Notable Quote of the Day

"It’s entirely possible that in December or January, Democrats feel like Biden is not inspiring enough but also that Sanders and Warren have taken too many left-wing positions and are risky bets in the general. In such a scenario, Harris, along with Buttigieg, are the best positioned candidates to rise.

But a lot would have to happen for Harris to pull off such a comeback. Right now, she seems more likely to finish behind Andrew Yang than to win the Democratic nomination. ... Maybe the best explanation for Harris’s struggles is that she hasn’t been a great candidate and also faced three things that were out of her control: the strong performances of Biden and Warren, doubts from some Democrats about a woman of color’s ability to win the general election and a Democratic electorate looking for either a really leftward shift (Warren, Sanders) or someone decidedly against that shift (Biden.)"

— Perry Bacon Jr., FiveThirtyEight

Democrats

• Nine candidates will participate in a town hall Thursday focused on LGBTQ issues: Cory Booker, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, Julián Castro, and Tom Steyer. Candidates will appear in that order separately in back-to-back interviews. The event was organized by the Human Rights Campaign and will air on CNN from 7:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET. 

• Michael Bennet said that he thinks he will "attract back some of the 9 million people who voted twice for Barack Obama and once for Donald Trump."

• Biden called for President Donald Trump's impeachment at a town hall event in New Hampshire Wednesday, saying, "To preserve our Constitution, our democracy, our basic integrity, he should be impeached." Before then, Biden had stated conditional support for impeachment proceedings.

• Booker talked about the upcoming debate and the impeachment inquiry with NJTV News.

• Steve Bullock will participate in a Democracy Town Hall event in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Thursday.

• In an interview with Pride Source, Buttigieg discussed his campaign, who he looks up to in the LGBTQ community, and where he and other candidates stand on LGBTQ issues. 

• Castro talked with TMZ about China's decision not to air NBA games after Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey expressed support for protesters in Hong Kong. Castro said, "It's important for the NBA to stand up for the things that it says it believes in. …[F]ree speech is one of those things."

• John Delaney will participate in a Democracy Town Hall event in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Saturday.

• Harris appeared at The Abbey, a gay bar in West Hollywood, the night before the LGBTQ forum in Los Angeles.

• Klobuchar sent a letter to Senate Rules Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) asking him to schedule a markup of the Honest Ads Act, which she co-sponsors, citing a Senate Intelligence Committee report discussing the use of social media platforms by the Russian government during the 2016 presidential election. The Act would require online political ads to meet the same disclosure requirements as TV and radio ads.

• O'Rourke was on the AZ Central podcast The Gaggle, where he talked about his Arizona strategy as well as gun policy, healthcare, immigration, impeachment, and more. 

• Bernie Sanders was interviewed by NBC News Wednesday. He discussed his heart attack and how his campaign handled informing the public about it. 

• Joe Sestak met with the Pelham, NH Democrats group Wednesday.

• Steyer described himself as an outsider in an interview with New York Daily News and said, "If you think that the issue is there’s a broken government that can’t deal with the health care crisis, can’t deal with climate, can’t deal with gun violence, can’t deal with immigration reform, then you should ask: Is it someone who has been doing it from the outside successfully that’s going to do it or is it going to be someone who has been working in Congress and the Senate for a long time."

• Warren released a plan Wednesday titled "Fighting for Justice as We Combat the Climate Crisis." In it, she said, "I’ll direct one-third of my proposed climate investment into the most vulnerable communities - a commitment that would funnel at least $1 trillion into these areas over the next decade."

• Marianne Williamson is scheduled to attend a CNN LGBTQ town hall watch party hosted by Chicago Reader in Chicago, Illinois.

• Andrew Yang will appear on CBS Sunday this weekend.

Republicans

• Buzzfeed News published a text message exchange with Mark Sanford in which he discussed his campaign and his belief that Donald Trump should be censured as opposed to impeached.

• In response to Joe Biden calling for his impeachment, Trump tweeted, "So pathetic to see Sleepy Joe Biden, who with his son, Hunter, and to the detriment of the American Taxpayer, has ripped off at least two countries for millions of dollars, calling for my impeachment — and I did nothing wrong."

• Joe Walsh criticized Mark Sanford on Fox News, saying, "Mark Sanford’s not serious. ... I’m not in it to start a conversation about the debt. I'm in it to win, and I'm in it to stop Trump."

Flashback: October 10, 2015

Time published a piece on Democratic candidate and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley titled, "Here's How Underdog Martin O'Malley Plans to Win the Democratic Debate." The piece came out days ahead of the first Democratic debate of the 2016 presidential race, which was on October 13, 2015, and featured five candidates.