Clinton reigns over third Democratic debate

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., began Saturday night’s Democratic presidential debate with an apology to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for a data breach. Sanders fired one campaign aide and suspended two others last week for accessing an off-limits area of the Democratic National Committee voter database that was reserved for Clinton’s use.

“Not only do I apologize to Secretary Clinton—and I hope we can work together on an independent investigation from Day One—I want to apologize to my supporters,” Sanders said.

Clinton quickly accepted his apology, saying, “We should move on, because I don't think the American people are all that interested in this.”

After the candidates put that controversy behind them, they turned their attention to the general election and criticizing Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

“Mr. Trump has a great capacity to use bluster and bigotry to inflame people and to make them think there are easy answers to very complex questions,” Clinton said. All three Democratic candidates, Clinton, Sanders, and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, referenced Trump multiple times without mentioning any of the other GOP candidates. As many in the Republican Party are trying to distance themselves from Trump’s hard-line positions, the Democratic candidates are working to turn Trump into a Republican mascot in voters’ minds.

Clinton portrayed herself Saturday night as a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination, undaunted by her challengers. She defied moderators’ attempts to cut her off at times, and returned late to the stage after a commercial break. The Boston Globe reported Clinton was delayed because she refused to share the restroom, which had multiple stalls, with an O’Malley campaign staffer.

Most of the debate, hosted by ABC News at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, focused on foreign policy and national security, two areas outside of Sanders’ comfort zone of economics and income inequality. But Sanders attacked Clinton on foreign policy, criticizing her pursuit of regime change in Libya. That, he said, helped to empower the Islamic State.

“Getting rid of dictators is easy. But before you do that, you’ve got to think about what happens the day after,” Sanders said

Clinton countered, noting Sanders voted in the Senate for regime change in Libya.

Saturday night’s debate was the last of the year for the Democratic candidates. It had the lowest TV ratings of any debate this year, drawing just 8.5 million viewers. The Republican debates have garnered between 18 and 25 million viewers per contest.

WORLD Radio’s Kent Covington and The Associated Press contributed to this report.