CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – Ready to rumble, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders headed into Sunday’s presidential debate eager to tangle over gun control, health care and other issues in the last Democratic matchup before voting begins in two weeks and with polls showing the race tightening.
With Sanders, a Vermont senator, gaining on longtime front-runner Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire, the debate is likely to mark a sharp departure from the relatively civil exchanges that defined the past three face-offs.
The debate site is just blocks from the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church where nine parishioners were killed during Bible study in a mass shooting last summer. Gun control has emerged as a central theme in the race, with Clinton citing the issue as one of the major differences between the candidates.
On Saturday night, Sanders announced his support for legislation that would reverse a 2005 law he had supported that granted gun manufacturers legal immunity.
His changed position came in a statement after days of criticism from Clinton, who had attempted to use his previous vote to undercut his liberal image.