We have ANOTHER Democratic debate coming this Tuesday…
Only 6 candidates will be on stage….
In Iowa…
The Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) seventh Democratic debate of this cycle — and the first of the election year — will take place on Jan. 14 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. CNN will co-host the debate with The Des Moines Register and broadcast the event live from 9 to 11 p.m. EST.
Why Iowa? The first nominating contest of the primary, the Iowa caucuses, will take place across the state just a few weeks later on Feb. 3.
The debate stage has shrunk remarkably in the past few months. Only six candidates qualified this time: former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, billionaire executive Tom Steyer and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren…..
image…WashPost.Com
In other words, all of the seven last debaters except Andrew Yang.
Goodbye, diversity.
You don’t consider two woman diversity? Speaks volumes.
The exit of Harris and Booker is largely because they were unable to rally Black support in S.C.
Apparently ,Blacks are implicitly being criticized here for exercising their right not to chose their candidate based on factors other than Race.
If tomorrow night’s debate were an Award Show, it would be boycotted by many of the same people who will be watching, with a national campaign behind doing so.
Harris would have easily made the debate stage if she did not drop out. In fact, she dropped out despite qualifying for the last debate.
Gonna be an interesting debate between Sanders and Warren….
Amy gives the best answer on troops in the Middle East
Sanders doesn’t answer the question
Warren gives a BS answer of taking all troops out….
Biden and Amy give real answer that troops must be left in the ME….
Sanders and Warren want troops out regardless
Others marry diplomacy with spec ops on the ground….
Warren asks for a end….
Ok…
I’m gonna take 538’s live blog feed here like I did the last time…
GEOFFREY SKELLEY9:47 PM
Was this whole kerfuffle just meant to set up a viral moment of Warren saying that the men on stage have lost a lot more elections than the women on stage?
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NATHANIEL RAKICH9:47 PM
Warren knew she was going to get this question about whether a woman can get elected president. She chose to use it to focus on the candidates’ electoral records, noting that the men on the stage have lost 10 elections combined and that the two women are undefeated. However, I’m not sure that’s a strong argument for Warren, who underperformed Massachusetts’ partisan baseline in both of her two elections.
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NATE SILVER9:46 PM
Just a lot of weirdness in that exchange, in how the moderator’s question to Warren presumed that Sanders wasn’t being factual. I can see Sanders folks being pretty annoyed with that, and rightly so.
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CLARE MALONE9:46 PM
I think what’s interesting about this Sanders-Warren tiff over whether or not Sanders told her he didn’t think a woman could win is that … a lot of American voters think just that! This election is certainly different from 2016 — a 2016 hangover, in some sense — in that voters do seem to have a more contracted idea of the possible, and specifically about whether a woman can be president.
AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX9:49 PM
Warren points out that she and Klobuchar are the only candidates onstage who have won every election they’ve run. But that’s not necessarily what voters are anxious about, at least based on the conversations I’ve had with them. The concern is that another woman can’t win against Trump.
…
PERRY BACON JR.9:51 PM
I was surprised that Sanders and Warren left no middle ground there. Either you believe one of them or the other, right? I think the Sanders-Warren truce seems over.
…
NATHANIEL RAKICH9:52 PM
Warren’s last word on this question was a stronger answer. She points out how well women did in the 2018 elections and how, in past years, people wondered whether a Catholic or African American candidate could win (and they did).
SARAH FROSTENSON9:53 PM
Thought that was a good answer from Biden, too, pointing out that he’s the only one on the stage that currently enjoys a diverse coalition of support that isn’t largely concentrated among white voters (and in the case of Buttigeg and Warren especially, college-educated white voters).
…
GEOFFREY SKELLEY9:54 PM
Biden makes an endorsement reference! And it’s true that the “breadth” of his endorsements, in terms of geography and diversity, is greater than any of his opponent’s.
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PERRY BACON JR.9:53 PM
That was, well, something. Warren made a bunch of points on electability that I had not heard from her so directly — and were complicated for the male candidates to really take on directly without them coming off poorly. I think she accurately captured that gender is a barrier for some of the female candidates.
I saw the Middle East first part and I agree with Biden and Klobuchar ….
The Sanders/Warren all troops out thing rang as undo able to me…
AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX9:57 PM
It’s been a tough night for Steyer. He’s had a couple of fairly sharp answers, but foreign policy has dominated the debate so far and that’s decidedly not an issue where he has a competitive edge. He also got completely left out of that last exchange on gender and electability.
