Biden, Sanders, and 8 other candidates take the stage in Miami


 Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing

June 27, 2019: The second set of 10 Democratic presidential candidates take the debate stage in Miami. Donald Trump raised $36 million in the first week since he formally launched his re-election campaign. 


The second set of 10 Democratic presidential candidates will take the debate stageThursday night in Miami, Florida. José Diaz-Balart, Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Rachel Maddow, and Chuck Todd will moderate the debate.

Tune in to NBC News, MSNBC, or Telemundo at 9 PM ET to watch the event live. You can also stream the debate via NBCNews.com, the NBC News apps, Telemundo, or YouTube.

Notable Quote of the Day

“I think it’s the people who are worried about making it through the summer and being on the stage in the fall [with the most pressure]. It’s pretty clear that Sanders is going to be on the stage, and it’s pretty clear that Biden is going to be on the stage. I think if you’re Kamala or Warren, you’ve got to be like a really good rebounder in a basketball game. You’ve got to hang around the hoop, and you’ve got to get rebounds. I think [for] the folks that aren’t going to make the stage in September … they need to change the game for themselves so that they’re viable. They’re hoping just to make it until the early states [begin voting], and then it’s a totally different game.”

– Danny Diaz, 2016 Jeb Bush presidential campaign manager

Debate Highlights

  • Cory Booker said economic policy and gun regulations were not working in his community, which he described as low-income, black, and brown. He also discussed violence against transgender Americans.
  • Julián Castro advocated establishing a Marshall Plan for Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. He also condemned the metering policy on migrants seeking asylum and said he would decriminalize illegal border crossings. 
  • Bill de Blasio criticized calls to keep private insurance as a healthcare option and shared his personal experiences as the son of a World War II veteran who took his own life and the father of a black son.
  • John Delaney opposed Medicare for All and said that Democrats should focus on lowering pharmaceutical prices, infrastructure, and job creation, rather than the Mueller report or impeachment proceedings.
  • Tulsi Gabbard said that nuclear war was the greatest threat to national security and called for the U.S. to return to a nuclear agreement with Iran. She also discussed her shift on LGBT policy, coming from a socially conservative household to serving alongside LGBT servicemembers.
  • Jay Inslee highlighted his executive experience in Washington, saying he was the only candidate who passed laws on abortion and health insurance. He also discussed climate change and his support for unions.
  • Amy Klobuchar responded to Inslee by saying there were “three women on this stage” who also fought for abortion. She discussed her electability, saying she had won districts in Minnesota that went for Trump by double digits.
  • Beto O’Rourke defended private insurance as a healthcare option and said pharmaceutical companies need to be held accountable for their connection to the opioid crisis.
  • Tim Ryan criticized General Motors for closing a facility Lordstown, Ohio, and manufacturing cars in Mexico after receiving a tax break. He also said the center of the Democratic Party needed to shift from “coastal and elitist and Ivy League” to “the forgotten communities.”
  • Elizabeth Warren joined de Blasio in being the only candidates on stage to support abolishing private health insurance. She also named climate change as the greatest threat to the United States.

Democrats

  • Michael Bennet posted a clip on social media of his decade-long support for lifetime bans on members of Congress becoming lobbyists.
  • The Atlantic surveyed 23 Democratic candidates on whether they supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Joe Biden, who advocated for the agreement during the Obama administration, declined to say he would. Delaney was the only candidate to explicitly support the deal.
  • The New York Times profiled Steve Bullock’s campaign, describing his retail politics and messaging focus on electability and results in Montana.
  • In its podcast, The Washington Post reported on the evolution of Kirsten Gillibrand’s position on gun policy. 
  • Wayne Messam shared his impressions of the first presidential debate in an interview with NBC News.
  • Seth Moulton aired ads in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina to introduce himself during and before coverage of the first Democratic primary debate.
  • Bernie Sanders posted an online ad to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube on the housing crisis in Reno, Nevada.
  • Joe Sestak spoke about disability policy at the Hiawatha Community Center.
  • Eric Swalwell tweeted about gun policy and his plan to “ban and buy back every single assault weapon” during the debate.
  • NowThis featured Marianne Williamson in its latest segment of “20 Questions for 2020” with campaign finance and climate crisis as topics.
  • Andrew Yang tweeted that he had reached 128,000 unique donors, nearing the 130,000-donor threshold to qualify for the third presidential debate.

Republicans

  • Donald Trump raised $36 million in the first week since launching his re-election bid, including more than $24 million in the first 24 hours.

What We’re Reading

Flashback: June 27, 2015

Chris Christie launched his presidential campaign website. He formally announced his candidacy three days later.