Democratic debate: Live updates

Here’s what to know about the debate.

Who debated on Thursday?

>> Democratic debate 2019: 5 memorable moments Wednesday’s debate

Who asked the questions at the debate?

Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow and José Diaz-Balart moderated the debate.

Live updates:

Their closing statements

10:55 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Williamson says she will meet Trump and defeat him by harnessing love for political purposes.

Bennet says he will reunite the country by harnessing the power of America.

Swalwell says when he is not "changing diapers, I'm changing Washington. Most of the time, the diapers smell better."

Hickenlooper says if the Democrats aren't careful, Trump will be re-elected.

Gillibrand says women's rights are under attack, and she can fight to protect them.

Yang says he can beat Trump by building a broad coalition.

Harris says the election is "about you." She will lead with dignity.

Buttigieg says politics "isn't theoretical for me." He's married, he says, because of a single vote on the Supreme Court.

Sanders says wages aren't moving and that he would take on Wall Street and bid industries.

Biden says Trump must be defeated and the soul of the nations must be restored. A united America can do anything.

Biden on his Iraq War vote

Gun control with Sanders and Swalwell

10:42 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Swalwell is asked about gun control measures and says he would allow people to "Keep your pistols and rifles and shotguns, but we can take the most dangerous weapons from the most dangerous people."

"We must be a country who loves our children more than we love our guns," he said.

Is Trump being ignored? Not by a long-shot.

10:30 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Here is a tally of how many times Trump's name has been mentioned and by whom:

Finally, climate change

10:10 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: After more than an hour into the debate, the topic of climate change comes up. Buttigieg gets the first climate question. He says rural America can help to fix the problem.

Hickenlooper says he is a scientist, and he has a plan that can make a difference.

Biden talks about President Barack Obama's wind farm and the Paris climate accord.

Roe v. Wade

10:05 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: What would Sanders do if Roe v. Wade was to be struck down? He ignores the question and says he supports a woman's right to choose and would never appoint a Supreme Court justice who would vote to overturn Roe.

Getting personal on immigration

10:02 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Bennet, whose mother and grandparents survived the Holocaust, answers a question about immigration this way:  "When I see these kids at the border, I see my mom because I know she sees herself. She was separated from her parents for years during the Holocaust in Poland. For Donald Trump to be doing what he is doing to children and their families at the border accident I say to somebody who wrote the immigration bill in 2013 and created a pathway to citizenship for 11 million people in this country and had the most progressive Dream Act that ever has been conceived, much less passed."

This exchange is a defining moment of the debate:

Buttigieg goes after GOP

9:45 p.m. ET June 27, 2019:  Buttigieg says separating families at the border mocks GOP claims of Christian values.

“Now, our party doesn’t talk about that as much largely for a good reason which was, we are committed to the separation of church and state and stand for people for any religion and people of no religion,” Buttigieg said. “But we should call out hypocrisy."

No climate change yet

9:42 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: No one has mentioned climate change yet.

How would the candidates combat the problems we have with China?

9:40 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Bennet says China isn't the problem, Russia is. Yang agrees that Russia is the problem. Yang also criticizes Russia.

Buttigieg says China uses technology "for the perfection of dictatorship".

Williamson’s first question

9:35 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Williamson is asked about healthcare. She says she calls it "sickcare," and wonders why we aren't looking into that. You can beat Donald Trump by saying you have a plan, she says.

What about Medicare for All?

9:31 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Do the candidates support Medicare for All, abolishing private healthcare? Sanders and Harris raise their hands.

Yang, tieless, gets his first questions

9:30 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Yang is asked how he would pay for Universal Basic Income. It is his proposal to give everyone over 18 $1,000 a month. Yang says he will go after companies who don't pay taxes or don't pay enough.

Why not free college?

9:25 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Buttigieg is asked about why he is not in favor of free college. He says he is – or lower income families. He's not for working class folks paying for the children of billionaires.

First response in Spanish

9:20 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Buttigieg is the first to answer in Spanish tonight.

Swalwell swipes at Biden

9:18 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Swalwell goes after Biden saying he remembers when he was 6 years old and saw Biden who talked about "passing the torch" to young people and then tells Biden we need to "Pass the torch."

“I’m still holding onto that torch,” Biden answers.

Biden pivots to a plan for improving education.

Harris wants to know why no one questioned Trump

9:13 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Harris is asked if Democrats have a responsibility to explain how they will pay for their proposals on healthcare and college tuition. She says no one asked Trump how he would pay for tax cuts for the most wealthy in the country.

Sanders gets the first question, Biden gets the second one

9:03 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Sanders is asked if he would raise taxes on the middle class. He said taxes would go up, but health care costs would go down. "Health care in my view is a human right," Mr. Sanders said. "I believe that education is the future for this country." Pressed on taxes, he added, "Yes, they will pay more in taxes but less in health care for what they get."

Biden gets the next question. He turns on Donald Trump and says Wall Street didn't build this country, workers did.

The rules, again

8:58 p.m. ET June 26, 2019: The rules for the debate were announced last week. There will be no opening statements tonight, but candidates will be allowed a closing statement. Candidates will have 60 seconds to answer questions and 30 seconds to respond to follow-ups.

Photo opp is happening

8:52 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: The candidates are in the room now, waving and lining up for a group photo.

Buttigieg’s service

8:44 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Buttigieg is the only candidate in tonight's debate who has served in the United States military. Buttigieg deployed to Afghanistan for seven months in 2014.

From Bernie Sanders

From last night’s debate:

How many watched?

8:19 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: The Nielsen ratings for Wednesday's debate show 15.3 million people watched the debates on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo together. Nine million people watched online.

Who was most Googled?

8:03 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was the most searched candidate on Google during last night's debate.

Four of the top 5 in the polls

7:44 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Four of the five top-polling candidates in the crowded Democratic field – former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg – will be onstage together tonight.

The shock of ages

7:13 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Both the youngest and the oldest of the 2020 Democratic candidates for president will be onstage tonight. Sanders, at 77, is the oldest candidate in the field. Buttigieg, at 37, is the youngest.

Two hours away now

7 p.m. ET June 26, 2019: The debate starts in about two hours.

Live updates begin

6:50 p.m. ET June 27, 2019: Welcome to the second night of live updates of the first primary debate of the 2020 presidential election.

Part two of the first Democratic presidential debate of the 2020 election season took place Thursday night in Miami.