PBS Democratic Debate: Live Coverage

If you put any stock in the grades the FiveThirtyEight staff issues after each debate, which are intended to reflect our impressions of how much each candidate helped his or her nomination chances, then both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are consistent but somewhat risk-averse debaters. Other than Clinton’s A-minus in the first Democratic debate, all of the other grades we’ve given to Clinton and Sanders are B’s and B-plusses.

FiveThirtyEight staff grades for previous Democratic debates

DATE	CLINTON	SANDERS
Oct. 13	A-	B
Nov. 14	B	B
Dec. 19	B+	B
Jan. 17	B+	B+
Feb. 4	B+	B+

Clinton spoke forcefully against Donald Trump’s comments that could alienate American Muslims, such as calling for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. She said American Muslims must feel welcome in the United States. Democrats have warmer feelings toward Muslims than Republicans do, but the sentiment remains chilly, according to my colleagues Ben Casselman and Harry Enten.