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Fourth Debate: CNN/New York Times
Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 in Westerville, OH.

Photo: CNN

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8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET at Otterbein University in Westerville, OH.

Sponsor: CNN/New York Times.

Candidates: Biden, Booker, Buttigieg, Castro, Gabbard, Harris, Klobuchar, O'Rourke, Sanders, Steyer, Warren, Yang.

Moderators: CNN anchors Erin Burnett and Anderson Cooper and New York Times national editor Marc Lacey.

Audience: Determined by the DNC.

Broadcast: "Exclusively on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, and stream on CNN.com's homepage and NYTimes.com's homepage. In addition, the debate will be available across mobile devices via CNN's and New York Times' apps for iOS and Android, via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Android TV, SiriusXM Channels 116, 454, 795, the Westwood One Radio Network, Alexa Amazon, National Public Radio and stream on Facebook."

Format: 75 seconds to answer questions and 45 seconds for rebuttals. No opening statements.

Overview: The twelve candidates on stage made this the biggest presidential primary debate in history (the previous record was eleven (>)).

There were many strands coming together in the lead up to this fourth debate. On Sept. 24 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced launch of an impeachment inquiry stemming from President Trump's phone call with the president of Ukraine. Trump's decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria has increased instability in an already volatile region and was much in the news. This debate was Sen. Bernie Sanders' first major appearance after his heart attack. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, seen many as a (or the) frontrunner, was being challenged on her support for Medicare for All, including by Sen. Michael Bennet and Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

As a (or the) frontrunner Warren sustained a bevy of questions, many about how Medicare for All would be paid for, and her response was not as sharp as it should have been given that these attacks were clearly coming. In one key exchange, moderator Marc Lacey asked "you have not specified how you're going to pay for the most expensive plan, Medicare for all. Will you raise taxes on the middle class to pay for it, yes or no?" After Warren avoided a direct response, Lacey followed up. Warren stated, "Costs will go up for the wealthy. They will go up for big corporations. And for middle-class families, they will go down." Buttigieg, next to speak, declared, "No plan has been laid out to explain how a multi-trillion-dollar hole in this Medicare for all plan that Senator Warren is putting forward is supposed to get filled in."

Warren spoke for a total of more than 22 minutes, five to six minutes more than Biden, while Klobuchar tallied the third most speaking time. The debate marked a significant shift for Buttigieg who adopted a much more assertive approach than in the prior debates. Steyer, in his first debate appearance, had the least total speaking time, a bit over seven minutes.

Warren

Biden

Klobuchar

Sanders

Buttigieg

O'Rourke

Harris

Booker

Yang

Castro

Gabbard

Steyer

ABC News

22:32

17:30

13:53

13:20

13:04

13:02

12:24

11:19

8:54

8:39

8:09

7:20

CNN

22:58

16:27

13:14

13:04

12:57

13:13

12:24

11:45

9:37

8:25

8:21

7:12

The debate attracted 8.3 million viewers on CNN and 9.4 million live streams. The live stream comprised 4 million total live stream starts on CNN and The New York Times’ digital platforms and 5.4 million total live stream starts on The New York Times and CNN Facebook pages.

Post-Debate | Video (2) | Transcript