The Democratic presidential contenders begin a frantic dash for votes on Thursday after a fiery debate featuring a volley of attacks on big-spending billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who was making his debut on the national debate stage.

The Democratic presidential contenders begin a frantic dash for votes on Thursday after a fiery debate featuring a volley of attacks on big-spending billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who was making his debut on the national debate stage. With two days to go before the presidential caucuses in Nevada and contests looming in 14 states on Super Tuesday on March 3, including California, Utah and Colorado, the candidates will scatter across those four states for rallies and get-out-the-vote events. The intensity of the unsettled Democratic race was evident in Wednesday's debate, which featured repeated attacks on Bloomberg for his record on race, history of sexist comments and use of his fortune to push his way up the polls. Also Read: Mike Bloomberg qualifies for next debate, and rivals are getting ready The former New York City mayor, who has been rising fast in polls since he joined the race in November, seemed uncomfortable and hesitant at times in his first debate. He defended his record and argued he had the best chance of beating Republican President Donald Trump in the November 3 election. Rivals Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg all jumped at the chance to go after the media mogul, who has surged in polls by spending hundreds of millions of dollars out of his pocket on an advertising blitz. They criticized Bloomberg, who has been accused over the years of sexist comments, for his treatment of women as well as his support while mayor of "stop-and-frisk" police policies that ensnared disproportionate numbers of blacks and Latinos. The candidates also accused Bloomberg of trying to buy his way into the White House and said his record as mayor and businessman was not good enough to beat Trump. "Democrats take a huge risk if we just substitute one arrogant billionaire for another," said Warren, a senator from Massachusetts who had her most aggressive debate. Nevada's caucuses are the third contest in the state-by-state race to find a challenger to Trump. South Carolina holds its primary on February 29. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has a town hall meeting and a fundraiser scheduled in Los Angeles, and Bloomberg has a morning event in Utah. Warren and Biden will have a town hall that airs on CNN on Thursday night from Las Vegas. Klobuchar, a senator from Minnesota, has a campaign event in Colorado. Bloomberg entered the race in November and is skipping the early voting states in February. Trump delivered his judgment on Bloomberg's performance with a tweet late on Wednesday: "He was stumbling, bumbling and grossly incompetent. If this doesn’t knock him out of the race, nothing will."

After fiery debate attacks on Bloomberg, Democrats scatter on campaign trail

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday qualified for this week's Democratic presidential debate in Nevada, putting him on the same stage as his rivals for the first tie in the race for the party's nomination.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday qualified for this week's Democratic presidential debate in Nevada, putting him on the same stage as his rivals for the first tie in the race for the party's nomination. The debate on Wednesday will be the ninth in the contest for who will challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the November 3 election. A late entry to the race, Bloomberg, 78, has risen in public opinion polls as he pours money from his estimated $60 billion personal fortune into a national campaign, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on television ads. Also Read: Sanders says presidential rival Bloomberg will not excite voters When he takes the stage on Wednesday, he is likely to be challenged directly by rivals over his use as mayor of a policing policy widely seen as discriminatory and of supposed sexist practices at his company. "There's a lot to talk about with Michael Bloomberg," former vice president and candidate for the nomination Joe Biden told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. Bloomberg had support from 19 per cent of the people surveyed in an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released on Tuesday. With that result, he met the Democratic Party's requirements for debate qualification by receiving double-digit support in four national polls recognized by the party, his campaign said in a statement. While Bloomberg is not competing in the first four nomination contests - Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina - he hopes to start winning delegates beginning on Super Tuesday on March 3, when 14 states will vote. At least five other candidates have qualified for Wednesday's debate ahead of Nevada's February 22 caucuses: Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg. Warren and Sanders charge that Bloomberg is trying to buy the election. He responds that he is playing by the rules and has offered to fund the Democratic effort to beat Trump even if he doesn't win the nomination. He will likely be grilled about his support while New York mayor of a policing strategy that ensnared blacks and Latinos disproportionately. See: Who is Michael Bloomberg? A profile of expected Democratic contender for US presidential race Bloomberg apologized for that policy, known as "stop and frisk," just before announcing he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination. His campaign has declined to comment on criticism over 2008 remarks in which he tied a housing market collapse to a ban on a discriminatory housing practise known as redlining. He has also expressed regret over making inappropriate jokes. "Did I ever tell a bawdy joke? Yeah, sure I did. And do I regret it? Yes. It's embarrassing," Bloomberg told ABC's "The View" on January 15. "But, you know, that's the way I grew up." The Washington Post on Saturday published what it said was a copy of a 32-page booklet distributed at a party in 1990 that included sexist remarks by Bloomberg, reportedly compiled by his colleagues. The Post also chronicled numerous discrimination lawsuits filed against Bloomberg LP, a major provider of news and financial information, over the last three decades. In one case, a saleswoman filed a lawsuit alleging that when she told Bloomberg she was pregnant in 1995, his response was, "Kill it." Bloomberg denied the accusation and the lawsuit was settled. The Washington Post published comments by a man who said he witnessed Bloomberg's remark. Bloomberg said in an interview that his company had experienced "very few" cases of sexual harassment given its large size, and said he thinks "most people would say we're a great place to work." He said the company would not release women from non-disclosure agreements that were part of legal settlements, some of which stemmed from allegations of sexual harassment. Warren has called on Bloomberg to release the women from the agreements. On Sunday, Bloomberg campaign spokeswoman Julie Wood said in an emailed statement regarding the allegations in the Washington Post: "Virtually all of this has been reported over the past two decades. In any large organization, there are going to be complaints — but Mike simply does not tolerate any kind of discrimination or harassment, and he's created cultures that are all about equality and inclusion."

Mike Bloomberg qualifies for next debate, and rivals are getting ready

Bloomberg has seen his standing in the polls spike in recent weeks. His rise was aided by more than $400 million in self-funded advertising and millions more on staffing, putting him in the sights of the rest of the field.

Today Tonight: Bloomberg storms 'Super Tuesday' states