Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) got the most speaking time during Wednesday’s presidential primary debate in Las Vegas ahead of the Nevada caucuses.
The only two women on the stage each spoke for more than 16 minutes during the debate, according to a minute-by-minute speaking time tracker from NBC News. Warren led the candidates with 16 minutes, 35 seconds of speaking time, while Klobuchar finished with just more than 16 minutes.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), considered to be the front-runner in the field following strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, came in third, with 15 minutes and 15 seconds of speaking time. Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg spoke for 14 minutes, 49 seconds.
Former Vice President Joe Biden and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was on the debate stage for the first time during the 2020 cycle Thursday night, both received about 13 minutes, 20 seconds of talking time.
This was the first debate in which the female candidates enjoyed the most time to speak, The New York Times noted.
Warren used much of the debate to target her opponents, repeatedly going after Bloomberg over policies such as stop and frisk, a policing tactic that led to a disproportionate number of stops for minorities, while he was New York mayor. Warren also took aim at Bloomberg over his history of using nondisclosure agreements to privately settle complaints with former female employees.
Her debate performance came following disappointing showings in the first two voting states and as she tries to bolster support ahead of the Nevada caucuses and Super Tuesday.
The candidates talked about a host of issues in Las Vegas, with much attention paid to health care, environmental issues and economic inequality.