With the third round of the Democratic debates mere days away, the field has begun to narrow.
This week, the third Democratic debate is set to take place on Sept. 12. Unlike the previous two debates, which were both spaced out over the course of two consecutive nights and featured 20 candidates, this debate will last only one night and highlight the top ten presidential hopefuls who managed to make the cut to appear onstage in this bout.
The stage this Thursday night will consist of former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, California Sen. Kamala Harris, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Businessman Andrew Yang, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
After struggling in the polls, California Rep. Eric Swalwell, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper each shut down their campaigns one-by-one in the weeks following the second debate.
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Biden, the race’s clear front-runner from the moment he launched his campaign, has garnered several instances of eye-raising moments over the past few weeks. After a noticeably weak performance during the second Democratic debate that took place last month, Biden has since appeared to be scatterbrained and forgetful, which is beginning to cause concern among some voters.
The notion of Biden being “gaffe-prone” has shown to be true. During a campaign stop in Iowa, Biden made yet another gaffe in regards to “poor kids,” in which during a speech to minority voters he said that “We have this notion that somehow if you’re poor, you cannot do it. Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”
After quickly realizing his mistake, Biden attempted to soften the blow of his previous statement by saying “Wealthy kids. Black kids. Asian kids. No, I really mean it. But think how we think about it.”
In addition, he told a false war story, proposed a hypothetical “What If?” scenario in which former president Barack Obama had been assassinated along with Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy and even appeared to forget Barack Obama’s name at a town hall.
Looking at the runner ups, Sanders and Warren are still neck-and-neck and vying for a clear lead in second as the two have continued to alternate between second and third on numerous polls.
Though they both happen to be the most progressive candidates in the race, there is a clear difference, with Bernie’s hard-line stance of railing against the one percent and Warren’s tempered notion of being “a capitalist to my bones” while still calling out Wall Street and corporate greed, these two juxtapositions are surely on tap to be played out on TV screens across the nation this week.
The debate will air live on ABC from 8-11 p.m. Stay tuned for the Clarion’s upcoming coverage!
Quinton Bradley
Contributing Writer
Quinton Bradley is an Ohio-based writer. He runs a blog called Hammers And Papyrus and can be followed on Twitter @QBAbstract.