• Politics

7 Things to Watch for in the Democratic Debate

3 minute read

It’s Democratic debate day in Las Vegas. Here’s what to watch for:

1. Can Hillary Clinton reclaim her undisputed front-runner status? A polling slump over her email scandal and the rise of Bernie Sanders in early state polling has pierced the former shell of inevitability around the former Secretary of State. Sharing a stage with her rivals will be her clearest opportunity to distinguish herself from the pack once again.

2. Will Sanders rise to Clinton’s level? The Vermont Senator has been a critic from the outside, riding a wave of populist discontent in the Democratic Party, but he has yet to establish himself as a truly credible president. The debate may determine whether he’s a real alternative to Clinton, or just forcing her to cater more to her left flank.

3. Martin O’Malley faces a do-or-die moment on the debate stage. He’s campaigned harder and longer than any Democrat in the race, but has struggled under weak fundraising and just-as-weak polling. Positioning himself as a more progressive alternative to Clinton, he’s struggled to catch fire amid Sanders’ rise. If he can’t connect with voters tonight, it’ll likely mark the beginning of the end for his campaign.

4. Who are Lincoln Chaffee and Jim Webb? The two former lawmakers have earned a place on stage simply by virtue of being declared candidates. Neither has extensively campaigned and their name-recognition is close to zero among Democrats. They’re not going to win the nomination, and tonight, they need to provide a reason for an invitation to the next debate.

5. Who will strike first? Clinton and the other top two Democrats have been dancing around each other for months as they’ve rolled out conflicting policy proposals and aides have taken pot-shots and one another. But to date they’ve rarely engaged each other head-on. While most expect a more substance-heavy debate—as opposed to the personality-driven slugfest that were the two first Republican contests—it’s in all the Democrats’ interests to strike some blows against their rivals, which is one way of showing life on the debate stage. The open questions are who strikes first, and who lands the sharpest punch.

6. Joe Biden won’t be on stage, but will he be missed? The VP’s very-public mulling of a presidential run has extended for more than two months, and while he’s still incredibly popular with Democrats, will they be happy with their field tonight or be left wanting more?

7. How will Democrats approach President Obama? They’ll all fawn over Obamacare and credit his handling of the economy when he first took office, but expect to see differences over immigration, trade policy, and a range of foreign policy issues from Afghanistan to Syria to Russia. Each candidate is seeking to avoid the label of running Obama’s third term, but breaking too far from him may frustrate the president’s still-loyal base of supporters.

See Hillary Clinton's Evolution in 20 Photos

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Teenager: Hillary Rodham poses in her 1965 senior class portrait from Park Ridge East High School in Illinois. AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Law School Student: Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham pose for a snapshot at Yale Law School in 1972. They married in 1975.Clinton Presidential Library
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Mother: Clinton poses with her husband, Bill, then in his first term as governor, with their week-old daughter, Chelsea, on March 5, 1980.Donald R. Broyles—AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Campaign Companion: Clinton celebrates her husband's victory in a Democratic runoff in Little Rock, Ark. on June 8, 1982.AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Arkansas First Lady: Clinton is seen in her inaugural ball gown in 1985. A. Lynn—AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Political Wife: Clinton celebrates her husband's inauguration in Little Rock on Sept. 20, 1991.Danny Johnston—AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Dignitary: Clinton receives an honorary law degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., on May 30, 1992.Chris Ocken—AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a meeting during the presidential campaign for her husband in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 4, 1992.Bill Sikes—AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton
First Lady: Clinton appears at the MTV Inauguration Ball at the Washington Convention Center on Jan. 20, 1993. Shayna Brennan—AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Second-Term First Lady: Clinton attends the Inaugural Ball after her husband was sworn in to a second term on Jan. 20, 1997. Brooks Kraft—Corbis
Hillary Rodham Clinton
New York Senator: Clinton speaks at a press conference with female Democratic senators in Washington on June 21, 2006. Brooks Kraft—Corbis
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Committee Member: Clinton listens to the testimony of Lt. General David Petraeus to the Senate Armed Forces Committee at a hearing on Capital Hill in Washington on Jan. 23, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Candidate: Clinton holds a a campaign event in Portsmouth, N.H., while running for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 2, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Jan. 2, 2008. Brooks Kraft—Corbis
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State: Clinton kisses President Obama at a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 24, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Witness: Clinton joins Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Dec. 3, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Witness: Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Jan. 23, 2013.J. Scott Applewhite—AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Author: Clinton attends a signing memoir, "Hard Choices," at a Costco in Arlington, Va., on June 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Grandmother: Clinton holds her granddaughter Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City on Sept. 27, 2014.Office of President Clinton/AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Once and Future Candidate: Clinton speaks at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, on Sept. 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis

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