After the latest Democratic debate watch Klobuchar
Amy Klobuchar won the debate, writes @mattklewis https://t.co/gycj3wPEWj
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) December 20, 2019
The 59 year old from Minnesota should now get some traction
Overnight we have had the the December democratic debate in the long process to choose the party’s nominee for next November’s White House election. The field is getting much smaller and on the debate stage in Los Angeles there were just seven which made it a lot more manageable and better television.
There was tough questioning on the age issue which is not surprising given how Biden and Sanders are in their late 70s and Warren would be the the oldest President ever to be inaugurated if she made it all the way.
Until now the oldies have contrasted with the 37 year old Pete Buttigieg who is facing more scrutiny as he has progressed and had a particularly furious spat with Warren.
Taegan Goddard of Political Wire summed it like this.
“..For the first half of the debate, there was notably little explicit conflict…That changed with a fierce exchange between Warren and Buttigieg over wealthy campaign donors. Both landed solid punches because neither is as pure as they would like you to believe.
But Klobuchar also went after Buttigieg for his now infamous “wine cave” fundraiser. And she also scored points challenging Buttigieg on his relative lack of experience. Both were devastatingly effective attacks.
If there was a winner tonight, it was Klobuchar. And that’s partly because Buttigieg was a loser. Klobuchar’s appeal overlaps with Buttigieg’s but she has the added advantage of more experience and a proven track record of getting elected in a state very much like Iowa.”
This was Nate Silver’s verdict:
“There are two candidates who I thought definitely had good evenings, and then several I’m not sure about. I’ll start with Klobuchar, the candidate who I was assigned to cover tonight. I thought this was not only her best debate, but one of the better debates that any Democrat has had so far in the cycle. I say that because she was both pretty good on the substance and smart tactically — going after Buttigieg by emphasizing electability and experience is exactly the strategy I advocated for her at the start of the evening. I don’t know whether we’re going to get a Klobuchar surge — she’s at only at 3 percent nationally so she has a looooong way to go! — but if there’s one in the cards, tonight might have been the catalyst for it.
If Klobuchar does get a boost the timing could not be better. The Iowa caucuses take place on February 3rd.
Financial disclosure: As I have reported here before I have £8 at 770/1 on Klobuchar.