First Read: “The Trump vs. Cruz battle is getting uglier and uglier… If this continues over the next two weeks, then the GOP establishment has the opening it’s been waiting for.”

Last night’s Democratic presidential debate was seen by 12.5 million viewers across all platforms, making it the most-watched broadcast network Democratic debate of the 2016 campaign so far and the third-highest rated Democratic debate in history, according to a NBC News press release.

Gerald Seib: “Two debates held in recent days, one among Republicans and the other among Democrats, revealed a stark reality of the 2016 presidential campaign: We are in a time of complicated questions in search of simple answers.”

“That is a dynamic that works to the advantage of candidates with clear and simple philosophies (think Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders) and to the disadvantage of candidates more in the center, offering nuanced solutions rather than quick fixes (think Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush).”

“This trend is fueled by the fact that each party’s base has moved toward the ideological wings of the left and right, where the world looks black and white, not gray.”

Tonight’s Democratic presidential debate was often more about Bernie Sanders than Hillary Clinton.

Clinton obliterated Sanders on gun control and though she was less effective trying to suggest Sanders would weaken the Affordable Care Act, she kept him on the defensive all night. She was relentless. If her objective was to raise questions about Sanders and his record, she was very successful.

Sanders does angry and indignant almost as well as Donald Trump. But his anger was too often directed towards Clinton. Democrats aren’t, for the most part, angry with Clinton. They’re angry with Republicans and with a rigged economic and campaign finance system that works against the majority of citizens.

Martin O’Malley was, once again, a non-factor in this debate. In another cycle he might make an attractive candidate. But there’s no real space for his candidacy this year. Clinton and Sanders have staked out the main battle lines and have relegated O’Malley to the sidelines.

More broadly, Clinton spent the entire night trying to convince Democrats she was the heir to President Obama’s legacy. She made clear she is running for Obama’s third term. It’s a smart strategy because it serves the double-purpose of implying that Sanders is less friendly to Obama.

Clinton was effective, presidential and the clear winner of the debate.

A new Economist/YouGov survey shows Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders by 25 points, 58% to 33%, an improvement on the 14-point gap that separated the two Democrats in the second half of December.

The survey mirrors the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released earlier today.

“Three Democratic presidential candidates will meet Sunday night in their fourth debate amid a tightening and increasingly contentious race between former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders,” the Washington Post reports.

“Under the new dynamic, Clinton heads into the debate facing heavy pressure to regain her footing, with some allies growing nervous about a repeat of 2008, when now-President Obama surged ahead of her. Sanders is also under pressure to offer more specifics on some of his policy proposals, as the self-described democratic socialist has come under heavier scrutiny.”

Politico: Everything you need to know about the Democratic debate

NBC News is broadcasting the debate at 9 p.m. ET. It will also be broadcast via YouTube.

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said she scheduled primary debates with the goal of maximizing media attention for the party’s presidential candidates, The Hill reports.

Said Wasserman Schultz: “I did my best to make sure, along with my staff and along with our debate partners, to come up with a schedule that we felt was going… to maximize the opportunity for voters to see our candidates.”

First Read: “NBC/WSJ co-pollster Peter Hart (D) remarked last summer that Clinton is a subpar candidate when she’s the overwhelming frontrunner, but that she’s much, much better when her back is against the wall. We’ll see if that pattern continues with a closer-than-expected race in all-important Iowa.”