But Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are not the only ones who will duke out the issues.
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Marijuana took center stage for a portion of the last Republican debate, with Jeb Bush admitting (and apologizing) that he had consumed marijuana over four decades ago.
While Sanders may not have had much campaign debating experience – he has faced mostly safe elections in Vermont – he does have more than two decades of congressional experience to draw from.
Though Clinton and Sanders have rarely mentioned each other’s names, they are clearly reacting to each other and their rival’s potential weaknesses. But the contest is really between Sanders and Clinton, Gillespie said.
There are still big differences between Clinton and Sanders, and they’ll come into focus during the candidate forum. Clinton is basically with Sanders on this one.
On Tuesday, that calculus will change.
The Democratic presidential candidates are holding their first debate Tuesday night in Las Vegas. Because while she once had the Democratic field to herself, Sanders has waged a credible campaign.
What he’s done: Chafee was the only Republican senator to vote against the Iraq war, and has made his opposition to the war a cornerstone of his campaign.
The statement did not once mention Clinton – but it did not have to.
It’s no mistake that in the run-up to the debate, Clinton came out against both the Keystone XL Pipeline and Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership, something she once called the “gold standard” of trade agreements.
During a campaign call with donors and supporters, campaign officials said the plan reflects input from people throughout the healthcare industry and lays out a system they said is more suitable for the 21st century.
The other candidates will be former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb, and former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee.
Clinton also knows the unsafe potential of debates. Use the hashtag #DemDebate to get involved.
The statement appeared to be a clear appeal to Democrats who share Obama’s antipathy toward getting the United States entangled in another Middle Eastern conflict and who are wary of Clinton’s more activist instincts on foreign policy. In 2012, the National Rifle Association – the main arm of America’s gun rights lobby – gave Sanders a D-minus grade, indicating a mixed but liberal-leaning history on the issue. The candidates positions are based on polls since August 1st.
The former secretary of state will no doubt face pressure from Sanders, who will tout the populism of his political revolution in their much-anticipated encounter. Clinton has since acknowledged she was wrong to cast that vote.
The debate location, Nevada, is a showcase of sorts for an argument Clinton aides make that the Sanders threat is overblown. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The Vermont Senator has been a critic from the outside, riding a wave of populist discontent in the Democratic Party, but he has yet to establish himself as a truly credible president.
“I feel nervous for Hillary Clinton”, she said Tuesday in an interview with TODAY’S Savannah Guthrie.
Even if he’s not on the stage, “Joe is a real part of the debate”, said Democrat Patty Judge, a former Iowa lieutenant governor. He also stands in contrast especially with Sanders, who has had a mixed record on the issue.
Expect more like that Tuesday.
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One way to judge tonight’s debate is to gauge who does a better job shoring up his/her weakness – Clinton’s not-always progressive views vs. Sanders’ electability doubts. That said, in 2008, independents accounted for just 19 percent of Democratic primary voters (peaking at 44 percent in New Hampshire, an atypical state for turnout by independents in party primaries).
