What To Expect From Thursday's Democratic Debate With Only 7 Candidates Facing Off

Businessman Andrew Yang, who has propelled his campaign for the 2020 Democratic nomination with a proposal for universal basic income, reportedly planned to challenge Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the issue of Social Security in the sixth presidential debate Thursday.

Yang, who has proposed giving $1,000 a month to every U.S. adult as the major tenet of his campaign, plans to criticize Warren’s proposed increase of $200 a month in Social Security payouts as insufficient, the Hill reported, quoting sources.

“Social Security is a lifeline, but millions of seniors have to keep working just to get by,” Yang says in a digital ad expected to debut after the debate in Los Angeles, which will involve Yang, Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar, South Bend (Ind.) Mayor Pete Buttigieg and billionaire Tom Steyer -- a much smaller field than the nearly two dozen candidates who participated in the first debate in June.

“My proposal? Give every American $1,000 a month. That’s in addition to current Social Security benefits, making it the largest increase seniors will receive in history. Big corporations make billions in profits while paying nothing in taxes. It’s time to rewrite the rules to make them pay their fair share so all Americans can have the future they deserve.”

The debate, hosted by NPR and Politico, is set to begin at 8 p.m. EST at Loyola Marymount University, with Judy Woodruff, Amna Nawaz and Yamiche Alcindor of PBS and Tim Alberta of Politico asking questions. The candidates will have 75 seconds to answer questions from the moderators and 45 seconds for rebuttals or follow-ups. Although there will be no opening statements, the candidates will give one-minute closing statements.

Watch the debate live:

The Democratic field started out as the most diverse in history but has been winnowed to a much paler constituency and is top-heavy with septuagenarian candidates. Democrats will need young and minority voters to defeat Republican Donald Trump, 73, in November.

Warren has been slipping in the polls since she arrived as the Iowa frontrunner ahead of the October debate. During that match-up, rivals criticized her Medicare-for-all financing plan. She and Buttigieg lately have been going after each other with Warren often comparing Buttigieg with billionaire Steyer.

Buttigieg has been picking fights with Warren and Sanders over their free college proposals; they’re expected to highlight his donors and the high-end sites chosen for some of his fundraisers. Klobuchar has dismissed him as a local official, and he’s also seen as lacking support among minorities.

Yang’s internet following is passionate, keeping him on the debate stage even though he started out as a fringe candidate. He hasn’t had much opportunity to talk during the previous debates., and he’s competing with Sanders for the youth vote.

Americans appear to be tiring of the debates. The first in June garnered 15.3 million and 18.1 million viewers on the first and second nights, respectively. The fifth debate in November was watched by only 6.6 million.

The next debate is set for Jan. 14 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, ahead of the Feb. 3 caucuses.

The latest Iowa State University poll released Thursday indicates Buttigieg is leading in Iowa with 24% of voters backing him to 21% for Sanders, 15% for Biden, 18% for Klobuchar, 3% for Yang and 2% for Steyer. An Emerson College poll released Wednesday put Biden ahead in Iowa at 32%, followed by Sanders at 25%, Warren at 12%, Buttigieg at 8%, Yang at 6%, and Klobuchar and Steyer at 2%.

The RealClearPolitics average of recent polls indicates Buttigieg is leading the field by 2 points at 22%, followed by Sanders at 20%, Biden at 18%, Warren at 16%, Klobuchar at 6%, and Steyer and Yang at 2%.