- The second night of the second round of 2020 Democratic presidential debates continued in Detroit, Michigan on Wednesday, July 31.
- Both nights of the debate were hosted by CNN, and moderated by Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, and Don Lemon.
- Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii were the surprise breakout stars of the second debate, taking former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris of California to task over their records on everything from immigration to criminal justice.
- Here are 13 of the biggest takeaways from the second night of debates.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
On July 30 and 31, 20 Democratic presidential candidates gathered in Detroit, Michigan to participate in the second round of Democratic primary debates hosted by CNN.
During the first night of debates, issues including healthcare and taxation took center stage as progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren faced off against a number of centrist Democrats who disagreed with their plan to implement a single-payer Medicare for All system.
On Wednesday night, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio debated each other.
Booker and Gabbard were the surprise breakout stars of the second debate, taking the frontrunners Biden and Harris to task over their records on everything from immigration to criminal justice.
While Harris put herself in a strong position in the first debate in attacking Biden over his record on race, she found herself on the defensive in Wednesday night's debate, stumbling a bit in defending her healthcare plans and finding herself knocked back on her heels by an attack on her criminal justice record from Gabbard.
Here are 13 of the biggest takeaways from night two of the second round of Democratic primary debates: