JUDY WOODRUFF: Last night's Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas was the most contentious
matchup yet for the party's leading contenders.
As Amna Nawaz reports, it all came at a critical moment in the campaign, with early voting
under way in a dozen states, and just days to go before the start of the Nevada caucuses.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, Presidential Candidate: So how was your night last night?
(LAUGHTER)
AMNA NAWAZ: Michael Bloomberg campaigning today in Utah, just hours after his first
Democratic debate appearance in Las Vegas, where he was the center of his rivals' attention.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), Presidential Candidate: I think it is great you have got a lot of
money, but I think you have got to come forward with your tax returns.
AMNA NAWAZ: The billionaire businessman entered the race just three months ago, but his opponents
made up for lost time, sharply challenging Bloomberg's record as a three-term mayor of
New York City.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), Presidential Candidate: Mr. Bloomberg had policies in New York City
of stop and frisk, which went after African-American and Latino people in an outrageous way.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: If I go back and look at my time in office, the one thing that I'm
really worried about, embarrassed about was how it turned out with stop and frisk.
JOSEPH BIDEN (D), Presidential Candidate: It's not whether he apologized or not. It's
the policy. The policy was abhorrent.
AMNA NAWAZ: Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren repeatedly questioned Bloomberg on
allegations his company covered up reports of sexual misconduct.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), Presidential Candidate: So, Mr. Mayor, are you willing
to release all of those women from those nondisclosure agreements, so we can hear their side of the
story?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: We have a very few nondisclosure agreements.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN: How many is that?
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: Let me finish.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN: How many is that?
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: None of them accuse me of doing anything, other than maybe they didn't
like a joke I told, and let me just...
(BOOING)
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: And let me -- these would be agreements between two parties that wanted
to keep it quiet, and that is up to them. They signed those agreements, and we will
live with it.
AMNA NAWAZ: Warren continued her attacks at a campaign stop today.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN: It was my job to make sure that America got a little closer look
at Mayor Bloomberg, and came to understand that, of all the people standing on the stage,
he is the riskiest one for the Democrats.
AMNA NAWAZ: Last night, others, like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, confronted Bloomberg
on his estimated $60 billion personal fortune.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Mike Bloomberg owns more wealth than the bottom 125 million Americans.
That's wrong. That's immoral.
AMNA NAWAZ: Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-Democrat who is running as a moderate alternative to
Sanders, pushed back.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: What a wonderful country we have. The best-known socialist in the country
happens to be a millionaire with three houses. What did I miss here?
AMNA NAWAZ: Sanders and Bloomberg are leading the field in the most recent "PBS NewsHour"/NPR/Marist
poll. But both were accused by former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of being
too polarizing to win.
PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), Presidential Candidate: Let's put forward somebody who's actually
a Democrat.
(LAUGHTER)
PETE BUTTIGIEG: Look, we shouldn't have to choose between one candidate who wants to
burn this party down and another candidate who wants to buy this party out.
AMNA NAWAZ: Wednesday's debate was one of the last chances for trailing candidates to
break through before Super Tuesday on March 3, when a third of all Democratic delegates
are up for grabs.
JOSEPH BIDEN: I'm the only one on this stage that has actually got anything done on health
care.
AMNA NAWAZ: Debate battle lines were drawn once again on health care.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN: It's not a plan. It's PowerPoint. And Amy's plan is even less. It
is like a Post-it note: Insert plan here.
AMNA NAWAZ: And on immigration, of particular interest in Nevada, where Latinos make up
one in every five Democratic voters.
Here's Mayor Buttigieg addressing Senator Klobuchar.
PETE BUTTIGIEG: If you are going to run based on your record of voting in Washington, then
you have to own those votes, especially when it comes to immigration.
(APPLAUSE)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR: I wish everyone was as perfect as you, Pete. You have memorized a
bunch of talking points and a bunch of things, but I can tell you one thing.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR: What the people of this country want, they want a leader that has
the heart for the immigrants of this country. And that is me.
AMNA NAWAZ: At the end of a bruising night, a clear sign that no one is ready yet to hang
up their gloves.
QUESTION: Yes or no, leading person with the delegates, should they be the nominee or not?
JOSEPH BIDEN: No. Let the process work its way out.
AMNA NAWAZ: If no candidate has the majority of delegates by convention-time in July, only
Sanders said the delegate leader should become the nominee.
After trading brutal blows in last night's debate, some of the candidates are back out
today working the crowds, fighting for those last-minute caucus commitments, like Senator
Elizabeth Warren here.
The Democratic candidates will face off again in another debate next Tuesday in South Carolina.