Health questions surround Sanders but Democratic rivals also under scrutiny

BERNIE SANDERS faces standing at a podium for three hours after his recent heart attack but some of his rivals for the Democratic nomination for the White House have problems of their own ahead of today’s debate in Westerville, Ohio.

Former vice president Joe Biden is facing baseless, but persistent, allegations of wrongdoing overseas that could undermine his argument that he is best positioned to defeat the President while Elizabeth Warren is fending off new scrutiny of her biography.

Mr Sanders is recovering from a heart attack that raised questions about his ability to withstand the vigour of a presidential campaign.

A dozen Democratic presidential candidates will meet today for the most crowded presidential debate in modern history.

But it is the three leading candidates, Mr Biden, Mr Sanders and Ms Warren, who face the most intense spotlight that could expose glaring liabilities in their quest for the White House.

The debate marks the first time the candidates will meet since the House moved forward with an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

While they are united on that issue, the debate will again expose a political party struggling to coalesce around a unifying message or messenger with the first primary contest just over three months away.

The event, hosted by CNN and The New York Times, will be held in Ohio, a state that has long helped decide presidential elections but has drifted away from Democrats in recent years.

The White House hopefuls will represent the political and personal diversity that has come to define the Democratic Party of 2019: four women, four people of colour, an openly gay man and an age range that spans four decades.

Mr Sanders, a Vermont senator, will be under pressure to prove he has the physical and mental stamina to stand on a podium for three hours less than two weeks after suffering a heart attack.