ADVERTISEMENT In many cases, the two senators, who are vying for control of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, were given additional time to speak after lower-polling candidates tried to contrast themselves with the front-runners.

Warren, whose poll numbers have been rising steadily throughout the year, spoke for 18 minutes and two seconds, according to The Hill's stopwatch. She had 21 opportunities to address questions or respond to her rivals during the showdown on CNN, which lasted two hours and 45 minutes.

Bullock, who entered the presidential contest later than virtually every other candidate, missed out on the first debate held last month in Miami. Tuesday's debate represented his best opportunity to kick-start a campaign that has yet to reach even the 65,000-donor threshold to make the first pair of debates, let alone the 130,000-donor threshold to make the next debate stage in September.