Here are the 5 points to remember from the democratic debate on ABC News

As Democrats traveled to Republican territory for Thursday's debate in Houston, Texas, they presented their arguments to voters in hopes of creating a battlefield opportunity in 2020. In almost three hours the ten candidates exchanged blows on crucial issues, including health care. , firearms legislation, climate change, education and criminal justice.

Among the multitude of topics covered, all eyes turned to Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren, who clashed for the first time in the center of the stage. Despite the high stakes for two of the most prominent candidates, their match did not create major fireworks, but rather kept the debate on whether Democrats should adopt a party platform moderate or adopt a more progressive stance.

The debate also highlighted a rare moment of union following the tragedy in the border town of El Paso, Texas. Despite their differences over the best way to continue gun policy reform, all candidates rallied to former Congressman Beto O'Rourke from El Paso.

The embarrassment at the health care center

The first confrontation between Biden and Warren is almost immediately transformed into a stack of health care in all branches of the debate. With Warren on his left and Senator Bernie Sanders on his right, Biden, the current presidential candidate, was bombarded with attacks from all sides.

While Warren and Sanders were wondering whether Biden's plan, which would rely on Obamacare rather than revise it completely, went far enough, Biden strongly defended Bill's historic health care bill. ;former president.

"I know the senator says she's for Bernie. Well, I'm for Barack. I think Obamacare worked, "said Biden. "It's about frankness, honesty, great ideas."

Biden also asked how the two progressives who accompanied her on stage could pay for their projects.

"My distinguished friend, the senator to my left, did not say how she was paying for it," said Biden, referring to Warren's defense of the "Medicare for All" plan.

"And the senator actually came forward and said how he was going to pay for it, but it makes him do halfway," Biden added in a pivot to Sanders.

Biden also claimed that Warren's plan would result in tax increases for the middle class, which the Massachusetts senator did not openly deny. Instead, Warren responded by insisting that she "has never met anyone who likes their health insurance company."

The debate on "Medicare For All" has revealed deep divisions between progressive candidates and more moderate stage candidates, including Senate colleagues.

Senator Amy Klobuchar put Sanders on the shoulders for his support for Medicare for All. While Sanders claimed ownership of the program, which he said would be the most cost-effective policy to provide health care to Americans, Klobuchar insisted the opposite did not happen.

"While Bernie was writing the bill, I read the bill," Klobuchar said.

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Former colleagues face each other

The former vice president invoked President Obama's achievements in health, but he also launched a relentless attack on one of his former colleagues in the administration. In a tedious exchange, the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Julian Castro, seemed to question Biden's mental health as he was discussing the difference between automatic registration and choice. cover.

David J. Phillip / AP

"It's a big difference, because Barack Obama's vision was not to leave 10 million people exposed. He wanted every person in this country to be covered. My plan would do that. Your plan would not do it, "said Castro.

As Biden said that Americans would not be forced to subscribe to the cover of his plan, Castro went on to assert that the former vice president had contradicted him.

"You just said two minutes ago that they should buy," Castro retorted. "You forget what you said two minutes ago? You already forget what you said two minutes ago?

In fact, two minutes earlier, Biden had stated that people would be enrolled in Medicare if they could not afford health insurance.

"Anyone who can not afford it is automatically enrolled in the Medicare-type option," said Biden, adding, "If you want Medicare, if you lose your company's job insurance, from your employer, you this. "

Harris passes challenge to Biden at Trump's attack

After a brief rise and drop in polls as a result of a debate making headlines in June, Senator Kamala Harris walked away Thursday from the theatrical scene that characterized her for her debut and was targeting a rival who was not on the scene of the debate: President Trump.

"I have a few words for Donald Trump," said Harris, turning to speak directly to the camera. "What you do not understand is that the American people are so much better than that."

The California senator added that her campaign was "focused on our common problems, our hopes and our common desires" and that she would work to unify the country and turn "the page of the United States".

"And now, President Trump, you can go back to watching Fox News," Harris said after calling the president.

