A field of 10 Democratic candidates for president split sharply over the question of health care and other issues Tuesday night in Detroit with progressive standard-bearers Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren defending government-run health care and other proposals from attacks by more moderate candidates calling them too extreme. As the first of two nights of debates at Detroit's historic Fox Theatre got underway, several of the trailing candidates — former U.S. Rep. John Delaney of Maryland and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock among them — hit Sanders and Warren, who are two of the front-runners , for making proposals that could take employer-provided insurance away from some 180 million Americans in favor of what is being called Medicare-for-All. It was a precursor for the rest of the night as the candidates battled on how far Democrats should be prepared to go in offering bold ideas that could be difficult, if not impossible, to implement and that could scare off more moderate voters as the party tries to oust President Donald Trump next year. "You might as well FedEx the election to Donald Trump," said former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper at one point. “Every credible poll that I have seen has me beating Donald Trump,” said Sanders, who also pointed out that also goes for Michigan, which backed Trump by a slim 10,704-vote margin in 2016. That was just one of a night full of testy exchanges. Another came early, as U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, challenged Sanders by saying he couldn't know the impact of his health care proposals on union members, including thousands in Michigan, who could lose their current coverage. Responded Sanders, "I do know it, I wrote the damn bill." Republicans were quick to dismiss the Democrats, despite many polls showing Trump's re-election hopes in trouble more than a year before the election. "Same radical Democrats. Same big government socialist message," said Kayleigh McEnany, Trump's national campaign press secretary. "After tonight I’m even more confident that President Trump will win Michigan in 2020," said Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Laura Cox. The first night of the CNN-hosted debates saw the 10 candidates battle over immigration, gun violence and other issues, as those among the leaders in the crowded field — U.S. Sens. Sanders of Vermont and Warren of Massachusetts — as well as those in the second tier — South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas — tried to solidify or improve upon their standing. Meanwhile, those trailing — Ryan, Delaney, Bullock, Hickenlooper, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and author Marianne Williamson — tried to find moments where they could command the stage and eat into the leaders' margins in the polls. On Wednesday night, 10 more candidates will take the stage for the second night of the debates, with front-runner Joe Biden, the former vice president, facing off against U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York; former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro; businessman Andrew Yang; U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Warren and Sanders never went after each other directly as some thought they might in order to further define themselves in the race. Nor did they nor any of the others go after Biden, the presumptive front-runner, by name. They will next meet with other candidates Sept. 12-13 at a debate at Southern Texas University in Houston. The first night saw Detroit and Michigan wait for some time before being mentioned prominently. Once they were, however. there were references to Detroit's municipal bankruptcy, the Flint water crisis and the failure of government to convince residents that their water is safe, and the concerns of union members — some of whom moved to Trump in 2016, in part because of beliefs that Democrats hadn't done enough to protect jobs in the state. Sanders noted that Detroit was finally mentioned about an hour and 15 minutes into the debate and said the city was nearly destroyed "because of awful trade policies." To win this election, he said, “We need to have a campaign of energy and excitement and of vision,” and bring in millions of young people through progressive policies. “I get it," Warren said responding to questions of electability and whether Michigan voters are ready to embrace plans to crack down to protect the environment and enact government programs to run health care and provide tuition-free education. "There is a lot at stake and people are scared. But we can’t choose a candidate we don’t believe in just because we are too scared to do anything else." Buttigieg — who is more moderate on some issues than some of the candidates — had one of the strongest comments of the night when he said no matter what the Democrats propose, Republicans will call it extreme. "If it's true that if we embrace a far-left agenda they're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists. (But) If we embrace a conservative agenda, you know what they're going to do? They're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists," he said. "So let's just stand up for the right policy, go out there and defend it." The plan endorsed by Sanders and Warren would provide Medicare insurance for all; impose higher taxes on the wealthy, corporations and the middle class, and eliminate private insurance plans. It could cost government trillions. But it would also lead to potentially lower out-of-pocket costs and eliminate monthly premiums. Delaney said it was an example of "bad policies" by the front-runners. “Why do we have to be the party of taking something away from people?” he said. “We can give everyone health care and still allow people to have a choice." Ryan argued a similar point, saying, "This plan being offered will tell those union members who gave away wages to get good health care that they’re going to lose that." He embraced a plan that would move Medicare eligibility to age 50 and allow people to buy into such a plan while keeping their private insurance. Sanders and Warren, unsurprisingly, stuck to their guns. Asked about Delaney's comments that his proposal for Medicare-for-All would hurt some Americans by taking away their private health insurance, Sanders flatly said, "You're wrong." "Right now, we have a dysfunctional health care system," said Sanders, who on Sunday led a bus tour across the Detroit River to Windsor, Ontario, to compare lower drug prices there to those in the U.S. "Five minutes away from here is a country — it's called Canada. They guarantee health care to every man, woman and child as a human right." Warren then