What to Know Going Into Tonight's Democratic Debate
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The candidates will likely debate issues surrounding the recent international climate change agreement brokered in Paris and how to handle threats of terrorism on United States soil, which have gained attention since the Paris and San Bernardino attacks.
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While Clinton survived her email scandal hearings and has been rising in the polls, Bernie Sanders faces new challenges after his own scandal about a data breach. On Wednesday, Sanders fired a staffer who had allegedly accessed voter data confidential to Clinton’s campaign. The Democratic National Committee decided to refuse Sanders access to the Democratic Party’s information about likely voters, which is crucial for any political candidate. Sanders then filed a lawsuit against the DNC and eventually gained back access to the database.
Following the scandal, Sanders’s poll numbers dropped one point, and Clinton now leads with 55.9 points. Trailing at 30.8 points, Sanders also faces the difficulty of building a stronger foreign policy stance and matching Clinton’s area of expertise. O’Malley has failed to gain double digits as he remains with 3.7 points, according to the RCP Average.
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Viewers can watch the Democratic Debate on ABC at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. For those unable to watch on TV, they can follow social media updates marked with #DemDebate and watch via livestreaming on abcnews.go.com/Live.
Reach contributor Rebecca Cheng here.