Manchester, New Hampshire - Democratic presidential candidates Marianne Williamson and Congressman Dean Phillips squared off in New Hampshire on Monday in the lead-up to the state's early primary.

President Joe Biden's absence loomed large as Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips faced each other in their first debate.

The matchup, hosted by New England College, came as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has gone all in on Biden's reelection campaign and declined to hold any presidential primary debates in the 2024 cycle.

The incumbent president's name is not set to appear on the New Hampshire ballot after the DNC chose to hold the first primary in South Carolina rather than the Granite State. Nevertheless, New Hampshire decided to forego delegate representation at the 2024 Democratic National Convention and move forward with its election as scheduled.

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Biden's omission leaves Williamson and Phillips as the two highest-profile Democratic contenders on the New Hampshire ballot. Monday's debate offered voters an opportunity to get to know the candidates and their platforms.

Here are the top highlights from the Williamson-Phillips debate and where the two stand on the most pressing political issues of the day.

Williamson and Phillips were in strong accord as they slammed Democratic Party voter suppression efforts in the 2024 primaries.

The three-term Minnesota congressman drew cheers from the crowd and an endorsement from Williamson when he stated: "Joe Biden should have been right here with us tonight."

The candidates earlier in the evening were asked about a cease-and-desist letter issued after the co-chairs of the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee sent a letter last week calling New Hampshire's primary "meaningless."

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Phillips held up a copy of the letter, urging, "The Democratic Party should be investing in democracy, promoting debate, promoting candidates, and promoting voters. What are they doing? They're suppressing them."

"The parties are destroying democracy. Period," he added.

Williamson agreed: "It should be you, the people of New Hampshire, the people of every other state should decide who is the best Democratic nominee to beat either Donald Trump or Nikki Haley."

Investing in young people was another dominant theme in Monday's debate.

Williamson said the first thing she would do as president is cancel the Willow Project – a carbon-bomb oil drilling project in Alaska approved by the Biden administration. That, on top of a major expansion of renewable energies, would help to give young people a future they can believe in.

She also said she would use the Higher Education Act to cancel student debt and forward a 21st-century Economic Bill of Rights to guarantee all Americans access to living wages, tuition-free education, universal health care, and other basics of a good life.

Phillips agreed that economic conditions are dire for too many Americans. He wants to create "American Dream Accounts" to afford every citizen $1,000 at birth, guarantee education for all, and amplify social security.

Since launching his presidential campaign, Phillips has become a co-sponsor of Medicare For All legislation, a priority he repeated in Monday's debate. But Williamson called his support into question given the timing of his announcement.

"Dean, you did not do anything to support Medicare for All when you were in Congress for three terms. You did not do anything to support tuition-free college when you were in there. You say you have migrated over the last two months," she challenged.

It was the spiciest exchange in an otherwise amicable evening.

The debate also for a discussion around foreign policy as Williamson stressed her desire to create a US Department of Peace and Peace Academy and to conduct a thorough audit of Pentagon spending.

After Russia's invasion, Williamson said she initially agreed with Biden's decision to send military aid to Ukraine, but now that fighting appears to be at an impasse, she believes it is time to consider diplomatic solutions to the conflict.

Meanwhile, Phillips struck a distinctly more hawkish tone, affirming his continued support for US military funding to Ukraine and criticizing the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"If we exit our support from Ukraine now, mark my words: our adversaries around the world are watching, and if they see the United States once again fold, if they see us fold, we're in big trouble," he warned.

The conversation then turned to Israel's US-backed assault on Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 23,000 Palestinians to date. The country faces accusation of gross human rights violations and war crimes, sparking overwhelming calls for a permanent ceasefire and an end to Israeli apartheid – demands that have become central in the 2024 election cycle as Biden continues to fund Israel's military.

"I deeply love Israel," said Phillips, who is Jewish. "[Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu not a good man, the settlement policy a disgusting policy, his cabinet awful, but Hamas has got to be destroyed."

Phillips said he will sign documents recognizing a Palestinian state, while claiming that a Jewish state is also necessary.

Williamson, who is also Jewish, opened her remarks by calling for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza – something Phillips did not do – before echoing her support for a two-state solution.

After appearing to agree on many issues, Williamson and Phillips struck very different notes when asked why each considered himself or herself the best candidate for president.

Phillips touted his private-sector business credentials and bipartisan track record in Congress, saying he wants to include Republicans in his Cabinet "to repair our country."

"I can bring this country together. I have business experience, I attract Independents, I flipped a district that had been red for 60 years – 60 years! – Democratic," he said.

Williamson countered that she is not interested in filling her Cabinet with bipartisan members of Washington's political elite.

Rather, the Houston native said she is focused on delivering for everyday people: "The danger is people staying home if the Democratic Party does not become once again unequivocal advocates for the working people of the United States. I am the one because I'm going to offer to people a better life, an economic U-turn, a new beginning."

"Congress has been the problem," she continued. "They would say that only those who know how to be part of that system that drove us into this ditch can get us out can possibly be qualified to lead us out of this ditch. The problem is not that we don't have enough political car mechanics in Washington. The problem is that we are on the wrong road."

Which Democratic candidate is best prepared to lead the country in 2024? New Hampshire voters will have their say in the state's primary election on January 23.