Gulf Today

Eyes on Biden as Democrats ready for third 2020 debate

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WASHINGTON: Ten Democrats seeking the White House will gather on Thursday for their party’s third debate of the 2020 cycle, with frontrunne­r Joe Biden sharing the stage with top rival Elizabeth Warren for the first time.

The televised showdown in Houston will be the longest to date in the primary contest, a three-hour marathon that will give voters their first opportunit­y to see all the leading candidates onstage together.

The previous encounters, in June and July, featured 20 candidates over two nights, leaving viewers shell-shocked a full seven months before the first votes are cast, in Iowa next February, to determine the nominee. While most of those candidates remain in the race, the debate is effectivel­y halving the field as Democrats seek a challenger to President Donald Trump.

Thursday’s debate, airing on ABC from 7:00 pm (2300 GMT), will bring America’s diversity to the fore.

The 10 candidates are white, black, Hispanic, and Asian-american; seven men and three women; three septuagena­rians and four candidates 30 to 40 years their junior; and centrists, progressiv­es and liberals.

In a sign of the different political currents coursing through the party, the moderate Biden will take center stage sandwiched between the prominent progressiv­es Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist who launched the universal healthcare approach known as Medicare for All.

All eyes will be on 76-year-old Biden, who maintains a grip on pole position with 29.8 percent support, according to a poll average compiled by Real clear politics.

His summer of verbal miscues—and an apparent lack of preparedne­ss for spirited atacks by rivals in the first debate — raised doubts about Barack Obama’s deputy’s age and mental clarity, and whether he will stand the test of a grueling political campaign. To date, the Democratic veteran has largely kept those concerns at bay.

He enjoys strong support in particular from African-american communitie­s and from workingcla­ss whites who appreciate his blue-collar appeal and believe he is best able to beat Trump, a top priority for Democratic voters.

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