--- title: Democratic Debate: A Hillary Clinton-Bernie Sanders Guide description: It's Democratic debate day in Las Vegas. Here's what to watch for: canonical: https://time.com/4071285/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-cnn-first-guide/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-13T13:32:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:16.861Z article:section: Politics og:title: 7 Things to Watch for in the Democratic Debate og:description: A viewer's guide og:url: https://time.com/4071285/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-cnn-first-guide/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55bb77f5fec9e9f6/6988680dab6d7718816a6a78/demo-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: DEMO-DEBATE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 7 Things to Watch for in the Democratic Debate twitter:description: A viewer's guide twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55bb77f5fec9e9f6/6988680dab6d7718816a6a78/demo-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 7 Things to Watch for in the Democratic Debate by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Oct 13, 2015 1:32 PM UTC  Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Martin O'MalleyMichael Dwyer—AP; Charlie Neibergall—AP: Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Oct 13, 2015 1:32 PM UTC It’s[ Democratic debate day in Las Vegas](http://time.com/4071085/democratic-debate-issues/). Here’s what to watch for: 1\. Can Hillary Clinton reclaim her undisputed front-runner status? A polling slump over her email scandal and the rise of Bernie Sanders in early state polling has pierced the former shell of inevitability around the former Secretary of State. Sharing a stage with her rivals will be her clearest opportunity to distinguish herself from the pack once again. 2\. Will Sanders rise to Clinton’s level? The Vermont Senator has been a critic from the outside, riding a wave of populist discontent in the Democratic Party, but he has yet to establish himself as a truly credible president. The debate may determine whether he’s a real alternative to Clinton, or just forcing her to cater more to her left flank. 3\. [Martin O’Malley](http://time.com/4069056/martin-omalley-democratic-debate/) faces a do-or-die moment on the debate stage. He’s campaigned harder and longer than any Democrat in the race, but has struggled under weak fundraising and just-as-weak polling. Positioning himself as a more progressive alternative to Clinton, he’s struggled to catch fire amid Sanders’ rise. If he can’t connect with voters tonight, it’ll likely mark the beginning of the end for his campaign. 4\. Who are [Lincoln Chaffee and Jim Webb](http://time.com/4070231/democratic-debate-jim-webb-lincoln-chafee/)? The two former lawmakers have earned a place on stage simply by virtue of being declared candidates. Neither has extensively campaigned and their name-recognition is close to zero among Democrats. They’re not going to win the nomination, and tonight, they need to provide a reason for an invitation to the next debate. 5\. Who will strike first? Clinton and the other top two Democrats have been dancing around each other for months as they’ve rolled out conflicting policy proposals and aides have taken pot-shots and one another. But to date they’ve rarely engaged each other head-on. While most expect a more substance-heavy debate—as opposed to the personality-driven slugfest that were the two first Republican contests—it’s in all the Democrats’ interests to strike some blows against their rivals, which is one way of showing life on the debate stage. The open questions are who strikes first, and who lands the sharpest punch. 6\. Joe Biden won’t be on stage, but will he be missed? The VP’s very-public mulling of a presidential run has extended for more than two months, and while he’s still incredibly popular with Democrats, will they be happy with their field tonight or be left wanting more? 7\. How will Democrats approach President Obama? They’ll all fawn over Obamacare and credit his handling of the economy when he first took office, but expect to see differences over immigration, trade policy, and a range of foreign policy issues from Afghanistan to Syria to Russia. Each candidate is seeking to avoid the label of running Obama’s third term, but breaking too far from him may frustrate the president’s still-loyal base of supporters. ### See Hillary Clinton's Evolution in 20 Photos  Teenager: Hillary Rodham poses in her 1965 senior class portrait from Park Ridge East High School in Illinois. AP  Law School Student: Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham pose for a snapshot at Yale Law School in 1972\. They married in 1975. Clinton Presidential Library  Mother: Clinton poses with her husband, Bill, then in his first term as governor, with their week-old daughter, Chelsea, on March 5, 1980. Donald R. Broyles—AP  Campaign Companion: Clinton celebrates her husband's victory in a Democratic runoff in Little Rock, Ark. on June 8, 1982. AP  Arkansas First Lady: Clinton is seen in her inaugural ball gown in 1985. A. Lynn—AP  Political Wife: Clinton celebrates her husband's inauguration in Little Rock on Sept. 20, 1991. Danny Johnston—AP  Dignitary: Clinton receives an honorary law degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., on May 30, 1992. Chris Ocken—AP  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a meeting during the presidential campaign for her husband in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 4, 1992. Bill Sikes—AP  First Lady: Clinton appears at the MTV Inauguration Ball at the Washington Convention Center on Jan. 20, 1993. Shayna Brennan—AP  Second-Term First Lady: Clinton attends the Inaugural Ball after her husband was sworn in to a second term on Jan. 20, 1997. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  New York Senator: Clinton speaks at a press conference with female Democratic senators in Washington on June 21, 2006. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Committee Member: Clinton listens to the testimony of Lt. General David Petraeus to the Senate Armed Forces Committee at a hearing on Capital Hill in Washington on Jan. 23, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Candidate: Clinton holds a a campaign event in Portsmouth, N.H., while running for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 2, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Jan. 2, 2008. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Secretary of State: Clinton kisses President Obama at a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 24, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton joins Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Dec. 3, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Jan. 23, 2013. J. Scott Applewhite—AP  Author: Clinton attends a signing memoir, "Hard Choices," at a Costco in Arlington, Va., on June 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Grandmother: Clinton holds her granddaughter Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City on Sept. 27, 2014. Office of President Clinton/AP  Once and Future Candidate: Clinton speaks at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, on Sept. 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4071285/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-cnn-first-guide/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4071285/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-cnn-first-guide/"},"headline":"7 Things to Watch for in the Democratic Debate","datePublished":"2015-10-13T13:32:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:16.861Z","description":"A viewer's guide","url":"https://time.com/4071285/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-cnn-first-guide/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55bb77f5fec9e9f6/6988680dab6d7718816a6a78/demo-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55bb77f5fec9e9f6/6988680dab6d7718816a6a78/demo-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"DEMO-DEBATE","caption":"Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley","creditText":"Michael Dwyer—AP; Charlie Neibergall—AP: Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4071285/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-cnn-first-guide/","name":"7 Things to Watch for in the Democratic Debate"}}]}] ```