Matchups to watch
Biden bristles, Beto is behind, and left pulls against center
WASHINGTON – Joe Biden said he “wasn’t prepared.” The former vice president frowned on the debate stage last month as Sen. Kamala Harris criticized his “hurtful” comments on working with segregationist Democratic senators and his opposition to federally mandated busing to integrate public schools while he was in Congress.
Harris described a little girl who was helped by busing from her school district in the Bay Area, closing with the line: “That little girl was me.”
The confrontation led to a bump in polls for Harris.
Since then, Biden has promised: He’s done being polite.
Several candidates escalated their rhetoric against fellow 2020 Democrats before the next round of debates Tuesday and Wednesday at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.
The gloves are officially off. This debate is crucial for lesserknown candidates (such as Govs. Steve Bullock or Jay Inslee) or candidates who have seen steadily dipping poll numbers (Beto O’Rourke) if they want to make it onto the next debate stage.
The threshold for the debates in September requires candidates to hit 2% in four qualifying polls and tally at least 130,000 individual donors, according to the Democratic National Committee guidelines. Seven candidates – O’Rourke, Biden, Harris, Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren – have met the threshold.
On the second night of the debates, Biden will be sandwiched between the two African American presidential candidates, both of whom have been critical of his record on civil rights. Harris and Booker are vying for the critical black voter bloc – one Biden continues to hold on to, according to polls.
Throughout the debate, the three candidates will probably try to tout their records as best on criminal justice and civil rights. The debate will take place in Detroit where nearly 80% of the city is African American, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Last week, Biden introduced a criminal justice plan that would reverse portions of a 1994 crime bill that he helped write. Harris introduced a plan in the Senate that would decriminalize marijuana, a change from her previous stance.
Booker slammed Biden as the “architect” of mass incarceration, pointing to the 1994 crime bill, which critics said targeted and affected mostly communities of color.
“Cory knows that’s not true,” Biden shot back, telling people to look at Booker’s record while mayor of Newark, New Jersey. “(Booker’s) police department was stopping and frisking mostly African American men,” Biden said. “If he wants to go back and talk about records, I’m happy to do that. But I’d rather talk about the future.”
Booker, who has lagged in polling, said Friday that Biden’s criticisms were “ridiculous.”
Biden signaled that he won’t be afraid to fight back if Harris comes after him again.
“I’m not going to be as polite this time,” he said.
Two of the most liberal 2020 candidates will be on stage with more moderate candidates.
Warren and Sanders have argued for a $15 federal minimum wage, free college and tax increases on the wealthy. The two New England senators have called for canceling student loan debt.
Candidates such as John Delaney, John Hickenlooper, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Tim Ryan and Montana Gov. Bullock have touted their campaigns as alternatives to the far-left presidential hopefuls.
Last week, Bullock criticized plans that would cancel student loan debt. He said one-third of the debt is owed by the wealthiest quarter of all Americans and only 20% of Americans carry student debt at all.
Hickenlooper has repeatedly denounced “socialism” (Sanders is a selfdescribed democratic socialist), and Klobuchar touted her bipartisan work in the Senate.
Warren and Sanders routinely poll among the top candidates with voters. None of the more centrist Democrats sharing the stage with them has broken into the top five.
Several candidates will look for a breakout moment.
O’Rourke, once seen as a top contender, has slumped in polling and fallen behind in fundraising.
Buttigieg, who raised the most money among 2020 Democrats last quarter, has struggled to gain traction with black and Latino voters.
Julián Castro, who was Housing and Urban Development secretary in the Obama administration and is the only Latino candidate, has hardly broken past 1% in many polls.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand hasn’t made much headway in a crowded field. Despite routinely interjecting her policy ideas in the last debate, the New York Democrat has not seen support grow.