And later in the debate, in the midst of a heated debate about Medicare for All, Harris again used his time to address the President. "At least five people have spoken, some repeatedly on this topic, and we have not talked about Donald Trump once," Harris said. "So let's talk about the fact that Donald Trump took office and spent most of the first year of his term trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act."

Harris's campaign came up a bit after he saw a slowdown in polls following the first debate in the first debate, when the California senator criticized Biden for his past work with segregationists and denials. of the school bus.

At Thursday's screening, Harris appeared to be a candidate trying to overtake the primaries and parliamentary elections with the president saying she was best prepared to lead the Democratic Party and the country.

Heidi Gutman / Walt Disney Television

Candidates defend their records in the race, praise O'Rourke's response to shooting in El Paso

The issue of race in America took center stage in Thursday night's debate – and while most candidates called on Trump to widen the racial divide, a number of Democrats on stage were invited to defend their race. own balance sheet.

ABC News correspondent Linsey Davis asked Mayor Pete Buttigieg, "You had race problems in your own community. You also said that anyone voting for the re-election of President Trump is at best opposed to racism. Does this kind of discourse alienate voters and potentially aggravate divisions in our country? "

The mayor of South Bend sought to dismiss his response from his record and turn to Trump, stating, "I think the division of this country is the conduct of this president, and we have a chance to change all that. "

And when Senator Harris, confronted with his case in law enforcement with law enforcement, seemed ready to respond: "I'm glad you asked me this question and he there were a lot of distortions in my case. "

Harris then defended his services by promising to close private jails and hold law enforcement agencies, including prosecutors, accountable. The former California Attorney General added that his experience would allow him to repair the system "from the inside".

"I will be able to be an effective leader and carry out this job," said Harris.

David J. Phillip / AP

Another important moment: in the midst of the heated debate on racial issues and gun control, the candidates found a brief moment of unity Thursday night, offering O'Rourke support in his home country for his response to the recent shooting in El Paso that targeted Latinos.

"I want to congratulate Beto for the way he talked about the passion, frustration and sadness after what happened in his hometown of El Paso. He did a good job with that, "Castro told his colleague.

The former vice president also congratulated O'Rourke on the way he handled the shooting, calling for the first time former Congressman "Beto" before apologizing. "Excuse me for saying Beto," said Biden, to which O'Rourke replied, "That's good, Beto is good."

"The way he handled what happened in his home town is significant. The look in the eyes of these people, to see these children, to understand these parents, you understand the heartache, "Biden said.

And in one of the most passionate moments of Thursday's debate, O'Rourke pleaded for tougher gun control by telling a moving story of visiting the victims of the shooting.

"I met the mother of a 15-year-old girl who was touched by an AR-15 and this mother watched her dying of blood in the space of one." hour because so many other people had been killed by this AR-15 in Odessa, Midland. There were not enough ambulances to reach them in time, "O'Rourke said. "So, yes, we'll take your AR-15, your AK-47. We will no longer allow it to be used against American compatriots. "

Buttigieg tells his personal story

The ten candidates were invited to close the debate by sharing some of their professional setbacks in order to demonstrate their ability to be resilient leaders if they were elected president.

The question elicited a wide range of responses, including Buttigieg's personal story of having manifested himself under the "Do not Ask, Do not Say" policy before becoming an elected representative in a Conservative state.

Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images

"In terms of professional failures, I was wondering if just recognizing who I was was becoming the ultimate end-of-career setback," Buttigieg said. "I came back from the deployment and realized that you only lived one life. I did not want to know what it was like to be in love, so I went out. "

"I did not know at all what a professional setback would be, especially because it was an election year in my socially conservative community," he continued. "What happened is that when I trusted the voters that they would judge me based on the work I did for them, they had decided to trust me and reelected me with 80% of the vote. And what I've learned is that trust can be reciprocal and that one of the ways to earn and earn is to know what's more for you than winning.

The first openly homosexual account to run for the US presidency, Buttigieg's story recalled the historical diversity of this group of candidates.

Will Steakin of MaryAlice Parks, Kendall Karson and John Verhovek of ABC News contributed to the writing of this report.