Presidential candidates Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Former vice president Joe Biden, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) appear on stage at the start of he Democratic presidential debate at Tyler Perry Studios on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. The 10 qualifying candidates participated in the campaign seasons fifth debate, hosted by The Washington Post via Getty Images and MSNBC.(Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The first debate after the puzzling and contentious Iowa caucuses and just a few days before the New Hampshire primary, Friday night promised to be a showdown between Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders, both of whom claimed victory in Iowa.
But, at least for the first half hour, they stayed away from directly attacking each other. Instead, divisions between progressive and moderate Democrats were highlighted during an impassioned discussion of healthcare policy, and, now that he has a win under his belt, pretty much everyone attacked Buttigieg’s experience and electability.
We tracked the candidates’ performance in the debate, ahead.
Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders was an easy target at the New Hampshire debate, given his performance in Iowa. He spent most of the first part of the debate defending his signature policy, Medicare for All, against Biden and others who attacked it for being too expensive and impractical. But other questions surrounded Sanders’ lead: “Is anyone concerned about the Democratic socialist on top?” (No one took the bait on that one except Amy Klobuchar.) Asked about jabs from Hillary Clinton at Sanders (of all things), the candidates deflected. “I like Bernie okay!” quipped Klobuchar. Biden actually came over and hugged Sanders.
As of 9:30 p.m., Sanders had the most speaking time of all the candidates with almost 13 minutes, according to The New York Times. (Yang, at the bottom, had about 4.)
Are Klobuchar and Bernie flirting
— Liz Plank (@feministabulous) February 8, 2020
Pete Buttigieg
One of two self-declared winners of the Iowa caucuses, Pete Buttigieg came to head with the question of his experience — yet again. “If you are looking for the person with the most years of Washington experience under your belt, you’ve got your candidate, and of course, it’s not me!” Buttigieg said, as the split-screen showed a grinning Biden. One of the conflicts on stage — and in this race — seems to be between those with decades of political experience (Biden, who knows world leaders by name) and those with virtually none (Yang, Steyer).
As of 9:30 p.m., Buttigieg had the third-most amount of speaking time, at 12 minutes 7 seconds.
Elizabeth Warren
Relatively quiet for the first part of the debate, Elizabeth Warren made powerful statements on corruption, endless war, and gun violence. She had an applause-worthy line on abortion: “I’ve lived in an America where abortion was illegal, and rich women still got abortions.” She was in the middle when it came to speaking time; as of 9:30 p.m., she had spoken for 9 minutes 20 seconds.
Looks like Elizabeth Warren’s message of “let’s unite against Trump” is having an influence on the rest of the field.#DemDebate
— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) February 8, 2020
Joe Biden
Joe Biden‘s night kicked off with a few low blows to Iowa lead Buttigieg. (Later in the night, Buttigieg actually came to Biden’s defense on the subject of Trump trying to investigate his son Hunter Biden.) He’s spent a lot of time touting his record and experience so far, asking, “What about the past was so bad?” referring to the achievements of the Obama administration. As of 9:30 p.m., he had the second-highest speaking time with 12 minutes 50 seconds.
Amy Klobuchar
Amy Klobuchar‘s first stand-out moment was calling BS on Sanders’ Medicare for All: “I keep listening to the same debate on Medicare for All but it’s not real. Two-thirds of Senate Democrats aren’t on the bill. It would kick 149 million Americans off their current health insurance in four years. I will build on the Affordable Care Act — not blow it up.”
I keep listening to the same debate on Medicare for All but it’s not real. Two-thirds of Senate Democrats aren’t on the bill. It would kick 149 million Americans off their current health insurance in 4 years.
I will build on the Affordable Care Act—not blow it up. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/ETx5cD1gfj
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) February 8, 2020
In another heated call-out, Klobuchar critiqued Buttigieg regarding the age-old (pun intended) experience debate. “59 is the new 38!” she told him. She echoed Biden when she said, “We have a newcomer in the White House and look where it got us.” As of 9:30 p.m., she had the third-lowest speaking time with 8 minutes 50 seconds.
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