MIAMI — Mostly lower-tier Democratic presidential candidates took the stage on Wednesday in Miami, but Thursday’s debate is packed with front-runners and rising stars. Here are 10 things to watch in the second round:
1.) Showtime for Joe Biden
Thus far, Biden has kept a light campaign schedule and tried to frame the race as himself versus President Trump. Thursday’s debate will force comparisons between him and other White House hopefuls.
The former vice president has dominated early polls, despite allegations of inappropriate contact with women, flip-flopping to now oppose the Hyde Amendment that bans federal funds from being spent on abortion, and primary rivals criticizing the impact of the 1994 crime bill, which Biden helped craft and pass, on criminal justice issues.
Being the favorite makes him a target, and Biden is likely to field many questions about and perhaps assaults on his long record.
2.) Shadow of race controversies
Several of the candidates debating Thursday could address recent controversies surrounding race issues.
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg comes into the debate after dealing with fallout from a white police officer shooting and killing a black man this month in his hometown. The shooting underscored Buttigieg’s struggles to shore up support from black voters.
Biden took heat last week after he touted his relationships with segregationist Senate colleagues in the 1970s. “At least there was some civility,” he said. “We didn’t agree on much of anything. We got things done.”
California Sen. Kamala Harris, who is on the debate stage Thursday, said how Biden “coddled” the reputations of segregationists was “misinformed” and “wrong.”
3.) Old vs. young
Thursday’s debate includes some of the oldest and youngest candidates: 76-year-old Biden, 77-year-old Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 37-year-old Buttigieg, and 38-year-old California Rep. Eric Swalwell.
Many Democratic voters are wary of an older candidate as the Democratic nominee and are enthusiastic about younger contenders.
Biden sometimes rambles, and Sanders tends to lean on the lectern in front of him, which could hurt their images.
Buttigieg has made his age and fresh perspective a selling point of his candidacy and slammed a “return to the 1990s,” a veiled reference to Biden. He will likely contrast his youth with his opponents’ ages.
4.) Left vs. Center
Wednesday night’s debate demonstrated the Democratic Party’s lurch to the left of the political spectrum.
Thursday’s spectacle will likely showcase friction within the party from proponents of more liberal standpoints, like Sanders, and those who fall more toward toward the center, such as Biden, Buttigieg, and Harris.
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper evoked jeers last month at the California state Democratic Party’s convention in San Francisco for warning that the party risked alienating voters by pivoting toward socialism.
Days later, Sanders spoke at George Washington University and said the country needed to persist in rising up against the “forces of oligarchy and authoritarianism.”
5.) Bernie Sanders in search of a comeback
Despite consistently finishing second in public opinion research, polling suggests Sanders supporters are “feeling the Bern” less as the primary race drags on.
The candidate, who ran for the White House in 2016, has the opportunity on Thursday to reignite his base with his socialist leanings and stem the bloodletting he has suffered to his populist twin Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Sanders may do that by taking digs at centrist Biden and the former vice president’s ties with corporate America.
6.) Kamala Harris on the offense
Harris faced scrutiny early in her campaign from those trying to reconcile her record as California’s state attorney general and San Francisco’s district attorney and her stances on criminal justice reform. But she recently turned her prosecutorial background into a key plank of her platform.
“I’m here to ask for your support because I am prepared to make the case for America and to prosecute the case against Donald Trump,” Harris said at the Iowa Democratic Party Hall of Fame forum this month.
The debate stage is a chance for Harris to assert herself as a well-rounded, aggressive contender who can take on Trump.
7.) Yang Gang and Williamson
Political novices business entrepreneur Andrew Yang and author Marianne Williamson will look to make their mark with the mainstream media as their campaigns continue to gain traction on the fringes of the party.
The underdogs joked on Twitter during the first debate that they should brush up on their Spanish language skills. Yang will likely use humor to stand out on Thursday night, previously poking fun at Biden for failing to show up to the Iowa Democratic Party’s Hall of Fame celebration.
Williamson also has no trouble using her vocal timbre to command a crowd, given her past life as a self-help guru.
8.) Gillibrand seeking a breakout moment
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has struggled to maintain foothold in the polls and was one of the last candidates to announce that she met the Democratic National Committee’s 65,000-donor threshold to cement her place in the June and July debates.
Gillibrand now focuses on women’s issues and has made a Fox News host’s comment that she was “not very polite” a tagline for her campaign.
9.) Swalwell and gun control
Swalwell’s signature issue is gun control, calling for the buyback of “military-style semiautomatic assault weapons.” He is likely to be pressed about his policies given the debate is taking place in Miami, a stone’s throw from Parkland, Fla., where 17 people were killed last Valentine’s Day when a shooter opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Moderators may additionally try to elicit criticism of Biden, who was tasked by former President Barack Obama to spearhead the administration’s gun control push after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
10.) Candidate clashes
Wednesday’s debate brought surprising clashes between candidates.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and former Obama housing secretary Julian Castro went after former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke over healthcare and immigration, and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard attacked Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan on foreign policy.
More gloves could come off in Thursday’s debate. Sanders is expected to contrast himself with Biden, while Hickenlooper could attack Sanders’ position on socialism.
