Politics
AP Photo/Elise Amendola
From left, Democratic presidential candidates former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., stand on stage Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, before the start of a Democratic presidential primary debate hosted by ABC News, Apple News, and WMUR-TV at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.
- Seven Democratic presidential candidates took the stage at St. Anselm's College in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Friday night at the end of a momentous, chaotic week in American politics.
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who came in fifth in the Iowa caucuses, capitalized on the opportunity to promote her record of bipartisanship and a message of unity, while sustaining few attacks from her competitors.
- Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who led the Iowa caucuses, was a popular target for his competitors and struggled to answer a question about South Bend's record of racial bias in policing.
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Seven Democratic presidential candidates took the stage at St. Anselm's College in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Friday night at the end of a momentous, chaotic week in American politics.
The stage was crowded and the debate, which touched on a range of substantive issues - including health care, abortion, gun control, and war in the Middle East - was spirited.
On Tuesday, New Hampshire voters will make their feelings known, but for now, here's who we deemed the winner and loser of Friday's debate.
The winner
Sen. Amy Klobuchar clocked in at about 16 minutes of speaking time - solidly in the middle of the pack - but managed to stay on offense for virtually the entire debate, while promoting her own record and talking points.
Klobuchar repeatedly made the case for her more moderate brand of politics, mentioning bipartisan legislation she's pushed through on Capitol Hill and Republican congressional districts she's won over at home in Minnesota.
She also went on the attack against Sen. Bernie Sanders and, most notably, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg. While she criticized Sanders's Medicare-for-all plan and insisted all her policy proposals will be paid for, she attacked Buttigieg as an inexperienced "newcomer" without the experience and savvy to get things done in Washington.
Klobuchar's communications director announced during the event that the senator raised more money during Friday's debate than any previous debate.
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
The losers
Because Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg led Monday's Iowa caucuses in a near-tie, they were set up as the targets of Friday night's Democratic presidential debate.
Biden started the debate out on a weak note, conceding that he would "probably take a hit" in the New Hampshire primary, much as he did in Monday's Iowa caucuses.
"Bernie won by 20 points last time and usually it's the neighboring senators that do well," Biden said, referring to Sanders' sweeping victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 New Hampshire primary.
But Buttigieg took the most hits on Friday night and he, in particular, struggled to answer a tough question about South Bend's policing record and weathered attacks from several of his competitors, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren.
Klobuchar prominently attacked Buttigieg at multiple points throughout the night. In one instance, she compared the mayor to the president. In another, she accused him of being a "cool newcomer" and attacked his comparative lack of government experience.
"It is easy to go after Washington, because that's a popular thing to do," she said. "It is much harder to lead and much harder to take those difficult positions, because I think going after every single thing that people do because it's popular to say and makes you look like a cool newcomer, I don't think that's what people want right now."
About halfway through the debate, Buttigieg was asked about South Bend's record of racial disparities in drug-related arrests under his administration. The moderator noted that racial disparities increased during his eight years as mayor.
Buttigieg didn't answer the question head-on and instead pivoted to the nation's broader issues with racial injustice.
"There's no question that systemic racism has penetrated to every level of our system, and my city was not immune," Buttigieg replied.
The moderator than turned to Warren to ask whether Buttigieg's answer was "substantial." She responded succinctly: "No."
"You have to own up to the facts," Warren said.
.@LinseyDavis on racial disparity in marijuana arrests in South Bend: You called it "evidence of systemic racism" … weren't you the head of the system?
Buttigieg: "Systemic racism has penetrated to every level of our system and my city was not immune." https://t.co/Rhy9aOaDTU pic.twitter.com/j8NgS1CS77
- ABC News (@ABC) February 8, 2020