To this point, the Democratic primary fight has been relatively tame. But it’s about to get nasty.
Over the course of the nomination battle to date, there have been a few contentious moments. Among those that come immediately to mind are Sen. Kamala Harris mauling Joe Biden over school busing, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard targeting various candidates, and most recently, Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s “wine cave” attack on Pete Buttigieg. Yet compared to most contested primaries, these are relatively minor skirmishes.
I expect this to change. Once the vacation season is behind us on Jan. 2, there will only be about a month to go before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3. For some candidates, the first contest will be do or die. For all others, it has the potential to boost or severely weaken their candidacies. So there really isn’t any more room for pleasantries.
At this point, candidates who have been holding their tongues on certain lines of attack will unleash them. Opposition research that has, to this point, been kept close is likely to be deployed. If Sen. Bernie Sanders remains at or near the top in Iowa and New Hampshire (especially with Warren still in the mix), we’re likely to see the long-simmering tension between the Democratic establishment and the resurgent Left blow up in increasingly ugly ways.
The Jan. 14 debate in Iowa is likely to bring some more fireworks than previous outings, but things are inclined to heat up sooner than that.
