Democratic Debates Begin Tonight: Progressives vs Centrists
The first debate of the 2020 presidential election is tonight, with part 2 tomorrow night.
The debates will be available to watch on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo at 9 p.m. [8pm central] on both nights and will be available to stream for free on NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, and the NBC News app, as well as all Telemundo digital platforms, marking the first time a Spanish-language channel will host a Democratic presidential debate. (Yahoo News)
Tonight will be 10 candidates, tomorrow 10 more. Four candidates didn’t qualify.
In the recent non-scientific Sunday Poll readers think the last four candidates next year will be two progressives (Sanders, Warren) and two centrists (Biden, Buttigieg).
Q: Of the 20 candidates in the first Democratic debate pick the 4 you THINK will still be the last 4 remaining before the nominee is picked.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont: 25 [19.84%]
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts: 22 [17.46%]
- Former Vice President Joe Biden: 21 [16.67%]
- South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg: 19 [15.08%]
- Sen. Kamala Harris of California: 18 [14.29%]
- Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey: 4 [3.17%]
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota: 3 [2.38%]
- TIE: 2 [1.59%]
- Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro
- Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii
- Former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado
- Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas
- Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
- TIE: 1 [0.79%]
- Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
- A candidate that didn’t make the 1st debate
- TIE: 0 [0%]
- Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland
- Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington
- Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio
- Rep. Eric Swalwell of California
- Author Marianne Williamson
Remember, a lot can happen in a year.
Debating tonight will be following:
- Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey
- Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
- Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland
- Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii
- Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
- Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas
- Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Warren is doing very well lately, but we won’t get to see her debate with other front-runners this time. Not sure if this is good or bad for her, probably a little of both.
Tomorrow night will be the other ten, with most of the current front-runners:
- Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
- Sen. Kamala Harris of California
- Former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado
- Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont
- Rep. Eric Swalwell of California
- Author Marianne Williamson
- Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
The four candidates who didn’t qualify for this first round of debates are:
- Montana Gov. Steve Bullock
- former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel
- Miramar, Fla., Mayor Wayne Messam
- Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton
Here are some 2020 guides to candidates:
I supported Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 primary — an easy decision given the choices. With so many candidates this time I feel I need to learn more about them before coming to a decision.
— Steve Patterson