The ninth Democratic debate was a political battle that lasted an intense two hours. Earlier debates were informational and became repetitive, but the ninth debate, which took place on February 19, was different. One, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined the stage after gaining in the polls. Two, the primaries have started, and this was one of the candidates’ last chances to prove themselves as the right candidate. From the moment the moderator asked the first question, it was as if the candidates had just heard, “now, let the Hunger Games begin.” There was no more politeness. This debate had the feel of the last hundred meters of a race, and the candidates had to give it their all.
Bloomberg entered his first debate facing a constant onslaught. It was as if the one thing every candidate could agree on was to take Bloomberg down. The billionaire faced his history with sexual harassment allegations and the racist policy of stop-and-frisk. Bloomberg got an introduction from Senator Warren, who described him as “a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians.” When Tom Steyer was on the stage, his billionaire status seemed like something other candidates gently teased him about, but with Bloomberg, Warren and Sanders were out for the kill. Throughout the two hours, Bloomberg seemed genuinely uncomfortable and regretful towards not sticking to his five hundred million dollar television ads. Klobuchar and Warren stood by each other for the most part, taking turns shooting feminist zingers, coming in handy when Bloomberg was faced with his history of non-disclosure agreements and sexual harassment complaints.
Warren was a force of nature, taking down everything in her path. Not only did she lead the attack on Bloomberg, but there were at least two incidences where she took a shot at every single person on the stage within thirty seconds, calling out every candidate personally. Often, the senator didn’t seem to even bother with Bloomberg during the group strikes because he was already in his own Warren-created heap of rubble. Out of every candidate, Warren won herself the most speaking time with almost seventeen minutes under her belt. If anyone could be called a winner of this debate, most experts would point to Warren.
The rocky start to the debate became even more tense when Senator Klobuchar was questioned about her forgetting the name of the President of Mexico. Mayor Buttigieg was quick to call her out, but the attack quickly became personal as many pointed out that they looked like they wanted to physically harm each other. At one point, the senator accused Buttigeig of calling her “dumb” and of being overly personal. Senator Warren swung in with her take on the disagreement, stepping in to defend her fellow senator, saying “It happens to everybody on this stage.” Over the course of the evening, the unity between the only two female candidates seemed stronger than any alliances witnessed in the past. The two senators defended one another on numerous occasions.
This debate took a big swerve from the former “party unity” speeches. Unlike prior debates, Democratic unity was not a topic anyone came back to. Whether an effect or a cause of the lack of unity, President Trump was not mentioned. Often candidates can find common ground when Trump is discussed, but there was a notable lack of that discussion, which eliminated the talk of a larger, united goal of the Democratic Party and instead led the candidates to focus on their individual priorities. Without talk of a united Democratic Party, the glowing stage turned into a bloody battlefield.
Biden seemed to have successfully faded into the background. Bloomberg seemed to have also wanted to fade into the background, without as much success. Klobuchar fared better in the early caucuses than predicted, but many doubt that will actually give her a shot at the nomination. Warren seems to be in the same boat as Biden in terms of caucus results, but she remains strong in the debates. Sanders is looking more and more like the Democratic nominee with every new debate. The Vermont senator avoided major conflict and escaped without any major scratches. After wins in New Hampshire and Nevada where he succeeded with numerous demographics, his chances of the nomination seem fairly likely.
Since June, America has watched debate after debate as a stage of twenty candidates narrowed to six, and will only get smaller. Poll highs came and went for each candidate. Democratic voters have put themselves in a seemingly endless circle of wondering whether they should care more about a candidate’s ability to win or their policies. Throughout it all, the question has remained: will Democratic voters pull through? Currently, there are thirty million registered Republicans and forty-two million registered Democrats. Voter turnout has been an overarching problem for years, and with the 2020 presidential election, each party needs their voters to show up.