What Went Down At The First Biden vs. Sanders Debate

Much of tonight’s debate, understandably, centered on the coronavirus as more than 3,000 people have reported having the virus in the U.S. and 65 have already died.

Perhaps unsurprisingly then, not a lot of new ground was covered — although Biden did make news by saying he would pick a woman to be his running mate. Rather, much of tonight focused on the two men on stage reiterating their big talking points and rehashing what bills they had — or hadn’t — voted for in the Senate.

Multiple times throughout the evening, Sanders returned to the question of “where the power is in America,” pushing Biden to answer how his administration would challenge the status quo. It seemed, in many ways, like a final adieu from Sanders, although this primary is far from over. Four more states vote on Tuesday, but it’s hard to see tonight’s debate altering the trajectory of the race, and tomorrow’s headlines will likely have more to do with the ongoing coronavirus epidemic than the primary.

Tomorrow we will have our post-debate polling with Ipsos on who likely Democratic primary voters thought did well, but in the meantime, here’s a snapshot of our live blog crew’s headlines. Keep scrolling for their final takeaways and more:

• Kaleigh: Amid Chaos, An Unchaotic Debate At Last
• Perry A Serious, Spirited, Substantive Debate — Finally!
• Amelia: Sanders Makes His Final Pitch For A Progressive Agenda
• Nathaniel: Biden Commits To Picking A Female Running Mate As Candidates Project Leadership On Coronavirus
• Meena: Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Sanders Attempts To Push Biden Further Left
• Micah: Biden And Sanders Debate … Never Mind, Let’s Go Back To Coronavirus
• Geoffrey: The Coronavirus Overshadows The Democratic Debate

In addition to what others have said, I remain somewhat surprised that the coronavirus situation didn’t usurp more of the debate’s focus — while there was a long discussion at the beginning and it came up again in the wrap-up at the end, the majority of the debate had the two candidates arguing about many of the issues that have dominated the rest of the campaign.

Sometimes debates can dramatically move opinions during a primary election. This was not one of those debates, and it might be the last one — we’ll see. It doesn’t help Sanders that his criticisms of Biden will have to break through during a period when media coverage will be framed almost entirely around the coronavirus. That part of the debate was less divisive, so if it’s covered, it shouldn’t do much to change minds. I thought Biden had a solid debate, too, and he avoided making the sort of mistake(s) that could’ve conceivably caused some voters to question their support for him.