…
Reid Wilson
@PoliticsReid
Candidate talk time through the first break:
Sanders 9:31
Biden 8:09
Warren 7:23
Klobuchar 6:42
Buttigieg 6:39
Steyer 4:58
GEOFFREY SKELLEY9:58 PM
As the person monitoring Klobuchar, I think she’s been fine. She gave some solid answers on foreign policy and started out with a good answer about why she was qualified to be commander-in-chief. She stumbled a little by forgetting Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s name, which was awkward. But that wasn’t a Rick Perry-esque “oops” moment by any means. For a candidate looking to break out, though, I’m not seeing that so far.
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NATHANIEL RAKICH9:57 PM
The candidate I’m watching, Buttigieg, has gotten in his Iowa outreach, both implicit (talk about being from the “industrial Midwest”) and explicit (citing little Edward Kennedy’s question in Winterset). But overall he’s been pretty quiet so far tonight.
AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX10:01 PM
It’s interesting that Sanders got a direct question about how much his Medicare for All plan will cost. So far, he’s managed to avoid the kind of scrutiny on the question that’s dogged Warren. Maybe that will change tonight?
…
AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX10:06 PM
I don’t think Steyer was helping himself stand out by saying he agrees with Biden’s perspective on a public option, then trying to pivot to corporate influence. Curbing corporate influence is one of his big talking points, but that response didn’t feel very substantive to me.
Chris Cillizza
@CillizzaCNN
Biden not attacking Sanders (or anyone) in this debate. Sign of confidence?
…
CLARE MALONE10:10 PM
“The boldness of a plan is measured only by how many Americans it would alienate”: Buttigieg is drawing blood at long last! He’s already doing a more effective job of arguing the moderate’s position on health care than Klobuchar.
…
Chris Cillizza
@CillizzaCNN
Amazing to me that Sanders is on outside looking in on the big convo on healthcare in this debate
…
Chris Cillizza
@CillizzaCNN
You would believe the race is between Warren and Buttigieg
NATHANIEL RAKICH10:11 PM
Buttigieg pushes back forcefully against Warren calling his health care plan small — he says it would be a big game-changer for regular Americans and one of the biggest transformations government has ever brought about. Overall, I get the sense from Buttigieg that he is eager to show that his plans are indeed liberal and proactive — just not too liberal.
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AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX10:12 PM
Buttigieg says it’s “just not true” that his plan is small. And that’s actually kind of fair — his proposal would also radically reshape the health care system. This whole exchange is yet another reminder of how far left the Democratic debate on health care has moved in a short time.
FiveThirtyEight
@FiveThirtyEight
Biden talks about Obamacare. #drink
AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX10:14 PM
Is Steyer just going to agree with all of the other candidates tonight?
…
Chris Cillizza Retweeted
Ronald Brownstein
@RonBrownstein
When given the chance to explain how he would build support for and pay for the full scope of his $60 trillion agenda, Bernie Sanders chose to talk about only #Medicare4all and not address the broader issue of whether it is feasible to double federal spending over a decade
…(Bernie has been ducking hard questions tonight on leaving troops in the ME and how to pay for MFA..)
NATHANIEL RAKICH10:18 PM
Nate, I think it’ll help him that tonight’s debate is only two hours long.
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NATE SILVER10:17 PM
I’m a little reluctant to say it because some of his worst moments have come toward the end of these things, but Biden has generally gotten more consistent at these debates as we’ve gone along.
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GEOFFREY SKELLEY10:17 PM
Term limits are a bad idea — signed, everyone who studies political science. Everyone complains about greed and influencers in Washington. Just wait until you have only neophyte members of Congress who need guidance on every issue.
SARAH FROSTENSON10:20 PM
It’s interesting to me that Klobuchar is leaning so heavily into the “I have a plan” language. I could be mistaken, but this seems to be a pivot for her, and odd language to adopt considering that’s been a trademark of Warren’s campaign. I’m also not sure her focusing so much on Trump — as opposed to the other candidates on the stage — is really working. I thought, for instance, one of her sharper moments this evening was when she took Sanders to task for how he would pay for Medicare for All.
NATE SILVER10:22 PM
I thought that answer on child care was highly effective by Warren, and a reminder that she was doing pretty well in the primary when “policy” wasn’t synonymous with “health care” and she could talk about some of her other plans.
AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX10:23 PM
I think the whole question of how new parents are supported has been in the air recently, Clare. Federal workers just got paid parental leave for the first time. Seems like the whole suite of parenthood/child care issues is much more of a political priority than it used to be — and it’s hard to imagine that having more women in the presidential race (and in Congress) hasn’t had something to do with that.
POLL BOT10:26 PM
Buttigieg was just asked about free college. As Poll Bot mentioned last time, 68 percent of Americans support making tuition at public colleges free, according to an October report from PRRI. Eighty-four percent of Democrats and 69 percent of independents support it, while just 42 percent of Republicans share the same view.
