The second debate of the 2020 Democratic presidential debate kicked off with 10 more candidates, including many of the leading White House hopefuls.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is center stage Thursday night in Miami alongside Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Joining them for the two-hour event are two other top contenders: California Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. At either end will be the candidates polling at the bottom of the field: author Marianne Williamson and California congressman Eric Swalwell.

Biden stepped onto the debate stage Thursday night as a front runner by default more than depth of support, and walked away with a more fragile standing atop the sprawling Democratic field. His rivals showed little deference to the former vice president and longtime senator - a Democratic elder statesman who has cast himself as the rightful heir to the legacy of Barack Obama, the president he spent eight years serving alongside.

We recap and dive into the second democratic debates. 

With files from the Associated Press. 

With guest host Libby Denkmann. 

Guests:

Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies. He is also a former senior Obama advisor in 2008; he tweets

Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush

Mitchell McKinney, professor of communication and the director of the Political Communications Institute at the University of Missouri; his research interests include presidential debates, presidential rhetoric and political campaigns