The Democratic presidential candidates will meet in Las Vegas on Tuesday night for their first debate and the stakes are high.
Hillary Clinton is expected to run over the field but she’s struggling in the polls with Bernie Sanders gaining traction in Iowa and New Hampshire. All eyes are on Joe Biden who continues to leave the door open to a third presidential bid. In the meantime, dark horses Lincoln Chafee, Martin O’Malley and Jim Webb are trying to stand out, hoping, at the very least, to use Tuesday night’s debate to introduce themselves to primary voters.
All five candidates who will be on the stage Tuesday night have a lot riding on the debate.
Lincoln Chafee: The former Republican turned independent turned Democrat hoped to focus on international issues when he entered the race but the media shone the spotlight on his support of using the metric system. Chafee has shown no hesitation in going after Clinton for her support of military intervention in Iraq and contrasting his own stance when he was the only Republican senator who opposed it. Now that he will be on the same stage with Clinton, Chafee will be able to turn up the heat on Clinton but he doesn’t want to come off as too aggressive the way Rick Lazzio did against her back in the 2000 Senate race. An afterthought in the polls, Chafee can’t afford to sit back or vanish during the debate.
Hillary Clinton: While she’s still the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, she has lost momentum in recent months. Clinton has the opportunity to reassure wavering supporters on Tuesday night and hopes to ensure Biden stays out. But there are pitfalls. Clinton has to show off her human side and can’t afford to get into a shoving match with one of the dark-horse candidates. That kind of squabble will only help the lower profile candidate. Win, lose or draw, Clinton will be the story after the debate and a strong performance will help calm down some nervous Democrats. A bad showing will only lead to more voices calling for Biden to get in.
Martin O’Malley. The former Maryland governor simply hasn’t been a factor in the race so far despite some high expectations at the start of the contest. With Sanders in the race, O’Malley’s efforts to move to Clinton’s left simply haven’t worked despite his early support for same-sex marriage. In the debate, O’Malley can remind voters of his experience:eight years as governor and another eight as mayor of Baltimore. O’Malley has thrown some jabs at Clinton and has called for more debates. Only 52, far younger than Clinton, Biden and even Elizabeth Warren, O’Malley can use this debate as an opportunity to introduce himself to Democrats across the country which could pay dividends if the GOP wins in 2016.
Bernie Sanders. The Vermont senator has been the surprise of the Democratic primary field, winning over large numbers of activists and becoming the main primary challenger to Clinton. Sanders is playing well in Iowa and New Hampshire but past Democratic presidential candidates like Paul Tsongas and Bill Bradley were in the same spot. They couldn’t win in states like South Carolina and Nevada where minorities play a major role in the Democratic primaries. Right now, Clinton seems to be the choice for Hispanics and African-Americans so Sanders has a chance to win some of them over on Tuesday night. Sanders has generally shied away from attacking Clinton and it will be interesting to see if he follows that strategy during the debate.
Jim Webb. A veteran who served in the Vietnam War and was Ronald Reagan’s Navy secretary, Webb is a fine historian and a sharp scholar who pulled off a major upset when he beat George Allen in 2006 to win a Senate seat. Webb has focused on foreign affairs, hitting Democrats like Clinton for backing the Iraq war but also opposing Barack Obama’s deal with Iran. Hitting some of the others as career politicians, Webb has also backed campaign finance reform and cleaning up the federal government. But Webb hasn’t been a factor in the race so far and the debate gives him a chance to get his massage out. Webb has to make sure it will be Democrats -- and not just Republicans -- who applaud his performance.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
