Here Are The Winners And Losers From The CNN Democratic Debate

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:48 pm

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Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton did well, while the other Democrats were left behind. Here are tonight’s winners and losers from the CNN Democratic debate.

Winners:

1 a). Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) – O’Malley came after Sanders hard on his record on guns, but the Senator from Vermont delivered the line of the night when he raged at the media and spoke for the American people by telling Anderson Cooper that people are sick of hearing about Clinton’s emails and want to discuss real issues. Sanders made no mistakes while clearly delivering his message. If this were America’s first national introduction to Bernie Sanders, many people should come away impressed.

1 b). Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton – Hillary Clinton defended her record, looked presidential, made no gaffes, and was very smooth on the stage. Hillary Clinton comes out of this debate unscathed, and for a frontrunner that is the most important goal. Clinton was good in this debate. She has been on the national debate stage before, and it showed.

Losers:

1). Jim Webb – Former Sen. Webb was one of the candidates who complained about the lack of equal airtime, but when a candidate is at 1% they should be thankful that they are even on the stage. Webb was too far to the right for Democrats on guns, and many of his answers were not in step with today’s Democratic Party.

2). Lincoln Chafee – Chafee dropped the ball when he was asked about his first vote in the Senate, and he said that he was new to the Senate and had just gotten there because he was appointed to the seat after his father died. Anderson Cooper made it sound like the man voted yes when he didn’t know what he was voting for. Chafee is barely registering in the polls, and he showed why tonight. He is the token fringe oddball candidate that the Democratic field always seems to have at least one of, but he also should not have been on the debate stage.

3). Martin O’Malley – Martin O’Malley tried to go after Bernie Sanders, but his attack failed. The debate was symptomatic of O’Malley’s entire campaign. There wasn’t room on the stage for both Sanders and O’Malley, and when push came to shove, Sanders dominated O’Malley. When O’Malley tried to criticize Clinton, she reminded him that he endorsed her in 2008. O’Malley is being squeezed out of the Democratic race.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association