The Trump campaign called the night a ‘hot mess’ as candidates shouted and fought each other and the debate clock

Bernie Sanders emerges relatively unscathed

Early in the night, the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders – who has emerged as the current frontrunner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination – was the main target of his opponents’ attacks.

The Democratic White House hopefuls slugged it out on Tuesday at the party's 10th presidential debate, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) coming under a fierce volley of attacks ahead of Saturday’s primary in South Carolina.

Here are five takeaways from a heated night in Charleston, S.C.

Rivals desperate to stop Sanders

Sanders occupied the center spot on stage, and it was clear from the onset that the front-runner would be the focus of attacks from rivals who feel they have only a few days to stop him.

CBS News moderators got slammed for failing to keep Tuesday night’s Democratic primary debate on track, as the event descended into chaos.

The seven candidates on stage in Charleston, South Carolina, spent much of the debate steamrolling each other, yelling out answers and going over their 75-second time limit to answer direct questions.

Viewers were quick to pile on the moderators — Gayle King, Norah O’Donnell, Margaret Brennan of “Face the Nation” and correspondents Major Garrett and Bill Whitaker — for struggling to keep control.