last presidential primary debate before the Nevada caucuses, marking the most heated clash yet in the primary season

Finally joining the candidates who have been vying for a shot at unseating Donald Trump in the key early voting states is Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire White House hopeful who has gotten under the president’s skin in recent weeks thanks to a heavily-funded advertising spree. Mr Trump attacked the former New York City mayor as a “pathetic debater” ahead of tonight’s event, to which Mr Bloomberg replied: “Impeached president says what?”

But Mr Bloomberg's fellow Democrats all saw him as an apparent obvious target, and repeatedly attacked him for his wealth, and his decision to bankroll his own campaign and to skip the first few nominating states altogether (including Nevada).

Enjoying his status as front-runner, Bernie Sanders steered through the night with relatively few attacks on his campaign, and reliably stuck to his general message arguing against billionaires — including Mr Bloomberg.

It was Elizabeth Warren who may have stolen the show, though, with a heated attack on Mr Bloomberg early on for his use of NDAs in his business, which he refused to pull from women who might have accusations to be made against him.

The president wasn’t the only one lobbing attacks against Mr Bloomberg before the debate, either: as the Democrats prepared to spar, Ms Warren warned the billionaire she would use the debate to show how she handles an “egomaniac billionaire", along with several other candidates who said they would take on the former mayor.

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Key Points

• Warren slams Bloomberg over sexist remarks, and compares billionaire to Trump
• Klobuchar and Buttigieg spar over experience
• Biden is interrupted by protesters: 'You deported 3 million people'
• Sanders seeks to maintain front-runner status heading into Saturday caucuses

[19 February 2020 20:08 · Chris Riotta]

Hello and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the latest Democratic presidential debates in Las Vegas, Nevada. Stay tuned as we bring you the latest news, insight and analysis as the six leading candidates take the stage.

[19 February 2020 20:11 · Chris Riotta]

Donald Trump slammed billionaire presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg ahead of the debates, calling him a “pathetic debater” and once again using the nickname “Mini Mike” to describe the former New York City mayor. 

Mr Bloomberg replied to the president with a tweet of his own: “Impeached president says what?”

[19 February 2020 20:31 · Clark Mindock]

Bernie prepares for the attack

We're hours away from the debate tonight in Las Vegas, here's the latest tweet from Sanders, who is riding on front-runner status after two solid performances in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Take a look:

[19 February 2020 20:51 · Clark Mindock]

Tonight's schedule:

Things will kick off in Las Vegas at 9pm EST — which is where we'll be running a good portion of our coverage, in New York — and end about two hours later.

We have our chief US correspondent, Andrew Buncombe, working this story in Las Vegas on the ground.

Tonight will be a very interesting showing, with the candidates you've come to know — Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden — as well as Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire and former mayor of New York who has pumped some $400 million into his campaign.

We're looking forward to covering this and for you to be joining us.

[19 February 2020 21:21 · Clark Mindock]

Do you miss Andrew Yang? He's coming to a TV near you

Not tonight, and not during the debate, but Yang has signed on to be a political commentator on CNN, according to an announcement today.

Yang dropped out shortly after New Hampshire primary votes began to be tallied, after mounting what was seen as a surprisingly strong campaign (even if he failed to turn that into electoral success).

[19 February 2020 21:51 · Clark Mindock]

The Sanders surge

Hours before the debate tonight, a new poll by the Washington Post and ABC pegged Sanders in first place, as he rides a strong wave of support out of the first two nominating states.

He sits at 32 per cent, far ahead second-place Biden with 16 per cent. The former vice president is followed close behind by Bloomberg and Warren, with 14 and 12 per cent, respectively.

[19 February 2020 22:20 · Clark Mindock]

AOC blasts Bloomberg ahead of the debate tonight

The New York Democrat has endorsed Sanders, who will surely attack Bloomberg this evening.

Here's what Ocasio-Cortez had to say:

[19 February 2020 22:50 · Clark Mindock]

To stand on a podium or not? Apparently not, at least for Bloomberg

Trump seems to love attacking Bloomberg for his height. He has suggested he would need to stand on a platform during tonight's debate, for instance.

It appears as though he will not, though:

[19 February 2020 22:56 · Clark Mindock]

Trump expected to name new acting head of intelligence

The New York Times reports that Richard Grenell, a loyalist to the president, is to be named as the next director of national intelligence.

Mr Grenell is the American ambassador to Germany, and has been an outspoken as a political operative — including as a strong supporter of the president.

Should he be named to the post, he will take over rom Joseph Maguire, who has been in the acting director post since Dan Coats resigned last summer.

Mr Grenell would otherwise make history by being the first openly gay cabinet member.

[19 February 2020 23:20 · Clark Mindock]

Medicare for All and Green New Deal, what do Nevadans think?

According to a new poll out just hours before tonight's debate, they like those progressive targets.

The polling, by Data for Progress, appears to show that Nevadans are much more interested in taking on those issues than voters in earlier states like Iowa or New Hampshire.

“Ahead of the Nevada debates tonight, polling shows that an overwhelming 93% of Nevada likely Democratic caucus-goers support a Green New Deal. The popularity of the Green New Deal in Nevada surpasses even the strong enthusiasm in the earlier primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire,” reads a joint statement from Data for Progress, the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats.

“These results ahead Nevada demonstrate that the Green New Deal is popular among the diverse constituencies in the Democratic Party. It's a strong sign that running on the climate and jobs message of the Green New Deal is an integral part to electability and winning.”