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WASHINGTON โ Sixty seconds for answers, a television audience of millions and, for some candidates, a first chance to introduce themselves to voters.
The back-to-back Democratic presidential debates beginning Wednesday are exercises in competitive sound bites featuring 20 candidates hoping to oust President Donald Trump in 2020. The hopefuls range widely in age, sex and backgrounds and include a former vice president, six women and a pair of mayors.
The challenge: Convey their plans for the nation, throw a few elbows and sharpen whatโs been a blur of a race so far for many Americans.
What to watch at 6 p.m. Wednesday on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo:
Whatโs Warrenโs Plan?
Sen. Elizabeth Warrenโs task is to harness the recent momentum surrounding her campaign to prove to voters that she has what it takes to defeat Trump. As the sole top-tier candidate on stage Wednesday, she could have the most to lose.
So, one challenge for Warren, 70, is stylistic. Look for her to try to champion her progressive ideas โ and fend off attacks from lesser-known candidates โ with gravitas, warmth and the brevity required by the format.
โPreparing for the debates is trying to learn to speak in 60 seconds or less,โ she said in Miami, ahead of a visit she live-streamed to a migrant detention center in Homestead, Florida.
Another obstacle is to do so without alienating moderates any Democrat would need in a general election against Trump.
Being the front-runner on stage conveys a possible advantage: If the others pile on Warren, she gets more time to speak because the candidates are allowed 30 extra seconds for responses.
Whoโs That?
There may be some familiar faces across the rest of the stage, such as New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, 50, or former Texas congressman Beto OโRourke, 46. But a few names probably wonโt ring any bells at all.
These virtual strangers to most Americans may be enjoying their first โ and maybe last โ turn on the national stage, so they have the least to lose.
Take John Delaney, 56, a former member of the House from Maryland. Look for him to try to make an impression by keeping up his criticism of Warrenโs plans.
Or Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, 45, who sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He has likened the Democratic primary to โspeed dating with the American people.โ

Breaking out, Going Viral
For several of the candidates onstage Wednesday, the forum is about finding the breakout moment โ a zinger, a burn โ that stays in viewersโ minds, is built for social media and generates donations, the lifeblood of campaigns.
In 2015, Carly Fiorina won applause and a short surge for her response to Trump, who had been quoted in Rolling Stone as criticizing Fiorinaโs face.
โLook at that face,โ Trump was quoted as saying. โWould anyone vote for that?โ
Asked on CNN to respond, Fiorina evenly replied: โI think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.โ
For candidates such as OโRourke, a breakthrough moment on Wednesday is critical to revitalizing a campaign that has faded. The 10 White House contenders have two hours on stage that night and up until the curtain rises on the star-studded second debate the next day to make their mark. Former Vice President Joe Biden, 76, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 77, headline Thursdayโs debate and are certain to take up much of the spotlight.

Breaking Out Badly
An โoopsโ moment can be politically crippling to any presidential campaign.
Just ask Energy Secretary Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who, in a 2011 debate, blanked on the third agency of government he had said would be โgoneโ if he became president.
โCommerce, Education and the, uh, whatโs the third one there?โ Perry said.
โEPA?โ fellow Republican Ron Paul offered. Yep, Perry said, the Environmental Protection Agency.
โOops,โ he finished. Perryโs campaign, already struggling, never recovered.
What Issues?
Thereโs simply no time for an in-depth discussion of issues. But the migrant crisis would be an apt topic, even in shorthand. Dominating the news in the hours before the showdown were vivid reports and images of the toll of the administrationโs policy on children, especially.
Expect at least a mention, or perhaps the appearance, of a bracing photo of the bodies of a migrant father and his 23-month-old daughter face-down along the Rio Grande.
In addition to Warren, other candidates, such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar, were visiting the migrant center.
Will Trump Live-tweet?
This is the Democratsโ night.
NBC News executive Rashida Jones said the focus will be on the candidates and the issues.
โBeyond that, it has to rise to a certain level,โ she said.
During Wednesdayโs debate, Trump will be on Air Force One on his way to the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan. The planeโs cable televisions are usually turned to Fox News, which is not hosting the debates. For the second debate, Trump will be beginning meetings at the G-20.
Trump told Fox Business Network on Wednesday that heโd watch because โitโs part of my lifeโ but that โit just seems very boring. โฆ Thatโs a very unexciting group of people.โ

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