The 10 Democratic presidential hopefuls had no problem mentioning the names of politicians such as Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democratic presidential losers Michael Dukakis, George McGovern, and Walter Mondale. Even Donald Trump got a look in. But one name was missing: Joe Biden.
Although he leads the rest of the pack, none of the candidates on stage during CNN’s first round of the second Democratic debate would mention or even allude to the 76-year-old former vice president throughout the two-and-a-half hour event.
Despite a sharp drop in polls following his first debate performance, Biden has made up ground since. A Quinnipiac survey released Monday showed the 36-year senator leading the rest of the field at 30%, with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in second at 15%.
Biden is set to appear center-stage Wednesday in the second night of the second Democratic debate, sandwiched between Kamala Harris and Cory Booker. It was aggressive questioning on racial busing by Harris that made for one of the most memorable moments of the first debate round, in Miami last month. Booker and Biden have clashed on race and criminal justice in recent days.
