Democratic debate: Protesters interrupt Joe Biden during his closing segment
10 presidential hopefuls took to the stage in Houston
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The leading 10 candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination took to the debating stage, bringing heavyweights in the field Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders all on to the same stage for the first time.
The presidential hopefuls tackled healthcare, gun control, education and more, with several heated clashes between the rivals.
In the last section of the debate, former Vice President Biden was interrupted when he went to answer a question about his “most significant professional setback”.
Although it was unclear what the protest was about, people in the hall have said the demonstrators chanted: “We are DACA recipients. Our lives are at risk.”
Earlier in the debate Mr Biden had been questioned about deportations under the Barack Obama administration, a question which he deftly dodged.
He came under particular fire from Julian Castro, both over who could claim the mantle of being the true successor to Barack Obama and, controversially, over Mr Biden's memory.
Beto O'Rourke focused on gun violence and said he would institute a mandatory buyback scheme for assault rifles, saying: "Hell yes, we are going to take your AR-15s."
Tonight’s candidates were: Mr Biden, Ms Warren, Mr Sanders Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, and Andrew Yang.
Catch-up on events as they happened below.
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Here's everything you should know ahead of tonight's debates:
Just two hours from showtime, here is a look at where these candidates stand in the polls, according to an aggregate from Real Clear Politics.
From top to bottom:
- Joe Biden - 26.8 per cent
- Bernie Sanders - 17.3 per cent
- Elizabeth Warren - 16.8 per cent
- Kamala Harris - 6.5 per cent
- Pete Buttigieg - 4.5 per cent
- Andrew Yang - 3.0 per cent
- Beto O'Rourke - 2.8 per cent
- Cory Booker - 2.3 per cent
- Amy Klobuchar - 1.2 per cent
- Julián Castro - 1.0 per cent
Mr Trump is speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, and says he will have to watch tonight's Democratic debates as a "re-run".
He predicts that it will come down to Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders.
Mr Trump is taunting Joe Biden a bit, saying he believes he should be able to win the Democratic nomination if he "doesn't make any big mistakes".
Mr Trump now claiming he has "tremendous African American support" and that his support among African Americans has reached an "all time high".
Mr Trump claims that his rollback of regulations has led to a resurgence of the US economy.
"I think our country is in one of the best conditions that it has ever been in," he said.
Mr Trump says that he respects "all of them" when asked if he respects any of the candidates debating tonight.
"You see that? I'm getting much better as a politician. You'd never expect that answer," he said.
Mr Trump says he will make a deal with Democrats on gun control "if they want to make a deal".
But, he also claimed that he believes Democrats may just be trying to take away people's guns.
Greetings from the fabulous city of Houston, and the even more wonderful Texas Southern University where tonight's debate is taking place
How am I doing, did you ask? Fine, thank you. Several rainstorms, bouts of humidity, a bit of battle with the traffic to get here, but all in a day's work for readers of this live blog!
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