Update on the Democratic primary race

By: Tyrone Barrozo, Columnist

On Feb. 19, the ninth Democratic Debate was held in Las Vegas, Nevada and it was nothing short of entertaining.

As everything comes down to the wire, we’re left with just six candidates left in the limelight—Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, and, for the first time, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. In less than five minutes, Sen. Warren managed to establish an uncharacteristically rapid pace for the evening.

“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. I’m not talking about Donald Trump—I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg,” Sen. Warren said in her opening statement. Warren, who remains among the top four of the DNC frontrunners, targeted the controversial Bloomberg who’s been deemed “Blue Trump” as he’s one of the richest people on the planet, backed “stop-and-frisk” policies during his tenure as Mayor of New York, and been under scrutiny for sexist remarks and behaviors in the past.

Reality checks were dealt throughout the night by Warren as she not only went after Bloomberg but also clashed against Klobuchar and Biden. Specifically, Warren criticized Klobuchar and Biden for their eagerness to compromise and collaborate with Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, who’s been responsible for his apathetic approaches towards hot-button issues such as gun control in the wake of numerous tragedies and for his active campaign to exclude the American public from knowing about Senate affairs.

“Amy and Joe’s hearts are in the right place, but we can’t be so eager to be liked by Mitch McConnell that we forget how to fight the Republicans,” Warren stated. 

But aside from Warren’s debate highlights, Bloomberg continued to get bullied by virtually everyone on stage. From addressing aforementioned sexual harassment issues during his time in office to Bloomberg’s stance on stop-and-frisk policies.

“It’s not whether he apologizes or not. It’s abhorrent,” Biden said, “Let’s get something straight. The reason that stop and frisk changed is because Barack Obama sent moderators to see what was going on.” 

Following after, Warren continued to capitalize with her own comment on Bloomberg’s policy history. “This isn’t about how it turned out. This is about what it was designed to do to begin with. It targeted communities of color. It targeted black and brown men from the beginning. And if you want to issue a real apology, then the apology has to start with the intent of the plan as it was put together.”

Again, the evening was nothing short of a reality show-esque spectacle. In the end, however, Sanders would claim victory for the Nevada caucus, taking almost 40% of the final vote, making him the first candidate—Democratic or Republican—to win all three early states (New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada) in a primary. Biden would take 18.6% of the final vote, Buttigieg took 18.5%, and Warren took 11.8%. Despite an outstanding impression on the Southwest audience, Warren’s campaign is left in limbo as she continues to hang on to the bottom rung of the top four DNC candidates.