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NATHANIEL RAKICH10:25 PM
Buttigieg mentions faith again — something he has been doing on the trail here in Iowa.
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GEOFFREY SKELLEY10:25 PM
Biden is back to trying not to say too much, saying out loud that he’s hitting the time limit for his time with the mic.
NATHANIEL RAKICH10:34 PM
Buttigieg’s outlook is unchanged: He’s doing fine in his lane but not really busting out of it.
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PERRY BACON JR.10:33 PM
That last 30 minutes or so was very, very dull–the same fights over Medicare for All and free college that we have had for months. I’m struggling to remember anything Biden said in the last 30 minutes. But I think that’s good for him — he is leading and is not making any major gaffes.
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NATE SILVER10:33 PM
Betting markets — which I’ll remind you aren’t very smart! — think the candidate I’m covering, Warren, is having the best evening. And I suppose I don’t disagree. But you could also make a case for Biden (fairly steady and not taking a lot of incoming heat despite being the front-runner and what not ), Sanders (well, that exchange with Warren on the woman president stuff was a bit rough, but otherwise holding up pretty well) or maybe Buttigieg (not super present but relatively sharp when he’s asked a question). I suppose I think the Warren-Sanders exchange will be heavily covered by the networks after the debate, which could push things toward her. And she’s gotten a chance to talk about policy issues other than health care tonight, which play to her strengths.
PERRY BACON JR.10:38 PM
Steyer is right to say he started backing impeachment early and the party followed him there.
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GEOFFREY SKELLEY10:38 PM
The impeachment question may have given Klobuchar her moment of the night — the process is a “decency check” for the country, she says.
NATE SILVER10:43 PM
Sort of amazing that Biden, still the national front-runner, is fifth in speaking time … and he’s probably perfectly fine with it.
…
Sanders’s supporters are young, Biden’s are older
Share of respondents in an Ipsos/FiveThirtyEight poll who said they were considering supporting each candidate, by age group
GREAT POINT!!!!
Larry Sabato
@LarrySabato
The apparently insoluble problem: the Dem candidates get grilled—at least the ones who make the debate stage. The incumbent president doesn’t hold press conferences and his press secretary doesn’t hold press briefings. #DemDebate
Dave Wasserman
@Redistrict
·
Fair to say these debates have hit the point of diminishing returns? Straining to identify much new here.
AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX10:56 PM
The idea that “God does not belong to a political party” is something that Buttigieg has been emphasizing throughout his candidacy. But it’s also true that while there are plenty of religious voters within the Democratic Party coalition, it’s an increasingly secular party.
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NATHANIEL RAKICH10:55 PM
That was probably Buttigieg’s strongest answer of the night — and it was another answer that shaded in his red-state cred, talking about his religion and military service.
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PERRY BACON JR.10:54 PM
Great answer from Buttigieg, reciting his resume as a way to contrast with Trump.
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AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX10:54 PM
Steyer is finding out what it means to be taken seriously as a candidate tonight. First he got a tough question about his previous investments in fossil fuels, then a question about how he can prove to voters that he’s more than his money.
NATE SILVER10:58 PM
Warren is making an explicit “I’m the unity candidate” case, which her campaign has been floating to the press over the past several days.
NATHANIEL RAKICH10:58 PM
Nice laugh line for Biden toward the end here. This has been his second straight solid debate. (And yes, we are grading on a curve … but as the front-runner, he doesn’t need to win debates — just not screw them up!)
This debate has been painfully boring.
james, it’s your blog, but I think your Cut and Paste thing here is a bad idea.
He, he, he….
I agree CG , which is why I cut and pasted it…
I heard the first 15 minutes ….
On the Middle East…
I liked Joe and Amy’s answers….
I agree with u that the debate was actually boring…
I don’t like listening to them any more but these debate post’s do well…
Joe Biden HAS my vote right now…
The others don’t….
But my job here is to show something about them ALL…
We KNOW what each person stands for…
Voters will make up their minds and vote…
I doubt these debates actually change any minds…
But they DO do give media exposure too the lower tier candidates …
I believe there are 3 more before Super Tuesday….UGH!
The talking heads pundits will tell U who THEY feel won….
I seldom agree with them….
And I’ve seen where they say one thing and then snap polls make them change their tunes the nest morning…
The talking heads seem to be saying that to the extent that anybody won, it was Warren. They seem to be complaining that nobody came out there even trying to have a “moment.”
Warren bringing up all the elections the male candidates on the stage lost was a bit of a cheap shot. Obviously, she was counting primaries and Sanders Liberty Union Party runs from the 70s.
The most noteworthy clash of the evening were Sanders and Warren bickering about how long ago 30 years was. Biden was mostly quiet and nobody went after him, which is good for him, but he looked more tired than he has in the last couple debates and that is what casual viewers will notice most.
