As the race to the primaries closes in, this is what the candidates had to say at the November debate
Image of the 10 candidates who took the debate stage in Atlanta on Wednesday. (Photo: The Wrap)
November’s Democratic Primary debate on Nov. 18 happened less than three months before the Iowa Caucus and in the middle of impeachment hearings. The debate, which took place at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, held 10 of the Democratic candidates and was hosted by the Washington Post and MSNBC.
The two-hour-long debate featured topics such as President Donald Trump, marijuana, race, and other topics. It also displayed candidates sticking up for one another.
In attendance was former Vice President Joe Biden, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, billionaire Tom Steyer, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
Some candidates had some obvious highs during the debate, while some raised questions from the audience.
In the days leading up to the debate, an Iowa poll placed Buttigieg as the front runner of the race.
Typically, front-runners have been targets for other candidates at previous debates, so some might have thought the mayor would be under attack. People have criticized Buttigieg in the past for his lack of experience in government and was asked about that during the debate.
Buttigieg was quick to declare that despite his lack of experience, he is more equipped to be president than Trump.
“We need somebody who can go toe-to-toe, who actually comes from the kinds of communities that he’s been appealing to,” Buttigieg said. Then proceeded to take aim at the president by saying, “I don’t talk a big game about helping the working class while helicoptering between golf courses with my name on them.”
Other candidates on stage surprisingly stood up for Buttigieg when he was questioned by the moderators.
“Pete is qualified to be up on this stage, and I am honored to be standing next to him,” Klobuchar said.
Sanders went on to mention the impeachment inquiry and his support for the House Democrats and their efforts.
The issue of gender entered into the debate when Klobuchar reminded the audience that women are held to a higher standard than men are. She also asked the audience to think of their favorite female U.S. president to emphasize the lack thereof.
“If you think a woman can’t beat Donald Trump,” Klobuchar added, “Nancy Pelosi does it every single day.”
The debate had some heated moments between candidates.
Harris slammed Gabbard about her loyalty to the party after Gabbard called out former presidential candidate and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on stage.
“I think that it's unfortunate that we have someone on this stage that is attempting to be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States, who during the Obama administration spent four years full time on Fox News criticizing President Obama,” Harris said.
Gabbard quickly rebutted Harris’ claims and said Harris was “continuing to traffic in lies and smears and innuendos because she cannot challenge the substance of the argument that I'm making, the leadership and the change that I'm seeking to bring in our foreign policy."
Another exchange between candidates included Biden.
Biden has been known to stumble over his words or misspeak and this happened again at Wednesday’s debate when he was expressing how African American’s support him and his campaign, he made an obvious mistake in what he said.
Biden said he was supported by the “only African American woman that had ever been elected to the United States Senate.”
Biden was referring to Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun D-Il., who was a member of the senate in the 1990s.
This is obviously not true because he was standing only a feet from Harris, a Black woman in the Senate.
Booker and Harris quickly corrected his statement. Biden then exclaimed that he said “the first, not only,” which he didn’t.
Booker also took aim at Biden when he questioned if the vice president was high when he said he did not support the legalization of marijuana because it might be a “gateway drug.”
Another instance of candidates sticking up for one another was when Steyer, the newest candidate on the stage, was questioned about his billionaire status funding his campaign.
“Tom has been spending his own money fighting climate change. You can’t knock someone for having money and spending it in the right way” Yang said.
Yang, who spoke the least at the debate, according to the Washington Post, offered a colorful answer to how his first call with Russian President Vladamir Putin would go if he won the presidency.
“I’m sorry I beat your guy,” Yang answered, causing the audience and other candidates to laugh. He then added how he would tell the foreign leader that his attempts to meddle in U.S. elections is over.
Warren, who in past debates received scrutiny over her Medicare-for-All plan, was not questioned about it.
As the primary election gets closer, candidates are dropping out, people are entertaining the idea of running and the requirements to be at the debates are becoming more limiting.
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro was a candidate who did not meet the requirements for the November debate.
Castro was the first candidate to raise awareness of the issue that some of the first caucus states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, lack diversity and are majority white. Castro’s criticism helped him remain trending on Twitter during the debate, despite him not being on the debate stage.
The next Democratic primary debate will be on Dec. 19 at the University of California, Los Angeles and will be hosted by Politico and PBS. Only five of the 10 candidates who were present in November have qualified for the next debate.
The Democratic National Committee’s requirements include: Candidates must achieve at least 4 percent support in at least four polls approved by the Democratic National Convention or 6% support in two single-state polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, or Nevada that were conducted between Oct. 16 and Dec. 12.
Nov. 24 former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially announced his bid for president, but he has not qualified for the December debate.
Harris’ Dec. 3 announcement that she has ended her presidential campaign means that there are now just three women who are running for the 2020 spot.