A Democratic strategist who formerly worked on presidential campaigns for John Edwards and Barack Obama gave his post-debate analysis this morning on the first round of 2020 Democratic hopefuls. Eric Soufer, who is the managing director of political strategy outfit, Tusk Ventures, offered poignant critiques and some unexpected praise of the 10 Democrats on stage in Miami Wednesday night.
Soufer was deeply critical of New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker saying, “Death by a thousand platitudes. His riff about living in Newark has gone stale.” But his most negative review was of former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, once considered a front-runner, saying he was “surprisingly cautious and clearly uncomfortable. He failed to connect with the audience and took more arrows from his opponents than anyone else. It was painful to watch.”
Soufer offered high praise for former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, saying the 44-year-old offered “a good, standout performance as the young, energetic candidate in a primary where age will be an issue.” He gave his most ardent commendation, however, to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren saying she was “strong, erudite and the only one who could effectively explain why the economy isn’t working for everyone. She’s clearly leading this pack.”
Unmoved by a confident performance by Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Soufer noted that she “Missed opportunity to stand out as the foreign policy candidate despite her military credentials. She could not muster specifics on any foreign policy question.”
Early post-debate polling pegged Gabbard as the runaway favorite, with a reader poll conducted by the Washington Examiner showing Gabbard holding an impressive 42% of the recorded user votes. Warren, who Soufer applauded, is currently the closest to Gabbard in that poll with 20.39%. O’Rourke and Booker polled at less than 10%.
While many were critical of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Soufer was cautiously optimistic about his performance saying that he “exceeded exceedingly low expectations. He clearly expressed his progressive values and vision, and — as a candidate people didn’t know or didn’t like very much — I think you’re going to start to see that change.”
The next 10 Democratic candidates will take the stage tonight in Miami, including current front-runner Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
