MIAMI — Roughly half of the Democratic 2020 presidential field tried to draw distinctions between themselves during the primary cycle’s opening debate. But the first candidates to walk onto the stage only timidly criticized the man they are seeking to replace, President Trump, and largely ignored the race’s current front-runner.
Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Tim Ryan, and Elizabeth Warren took center stage at the Democratic National Committee’s first debate, at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami late Wednesday. They were the first 10 contenders to introduce themselves to the country over the course of the two-night series. But the group tiptoed around the two men casting the longest shadows over the contest: President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden, a senator from Delaware for 36 years before running successfully with President Barack Obama, leads in virtually all polls to date.
Warren, a senator for Massachusetts, anchored the Wednesday debate, becoming its focal point early on. Most of the moderator questions during the first segment about the economy either were geared toward her, or she was asked to rebut others’ responses.
And that programming decision paid dividends for Warren. Klobuchar, a senator from Minnesota with a moderate image but a fairly standard Democratic voting record, declined to criticize the liberal firebrand for overpromising as she continues to release dozens of detailed policy proposals. Booker, a senator from New Jersey, forewent more than one opportunity to jab at Warren, including an instance over her antitrust efforts.
Clashes were relatively rare, but O’Rourke, a former Texas representative who answered multiple queries in Spanish, was the most frequent target. During a segment dedicated to healthcare, de Blasio, the mayor of New York, and John Delaney, a former Maryland congressman, attacked O’Rourke for saying he wouldn’t abolish private health insurance. Castro, a former Obama administration housing secretary, then pressed his Texas compatriot on his failure to call for the decriminalization of border crossings.
To repudiate Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s riff arguing he was the only White House hopeful in the spotlight to pass a law protecting abortion access, Klobuchar countered by touting the three women on stage, who she said have fought “pretty hard” for reproductive rights. Warren, Klobuchar, and Tulsi Gabbard, a representative from Hawaii, made history Wednesday for being the most women on a presidential debate stage at the same time.
Meanwhile, Warren embraced Sen. Bernie Sanders’ key platform of “Medicare for all.” Sanders seemed a natural target for Warren, given her slow climb in the polls at his expense as she pulls more support from his corner. Her reply simultaneously bolstered her liberal bona fides, as some critics accuse her of being too cozy with capitalists.
One name hardly mentioned in the debate: Trump. “This president has literally gone backward,” Klobuchar said at one point about the spiraling national debt and deficit. Gabbard was the most direct in slamming Trump, lamenting his “chickenhawk cabinet” leading the U.S. toward war with Iran. But that was about as rough as the rhetoric got.
The president himself seemed to take notice, tweeting at one point, “BORING!”
BORING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2019
How the two-hour debate will shape the race is an open question.
Florida Democrats such as Adriana Gonzalez, 38, told the Washington Examiner they would use the debates to scrutinize the candidates in the hope of hearing “authenticity” and “original thinking.” Gonzalez, a voter protection attorney and Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida member from Lake Worth who is leaning toward Warren and Castro, said she was more concerned about the contenders’ “values” rather than their electoral prospects against Trump.
Imran Siddiqui, a 36-year-old Democratic voter protection strategist from Boca Raton who describes himself as “movable” when it comes to backing a hopeful, disagreed. He wants a candidate that “resonates with the voters and fires them up,” so Democrats can win back swing states such as Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in 2020.
Wednesday night’s debate is the prelude for Thursday’s spectacle that will showcase four of the five top-tier contenders: Biden, Sanders, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and California Sen. Kamala Harris. The second group of 10 is rounded out by Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, California Rep. Eric Swalwell, self-help guru Marianne Williamson, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
