Yang tells fellow 2020 Dems to 'stop being obsessed over impeachment'

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Seven Democratic presidential candidates set for final debate of 2019

Former Vice President Joe Biden ready to take center stage at Democratic presidential debate in Los Angeles; Peter Doocy reports.

Businessman Andrew Yang told his fellow Democratic presidential primary hopefuls on the debate stage Thursday night that they should stop “being obsessed” with the impeachment of President Trump.

Just a day after the House voted to impeach the president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, Yang was critical of the focus that his competitors in the Democratic field have placed on impeachment and the looming Senate trial.

"We need to stop being obsessed over impeachment," Yang said during the opening moments of the debate at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. “Make no mistake, he’ll be there at the ballot box for us to defeat.”

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Yang, who has been a surprising dark horse candidate in the 2020 presidential primary race, said that candidates have focused too much on the allegations that Trump was elected with the help of Russia and not enough on the discontent of voters across the country who feel abandoned by Washington lawmakers.

He said that instead of focusing on impeachment, Democrats need to “start actually digging in and solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected in the first place.”

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Yang’s attempt to draw the national focus away from impeachment was not echoed by other candidates, who slammed Trump for blocking a number of his staffers from participating in the House investigation that led to his impeachment.

“This is a global Watergate,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said in reference to the scandal that eventually drove President Richard Nixon from the White House. “As we face this trial in the Senate -- if the president claims he is so innocent -- then why doesn’t he have all his president’s men testify?”

Klobuchar added: “If the president thinks he should not be impeached, he should not be scared to put forth his own witnesses.”

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Klobuchar is one of three senators on stage during Thursday’s debate -- along with Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont -- who will have a vote in the Senate trial. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Michael Bennett of Colorado are two Democratic presidential candidates who will also have a chance to vote in the Senate trial, but they did not meet the Democratic National Committee’s qualification standards for the debate.

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As it stands, the Senate proceedings are expected to begin early in January, leaving candidates a week or two to hit the trail in earnest before the Iowa caucuses, scheduled for the first Monday in February.

While the candidates are in D.C., their staffs are looking for creative ways to keep up enthusiasm for their campaigns in the states -- including surrogate events, tele-town halls and even campaign events held via Skype.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.