I caught Elizabeth and Bernie having a bit of a awkward conversation right after the debate as people were shaking hands. He started to offer his hand to her but stopped once she started saying something and they parted without shaking hands.
And of course, it’s a he said/she said about whether or not Bernie told Elizabeth that a woman can’t win. Conventional wisdom seems to be that he did say it and others are backing it up. Yet he denies it. He ought to admit he said it if he did. It doesn’t mean he was happy with the conclusion. One of the these two major candidates is either lying or has a very bad memory problem.
Ok….
Your observation makes sense to me….
I know I’m making this up, but if I was a media editor I’d want exactly what you heard from the pundits….
The two lefties fighting HAS been the media story since Bernie bumped up after his heart attack…
Biden still leads so THAT ain’t news….
Buttigieg and Warren are dropping, but Pete just ain’t gonna be the nominee…
and Kloubachar and Steyer ain’t gonna make it SO?
what do ya have left?
It appears Bernie was smart enough NOT to REALLY get on Joe’s case…
Bernie is right back where he was 4 years ago…
Trailing the establishment Democrat…
He needs Warren to drop out as was said here…
She won’t….
They split the vote up to Super Tuesday as I have said here and?
Joe Biden has the nomination in hand 49 days from now
Nobody is even close to having the nomination in hand.
Iowa goes first and will have an effect on NH. It looks like a four way tie at the moment in theory.
NH then votes, where it also looks like close to a four way tie now and that result will impact NV and SC.
And then those states will impact what happens afterwards.
And it’s certainly not like the guy (Biden) who has a modest lead in national polls has a huge cash advantage for a long slog (like my guy Mitt did). His opponents have more money.
CG?
Right now?
3 weeks out from the Iowa Cacuses?
Biden is right in the middle of things….
I doubt he wins NH…
But he could….
After THAT?
Nevada Biden squeaks by…Sanders and him ….
THEN?
South Carolina, Texas and California forms the royal flush for Biden and he will do extremely well on Super Tuesday with Southern State that have majority black OLDER voters…
I’m sticking with MY view that Biden has an insurmountable lead by the morning of March 4th….
Again….
South Carolina IS THE KEY….
And as of this moment?
Joe Biden OWNS that state’s primary with leads of up to 20% points in the polls…
Oh, and Iowa polling has Biden RIGHT IN THERE ALSO….
I get that you are for Biden and these are exciting times for you with the first vote coming up soon but it might be smart to have a therapist on retainer just in case. You seem impervious to the possibility of things not going how you think.
I got thru Obama beating Hillary….
I’ll be be ok…..
I COULD be RIGHT u know…..
Bernie Sanders winning the DEMOCRATIC nomination could tear the party apart….
Sanders has received either the highest or next highest favorability rating of the candidates when only Democrats are polled. His problem is that it is unclear how much support he can get from independents and Republicans.
The Democratic Party WILL be united regardless of who the party nominates. Every thinking person who has any set of real values has already said that they will vote for the Democratic Party’s nominee for President in November.
Politico on the debate….
The Hill on the debate…
Fox News on the Debate….
WashPost on the debate…
Van Jones is saying he is very “discouraged” and “dispirited” because there was nothing to indicate that anybody on stage is prepared to beat Donald Trump. (Though previously he raved about Warren’s performance.)
Ouch.
Others are commenting on what I noticed about what was clearly a pretty angry moment between Warren and Sanders *after* the debate, but with cameras rolling.
I might have missed it but did *any* of the candidates on stage tonight offer a solitary word of solidarity with the Iranian citizens that have been demonstrating against their government?
I think it’s an apt comparison that the “Top Four” on stage had the mindset of an NFL team that already clinched a playoff berth just sitting all their starters in Week 17.
Why even have a debate at all then?
David Plouffe (Obama’s campaign manager) said he wants to the race to get “tougher” that it has been too “gentle.”
David is incorrect…
Democrats do NOT want infighting
I’ve pointed out here repeatedly…
Going after Biden hard loses you support…
Biden cruised it appeared tonight IN FIRST place…
Let Warren and Sanders fight…
She’s losing anyways….
If she bounces back?
It hurts Sanders and helps Biden…
He, he, he….On second thought?
Maybe that ‘s what Plouffe wants!
He’s saying that whomever emerges better be ready for Trump and what he will throw at them and that they are not being properly prepared for that test.
That’s silly.
Everybody knows about Trump ,his bombast,his lies ,his exaggerations, his barely concealed racism, his hate monger ing.
So what’s this “preparing “ routine?
Tht sounds like ,”I’ve got nothing to say,but since I’m being asked a question I guess I’ll say this.”