Democrats face off in first 2016 debate

And if Biden remains on the sidelines, Clinton will remain the huge favorite to win, because of her strong support with the party’s establishment and among moderate, conservative and non-white Democrats. The first question to her was “would you say anything to be elected?” which instantly put her on the defensive.

Sanders replied, “It’s exactly about rural”.

In the end, it was Bernie Sanders who had more difficulty explaining past actions than Hillary Clinton in the first Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

“Hillary Clinton’s refusal to even mention our veterans during last night’s two-and-half hour debate speaks volumes of where her priorities lay”, said Bob Carey, the Republican National Committee’s director of military engagement.

He seemed to lay off Hillary Clinton for the most part.

“I think that for the first time people viewing from across the country saw that there were more than two candidates running for president in the Democratic party”, he said. “The American people want to know whether we’re going to have a democracy as a as a result”.

Clinton may be more than willing to hit Sanders from the left on guns, but she likely won’t be trying to match his rhetoric on economic issues. When Obama launched his presidential bid in 2007, he made no reference to Republicans or even the Bush/Cheney administration he sought to replace. Or the political change issue: How will you transform our failing foreign policy when, like Obama and Bush, you are a hawk?

The only one missing was Vice President Joe – can’t make up my mind – Biden. But that “I” after his name – it stands for “independent”, but really means unreconstructed socialist – will doom his candidacy soon enough.

State Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Parkland, who has also endorsed the Draft Biden effort, said neither Clinton nor Sanders reaches the kind of voters the vice president can.

Martin O’Malley did his best to use his previous experiences in political office to his advantage, but those experiences took place in Maryland, which isn’t exactly a role model for good governing.

Terry says while Sanders certainly held his own among core supporters, he didn’t tip the scales with centrist Democrats.

Mrs Clinton answered the question with the need for reforms in the justice system, tackling mass incarceration, the importance of early childhood education and lastly, a new deal for communities of colour.