entered the conversation to criticize Delaney and others who argued that proposals to extend Medicare-for-All would take away private insurance. "We're not about taking health care away from anyone," she said. "That's what the Republicans are trying to do. We should stop using Republican talking points." Meanwhile, two of the most controversial aspects of the first Democratic debates last month in Miami — whether illegal border entries should be decriminalized and whether undocumented immigrants should receive free health — were revisited Tuesday as the progressive and moderate wings of the party continued to battle. Buttigieg, for one, appeared to retreat somewhat on his earlier position that illegal border entries should be decriminalized. He said incidents where someone fraudulently deceives the government about their status should be treated through criminal laws, but otherwise undocumented entries should be a civil matter. “We’ve got a crisis on our hands,” he said, touching on reports of horrific conditions being experienced by those being detained on the southern border . “A crisis of cruelty and incompetence.” Warren argued that illegal border crossings should be decriminalized, saying the law is the tool Trump uses to separate families. “I’ve seen the cages of babies,” Warren said. “That has given Donald Trump the tool to break families apart.” O’Rourke disagreed, saying that while immigration reform is necessary, the children of immigrants who came into the country decades ago should be greeted as citizens and with efforts made to lower illegal immigration after that, “I expect them (immigrants) to follow our laws and face criminal prosecution” for violating them, he said. Sanders defended free health care and free college for undocumented immigrants. “They’re people fleeing violence,” not criminals, he said. But Bullock said he does not want health insurance for the undocumented. “If we decriminalize entry (and) if we give health care to everyone,” we will have far more people crossing the border illegally, he said. “You don’t have to decriminalize everything." There wasn’t much disagreement among the candidates on gun control, especially in light of the latest mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in northern California that left three people dead and more than a dozen people injured. Most of the candidates called for universal background checks for gun purchases as well as red flag laws that would allow courts to take guns away from people who are shown to have mental health issues or who have a history of domestic violence. Buttigieg talked about a 13-year-old in his state who started crying when he asked what he could do about school safety in the light of shootings across the country. “I told him, 'We’re supposed to be dealing with this so you don’t have to,'” he said. After the shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., in 2012, Hickenlooper said he was able to get universal background checks passed in the state. “We decided that we were going to take on the (National Rifle Association) … and we did the basic work that doesn’t seem to be able to get done in Washington,” he said. The Flint water crisis — which refers back to lead-tainted water in the city caused by a failure to require corrosion protection after it changed water supplies in 2014 — came up when the debate topic turned to infrastructure. “I was just in Flint,” Klobuchar said. “They are still drinking bottled water in that town and that is outrageous.” These are bread and butter issues, she said. The governor of Michigan smartly ran on a campaign to “fix the damn roads,” she said. Trump made big promises, but did not follow through, said Klobuchar, who pledged to commit $1 trillion to fixing the country’s crumbling infrastructure. Filtered water in Flint is safe to drink currently but many residents are hesitant to take the government's word for that, since the state had also previously said the water was safe to drink. As expected, the issue of racism came up, especially with Trump having made racist comments that four women of color serving in Congress — including U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit — should "go back" to the countries they are from despite all being U.S. citizens and having criticized a black congressman representing Baltimore, calling that city rat "infested" and filthy. The candidates said generally there are many ways to fight racism in the country, first of all by defeating Trump in the 2020 election. Buttigieg also spoke of investing in communities and neighborhoods that have been disproportionately hit by redlining while Klobuchar talked about investing more in child care and paying teachers more. Warren proposed a $50 billion investment in historic black colleges and universities. “We need to call out white supremacy for what it is and that’s domestic terrorism,” she said. Williamson, meanwhile, said reparations to descendants of slavery is “payment of a debt that is owed,” and the country will not heal without them. “Anything less than $100 billion is an insult,” and $200 billion to $500 billion is something that can be done, she said. O'Rourke -- whose guests to the debate included three Lansing Catholic High School students who were disciplined for kneeling during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality -- also endorsed a reparations bill and called out the lingering effects of racism in the U.S. Sanders said he supports a plan to end segregated schools in America and make sure teachers are paid at least $60,000 a year. As questions were raised about Michigan's auto industry — and in the face of General Motors' Warren transmission to be idled this week — the issue of Trump's trade deals came up. The president has used tariffs to try to wrest concessions from several countries, including China, even as he has battled to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. But promises to grow the auto industry and force American companies to make all their U.S. cars in this country have not been entirely realized. Sanders and Warren acknowledged that past trade deals have been disastrous for workers as companies have closed plants and moved the work overseas. “Look at NAFTA 2.0," said Warren, criticizing the Trump-negotiated U.S.-Mexico-Canada that has yet to be considered by Congress. "It’s to help pharmaceuticals to get longer periods of exclusivity. That’s what trade deals have become.” Hickenlooper said trade wars “are for losers,” and the U.S. can’t win a trade war against China when China holds so much U.S. debt. Contact Todd Spangler at tspangler@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler . Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter .