What Went Down At The First Biden vs. Sanders Debate
Despite being shorter than some of the other debates, it was a long night for Biden and Sanders, who spoke more than twice as much as they did at any other debate, perhaps a consequence of being the only two candidates on tonight’s stage.
Biden and Sanders spoke much more than in prior debates
Number of words spoken by Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders in each Democratic debate
| Debate | Biden | Sanders | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2,475 | 1,676 | ||
| 2nd | 3,819 | 2,642 | ||
| 3rd | 3,361 | 1,891 | ||
| 4th | 3,064 | 2,085 | ||
| 5th | 2,273 | 1,836 | ||
| 6th | 2,869 | 2,891 | ||
| 7th | 3,178 | 2,824 | ||
| 8th | 3,990 | 3,102 | ||
| 9th | 2,453 | 2,536 | ||
| 10th | 2,595 | 2,333 | ||
| 11th | 9,010 | 8,533 |
As others have said, it would have taken a lot to shift the trajectory of the race. I don’t think that happened. But it was striking to hear the closing messages from the candidates about the coronavirus. Sanders said that the coronavirus crisis is a call to dramatically shift the system, a “time to ask how we got to where we are” and make broader changes. Biden instead went personal — saying he can’t imagine how fearful people must be. It’s a pretty good encapsulation of the differences between the two candidates. And obviously, one of those styles/strategies seems to have won over Democratic voters this year.
This was by far the best debate because it involved just two candidates and they disagree on a lot. They represent the two dominant ways of thinking within in the Democratic Party. I wish this kind of debate had happened when the results of the primary weren’t basically already decided and many people will feel uncomfortable heading out to vote.