Political Wire: If I had to pick a winner, it was Harris.

[RandySF]

Only Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg improved their position in the Democratic presidential race tonight. Both were prepared and very clear in explaining why they were running and what they would do as president. But most important for Democrats, both play to win. They would be formidable competitors to Donald Trump.

If I had to pick a winner, it was Harris.

The most experienced candidates on the stage — Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders — significantly underperformed expectations. They weren’t terrible, but they likely lost ground tonight.

The remaining six candidates were incredibly weak. None were close to being presidential. They were a combination of unlikeable (Kirsten Gillibrand, Eric Swalwell), not prepared (John Hickenlooper, Michael Bennet), lacking in stature (Andrew Yang) and just plain weird (Marianne Williamson). That may not be entirely fair, but they did not belong on the stage.

I’m really looking forward to the next debate with a much smaller field.



https://politicalwire.com/