o'malley was pleading for a chance to speak. our coverage begins with abc's megan hughes in washington. megan, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, kendis and reena, yeah, the timing is critical. the fact this was the last debate before the iowa caucuses, it was very clear that for hillary clinton and for bernie in south carolina, front-runners hillary clinton and bernie sanders come out swinging debating health care. clinton a defender of obama's legacy. >> i'm not sure whether we're talking about the plan you just introduced tonight or we're talking about the plan you introduced nine times in the congress. >> reporter: sanders says clinton is lying about his plans for health care. >> that is nonsense. we're not going to tear up the affordable care act. >> reporter: clinton slams sanders on gun control. >> he voted to let guns go onto amtrak, goes go into national parks. he voted against doing research to figure out how we can save lives. >> reporter: the debate step as way from the charleston church where a white gu

martin o'malley and mike huckabee announcing that they will be suspending their campaigns with potentially more to come as we head now into new hampshire. reena, kendis. >> all right, new hampshire just one week away. lana zak in des moines for us this morning, thank you. >>> as you just heard there in the words of bernie sanders, he and hillary clinton are locked >> the clinton campaign however declared victory overnight after this upbeat rally that lana alluded to and avoided the worst, a loss like the one she abc's political analyst next for the clinton campaign. >> like donald trump she had an to put this race away with a clear victory tonight. she didn't get that, so now she faces a likely loss in new can win is south carolina, so that race is now, which could have been shortened if she had won tonight overwhelmingly, is now going to be a much longer race and go into march for sure. >> well, iowa voters delivered a split decision for the republicans, as well, but ted cruz took the lead away from donald trump to win. >> trump barely ahead of marco rubio whose strong performance was ano

. >> martin o'malley. >> hillary clinton. >> all three democratic candidates taking part in the forum hosted by abc news' sister station fusion. on stage at different times answering rapid-fire questions. >> is it off brand for a democratic socialist to live in a mansion like the white house? [ laughter ] >> well, i would consider it more like public housing. [ laughter ] >> but it wasn't all laughs. the candidates laying out their plan for guns and immigration plus bernie sanders and hillary clinton taking aim at each other. >> have you noticed this lady, that she's been getting more aggressive with you? >> it could be that the inevitable candidate for the democratic nomination may not be so inevitable today. my tax plans, and my friend, senator sanders, has said that he will lay out his before the iowa caucus, and i and others will be anxious to see them. >> the candidates also taking shots at republican front-runner donald trump. >> who would have thought donald trump would be leading in of national polls? [ laughter ] i mean, for those of you who ever thought about running for pre

martin o'malley pleading for more time. elizabeth hur joins us with the highlights. good morning. >> reena and kendis. good morning to you. going into this debate, hillary clinton and bernie sanders were locked in a virtual tie florida -- tie in iowa, and so it was clear they both came prepared to try to stay on top. just two weeks before the voting starts in iowa. the three democratic presidential candidates sparred on stage in south carolina. hillary clinton and bernie sanders are now in a tight battle to win the first democratic contest. on this night, the first issue tackled, gun control. >> he has voted with the nra with the gun lobby numerous times. he voted against the brady bill five times. >> secretary clinton knows that disingenuous. i have a d-minus voting record from the nra. >> reporter: the exchanges heated at times discussing the economy and health care. >> i want us to defend and build on the affordable care act and improve it. >> my proposal provide health care to all people get private insurance out of health insurance. >> reporter: but the two the

while martin o'malley at just 2%. >> but clinton could lose in the first two contests and that could injure her long-term prospects. abc's kenneth moton has the latest from the campaign trail. >> reporter: with one week to go before they face the iowa caucus voters for the first time, the three democratic candidates for president appeared one by one at an iowa town hall hosted by cnn. some polls have bernie sanders edging out hillary clinton. >> establishment politics is we need bold changes. we need a political revolution. >> reporter: though >> reporter: though statistically out of the running, martin o'malley isn't breaking stride. >> i need the o'malley supporters out there to hold strong and move forward like iowa does. >> reporter: and clinton still the front-runner nationally but she needs every vote she can get in the hawkeye state. >> i've been on the front lines of change and progress since i was your age. i have been fighting to give kids and women and the people who are left out and left behind a chance to make the most out of their own lives. >> reporter: the gop front-r

now overnight, martin o'malley and mike huckabee did suspend their campaigns with all political eyes quickly shifting to new hampshire already. everyone focused on next week's primary. reporting live here in des moines, abc news, reena and kendis, back to you. >> before you go, i was surprised, everyone kind of said going into this that if there was overwhelming turnout, that donald trump would fair better. turnout last night? >> that's what everybody has been talking about. they had record-breaking turnout for the gop but it didn't help trump. we're seeing all of the poll numbers come in and the very conservative voters ended up going straight to ted cruz. fewer turnout, lower turnout for the democrats, and while bernie sanders did get the young voters, hillary clinton polled more of the voters who said they want to continue the same policies that barack obama has been implementing over the last eight years, reena and kendis. >> quite a nail biter right there in des moines. brandi hit joining us live, thank you. >>> let's dig deeper into what the results mean going forward. we're ta

o'malley, barely in the single digits. abc's jonathan karl with the latest. >> reporter: a rare break from the campaign trail for bernie sanders. for a meeting with the guy he wants to replace. the meeting comes just after president obama seemed to tilt toward hillary clinton in an interview with politico. >> she can govern and she can start here day one, more experience than any non-vice president has ever been who aspires to this office. >> reporter: clinton took that as an endorsement, but sanders dismissed suggestions he's leaning towards his former secretary of state. >> i think he and the vice president have tried to be fair and even-handed in the process. >> reporter: but as the race tightens, clinton is playing the >> i don't think president obama gets the credit he deserves. >> reporter: mrs. clinton took time to sign an excuse letter for this high school student. >> i will sign it. that is so cute. >> reporter: but even here, there are signs of bernie sanders' rise. this woman, a hillary supporter, says she may j