The first debate night saw the group of Democrats knocking President Trump in a variety of ways, even as they made their own goals clear for a different political path.
But there was one name which was never mentioned in the debate - that of front runner Joe Biden - as the former Vice President was never brought up by other candidates, or the NBC moderators.
Two memorable 📺 commercials from last night's debate:
— Julie Bykowicz (@bykowicz) June 27, 2019
-Conservative group Judicial Crisis Network hitting Biden (only mention of him all night!)
-CNN promoting its own debate, coming up next month in Detroit
(I watched NBC in DC)
For some reason MSNBC's expectation was for the candidates to go after Joe Biden all night and honestly that sounds like a bad strategy for a debate Joe Biden wasn't even in
— Travis Wolf (@tbrianwolf) June 27, 2019
In alphabetical order, this group of ten Democrats has a few more high profile names than Wednesday, but still features a number of candidates who need a campaign boost.
+ Michael Bennet - The Colorado Democrat is one of four Senators in this debate. While he is known on Capitol Hill, Bennet has not been a factor so far in the Democratic race.
+ Joe Biden - The former Vice President is the front runner in the race for now, which certainly could make him a target tonight. How does Biden respond to that? It will be interesting to see how many candidates go after Biden tonight, and how he deals with those moments.
+ Pete Buttigieg - The Mayor of South Bend, Indiana has been the major surprise of the Democratic race so far - but this is his first test on a larger stage with other candidates by his side. Watch his strategy with respect to Biden, Sanders and Harris.
+ Kirsten Gillibrand - The New York Senator struggled for a time to surpass the polling and contribution requirements for this first debate, and she has not made a big impact on the race up to this point.
+ Kamala Harris - The California Senator is considered to be one of the top five Democrats, not in the top tier with Biden, Warren, and Sanders, but next along with Buttigieg, above the rest of the Democratic Party field. Watch to see what her strategy is tonight.
+ John Hickenlooper - The former Governor of Colorado is well known in Democratic circles, but has been barely registering in some Democratic Party polls. He is another example of a candidate who could use a big boost in this debate, by getting the chance to further introduce himself to voters.
+ Bernie Sanders - The Independent Senator from Vermont is no stranger to any of this, as he tries to continue his failed primary quest from 2016 against Hillary Clinton. Again, the strategy here will be interesting; does Sanders go after Biden? Or does Sanders press the positive button? Something to ponder.
+ Eric Swalwell - The California Congressman has not been quiet in this race, but he has not been able to translate that into support so far in the polls. He is yet another member of the big Democratic field who needs some kind of positive result on national television.
+ Marianne Williamson - The author's campaign motto is, "Think. Love. Participate," as Williamson is not your typical political candidate. Williamson's campaign sent an email to reporters on Wednesday evening urging reporters to "turn debate distress into debate de-stress," by doing yoga and meditation.
+ Andrew Yang - Another non-politician, entrepreneur Andrew Yang has proposed giving every American over 18 years of age what he calls a "Freedom Dividend." Like Williamson, Yang is a political novice - with no clear guidance on how he might do in a debate situation.
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