Here's What You Need to Know About Tonight's Democratic Debate

By Todd Richissin/Patch

On Thursday, it was the Republican presidential candidates making headlines in South Carolina. At 9 p.m. tonight (Sunday, Jan. 17), Democrats Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley will debate in Charleston, giving voters in Iowa and New Hampshire another look before making their choice.

The Sunday Democrat debate will air live on local NBC stations, including WHDH-TV Channel 7 in Boston, which reaches New Hampshire both over-the-air and on cable systems.

Live streaming video of the debate will also be available on NBCNews.com, the NBC News YouTube channel and via NBC’s various apps for different types of devices.

This, the last debate before the Iowa Caucuses, held on Feb. 1, could prove to be a fiery one. The latest Democrat presidential polls show Clinton barely ahead in Iowa and Sanders atop the polls in New Hampshire. After Iowa, New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary will be held on Feb. 9. Nevada hosts its caucuses on Feb. 23, and then voters in South Carolina cast their ballots on Feb. 27.

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While the races are tight in the first two voting states, an NBC New/Wall Street Journal poll released ahead of the debate showed Clinton leading Sanders nationally by 25 points. Clinton is the first choice of 59 percent of Democrat primary voters, while Sanders gets the support of 34 percent. Martin O’Malley gets 2 percent, according to the poll.

That contrasts sharply with a New York Times/CBS News poll that released Jan. 12. It showed Clinton with a 7-point lead. New Hampshire primary polls between Clinton and Sanders have gone back and forth for months.