O’DONNELL Mayor Pete had his best debate last night. He finally went on offense and was one of the few who was actually able to get the better of Elizabeth Warren in their exchange on health care. His exchange with Beto over guns may have ended Beto’s candidacy. If he performs like this in future debates and on the campaign trail, he could become an alternative for Biden supporters.
FINNEY Mayor Buttigieg had his strongest performance, particularly strong on gun safety, Syria and foreign policy, and was clearly trying to take the mantle of the moderate that can bring the party together. The question is whether or not he gets a bounce out of tonight and can leverage that into movement in the polls.
POTTER Senator Harris spent most of the evening presenting a deadly serious, passionate candidate who could credibly take on the president, and suggested she’s identified a message that could take her through a long primary.
O’DONNELL Senator Booker attempted to play the role of unifier last night. However, while well spoken, he always seemed to be one or two questions behind. He inserted his rehearsed answer defending Biden from the Ukraine attack on a question about jobs and was a couple of questions behind at other points in the debate. Yes, he is likable, and playing the role of unifier is great if you’re auditioning for a role in one of the other candidate’s cabinet, but it won’t cause voters to come his way. Cory Booker claimed he was having déjà vu all over again, but I think it was his irrelevant debate performance that was causing it.
DUNN Senator Klobuchar had a great night again. She had it all: intelligence, humor, authenticity, relatability; she knew how to play offense without appearing mean or angry. She was even the first to mention Ohio! Her consistently excellent performances, along with those of Senator Booker and Andrew Yang, should make us all stop and wonder why the D.N.C. set up a debate process seemingly designed to reinforce the inevitability of the top few candidates while making sure they are attacked as much as possible before the general election.
KALL Considering it was his inaugural debate performance, Tom Steyer turned in a pretty solid overall performance last night. Mr. Steyer was referred to as the only billionaire onstage by the moderator Erin Burnett, which he playfully shrugged off. I do think he missed an opportunity here to contrast himself further with President Donald Trump, who shares a similar financial status. Since Steyer has already qualified for next month’s debate in Atlanta, he likely viewed Tuesday night as just the opening salvo in a two-part act. Judging by the negative reaction on social media during the debate, he should also consider a different tie choice for November’s debate.
FINNEY Castro had a good night overall but given the momentum the front-runners have did not see a breakthrough moment that would give him a post-debate bump.