Democratic Debate Breakdown

The 2016 presidential election picked up this month with the first Democratic primary debate of the season.

The debate and the candidates that participated in them show that the race is becoming faster paced as America is now just 96 days away from the Iowa caucuses. The debate pitted together five candidates each vying to be President Barack Obama's successor.

The Democratic debate was held earlier this month in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Wynn Hotel and Casino. It featured former Secretary of State/New York Senator/First Lady Hillary Clinton, Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb, former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and former Rhode Island Governor/Senator Lincoln Chafee. A sixth podium sat just off stage in case Vice President Joe Biden made a last minute decision to join in.

The debate, which was hosted by CNN and moderated by Anderson Cooper, was a fairly straight forward statement of ideas and policies that went pretty much how political analysts expected. If you were a Clinton fan, you walked away supporting her. If you liked Sanders then you walked away still a fan of his. The other three candidates failed to make much of a splash at all.

Key moments of the night included Sander's now infamous quote "The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!" in reference to a question posed about Clinton's use of a private server to conduct government business when she served as Secretary of State. It also featured Clinton's comment that worried some moderates when she claimed that Republicans were the enemy she is proudest to have.


Here is a breakdown of how each candidate performed:


Hillary Clinton: Clinton came out both relaxed yet ready to reintroduce herself to the voters after they rejected her in favor of Barack Obama in 2008. With her comfortable lead in most polls both nationally and in Iowa, she had little to fear as she took the center podium reserved for the frontrunner. Throughout the night she took questions on her email scandal, her economic plan, and how she wouldn't just be an Obama third term (she punted on this question by simply saying the fact that she is a woman would make her bid historic enough). She ultimately walked away with polls saying she won however support for Sanders exploded on social media.


Bernie Sanders: Sanders came to the debate ready to show America why he should be the Democratic party's nominee despite not being a registered Democrat. The 74 year old Senator has claimed he will run a "clean" campaign consisting of no attacks. He did however attempt to paint a picture as to why he is the opposite of Clinton by pointing to his lack of a Super PAC and how he supported gay marriage and opposed the Keystone XL pipeline before Clinton. He was forced to get into mild sparring with Clinton during questions over placing a "no fly zone" over Syria as well as education and Wall Street policy but no personal attacks were used. Sanders finished second in the polls of who won the debate however he became a trending topic on social media as supporters claimed the media was biased towards Clinton.


Jim Webb: Webb came into the debate ready to introduce himself to the American people however stumbled almost immediately. During his opening statement he awkwardly paused while attempting to name all of his children and spent much of the debate arguing with Cooper over the other candidates getting more time to answer questions than him. At one point he spent most of his allotted time arguing about the amount of time he was allotted while Cooper reminded him that he was wasting time in that very moment. Cooper also repeatedly had to tell Webb that he had agreed to the debate rules and he must abide by them. Webb cited his service during the Vietnam War and his son's service during the Iraq War multiple times as he attempted to appeal to veterans and appear smart on national security. Webb ultimately answered very few questions and walked off the debate stage with no rise in poll numbers or financial backing. He became the first Democrat to drop out of the race a few days later and is currently entertaining an independent bid.


Martin O'Malley: The former Baltimore mayor had quite a few questions to answer when he was confronted on how his zero tolerance policy on crime may have led to the riots that seized the city last spring. O'Malley was also forced to change his stance on the "Black Lives Matter" slogan after he offended members of the movement by saying "All Lives Matter" during a campaign speech earlier this year. This time he was ready to point to his work with African-Americans and portray himself as a progressive believer in easing racial tension in the country. His biggest applause line of the night is when he cited the NRA as the enemy he is proudest to have. He barely registered in polls both before and after the debate however the candidate seemed comfortable with his performance in the post-debate spin room.


Lincoln Chafee- Chafee never stood much of a chance. The candidate attempted to contrast himself to Clinton by telling voters "During my 30 years in office I've never had any scandals," however this didn't draw him in any new supporters. During the discussion on Clinton's email scandal he attempted to jump in and voice his opinion on how he believes someone with ethics should be in the White House. It was shown just how little Clinton considers him as a serious contender when she simply responded with "No" when Cooper asked her if she would like to respond. Chafee later stumbled when he appeared confused and flustered over a question on how he voted down the Glass-Steagall Act, a bill that prohibits banks from making risky investment decisions with taxpayer money. Cooper even seemed to suggest that he wasn't aware of what he was voting for. Chafee ultimately dropped out of the race a week later citing Clinton's strong debate performance and her acclaimed Benghazi testimony.


Clinton and Sanders ultimately walked away as the night's winners. Both appeared strong and confident and gave the most memorable lines during the debate. The other three failed to make any major breakout moments for themselves.


The next Democratic debate will be on November 14 in Des Moines, Iowa on the campus of Drake University. It will be sponsored by CBS and the local Des Moines register. CBS news reporter John Dickerson will moderate.