Amy Klobuchar shined. Pete Buttigieg took heat. And Joe Biden maintained the presence of a front-runner.
The fireworks at the sixth Democratic debate in Los Angeles on Thursday demonstrated a new urgency in a 2020 presidential primary race that's just a few short weeks away from producing the first votes that will determine the party's nominee to face President Donald Trump.
The debate, which took place the day after the House's impeachment vote and less than a week before Christmas, began with a lack of confrontation between the seven Democratic candidates, as they focused on attacking Republicans and expanding on their policy agenda.
But that soon changed, as the smallest debate stage of the cycle gave way to repeated confrontations. Buttigieg, the South Bend, Ind., mayor who's leading some polls in Iowa, bore the brunt of the attacks over his fundraising practices and lack of experience. Klobuchar, the Minnesota senator who's also banking on a strong Iowa finish, leaned into her pragmatic image, taking on Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders.
Meanwhile, Biden, who has maintained a consistent lead in the national polls, mostly remained out of the line of fire, aside from a brief dust-up with Sanders over the feasibility of Medicare for All. And one candidate who was not on stage but is gradually rising in the polls thanks to a massive TV ad campaign, Michael Bloomberg, wasn't mentioned once.
Here are five takeaways from the debate:
KLOBUCHAR HAS A NIGHT
Amy Klobuchar has consistently performed well in debates, but the game she brought to Los Angeles was unquestionably her best yet. The Minnesota senator owned the first 30 minutes with crisp, detailed answers from how an effective impeachment trial should proceed to leaping at a contrast with Sanders over the bipartisan renegotiated North American trade deal, which she supports.
Later, when Elizabeth Warren and Buttigieg engaged in a testy tit-for-tat over whether fundraisers with rich people inherently corrupt politicians, Klobuchar found a way between the breach with a funny quip. She'd never been to a wine cave, as Buttigieg had. "I have been to a wind cave," she said.
Later, she took the fight directly at Buttigieg arguing that a mid-sized mayor who unsuccessfully ran for DNC chair didn't have standing to degrade Senate experience. It was a demonstrable showing of her ambition not just to be a player, but to win.
Democratic operative Matt Miller may have best encapsulated her appeal: "Klobuchar is the Goldilocks candidate in a lot of ways. Not too hot, not too cold. Not too young, not too old. Not too left, not too right."
Klobuchar looked more confident and plausible as a potential nominee than ever before. But previous debates haven't awarded her substantial polling spike.
NOT THIS TIME, BUTTIGIEG
Buttigieg got off easy in November. It was a much different story a month later.
The Iowa poll-leader was criticized directly and forcefully by nearly all of his rivals, attacks that ranged from the transparency of his fundraisers (Warren), his coitere of billionaire donors (Sanders), and his perceived indifference to the accomplishments of his more experienced rivals (Klobuchar).
The criticisms made for a much different debate than November's showdown, when Buttigieg unexpectedly avoided many confrontations. But it might be reflective, if belatedly so, of his ascent into the top-tier of the primary.
As he has during the entire race, Buttigieg didn't hesitate to fire back at his foes, especially Warren, whose personal wealth the mayor highlighted. The pair of candidates are competing for a similar voter group, the white, college-educated voters who have bounced back and forth between the two.
BIDEN GOES THERE
Since the onset of the impeachment process, Biden has hesitated to incorporate Trump's attacks on him _ and his son, Hunter _ into his campaign.
That changed Thursday night, at least momentarily. The former vice president defended his calls for bipartisanship with the GOP by noting that if anyone should have "reason to be angry" with the rival party, it's him.
"The way they've attacked me, my son, and my family, I have no, no, no love," he said. "But the fact is we have to be able to get things done. And when we can't convince them, we go out and beat them like we did in the 2018 election in red states and in purple states."
Democrats have speculated that the impeachment and subsequent Senate trial will benefit Biden. Just as important, however, might have been the night's performance from Biden, who has struggled in previous appearances on stage but looked more at ease Thursday. As an added bonus, opponents like Warren and Buttigieg seemed more interested in criticizing each other than the race's ostensible front-runner.
He did have one testy exchange with Sanders over the Iraq War near the end of the night, but unlike previous debates, Biden's defense of his position was far more forceful and coherent.
IT'S THE ECONOMY
The Democratic contenders went deeper into economic policy Thursday than they have at any debate yet, addressing head-on an issue President Trump hopes to use to his advantage next November.
The moderators started out the night by probing the candidates' positions on the updated NAFTA agreement and their assessment of the generally positive direction of the economy in recent years. "What is your argument," PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff asked former Vice President Joe Biden, to voters who may not like the things Trump says, but "they really like this economy?"
"I don't think they really do like the economy," Biden retorted. "The middle class is getting crushed." In their own ways, the other leading candidates_Warren, Buttigieg and Sanders_echoed the same point.
Warren defended her wealth tax proposal by arguing it would help the country transition to "an economy that works, not for Wall Street, but that works for main street."
"This economy is not working for most of us," Buttigieg agreed. Sanders pointed out that when adjusted for inflation, hourly wages only went up 1.1% last year. "That's not great," he said in his trademark deadpan.
The contrast between that downbeat assessment and Trump's much more rosy view of the economy is likely to be at the crux of the general election race, something Tom Steyer underscored Thursday night.
"We know Mr. Trump's going to run on the economy," Steyer said. "We're going to have to take him on on the economy in terms of growth, as well as economic justice." Naturally, he argued he was best equipped to do that, having made billions as a businessman and former hedge fund manager.
SMALLER STAGE MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE
The debate featured the fewest candidates yet, and the effects provided validation for both the Democratic National Committee, which determined the debate qualifying criteria, and its critics.
Having just seven candidates on stage allowed more time for each to air their ideas _ and their disagreements.
All four of the top-tier candidates tangled with one another at different points in the night. Sanders confronted Biden on healthcare, Buttigieg and Warren went back and forth on the influence of money in politics and they and others on the stage also went after each other on the thorny question of electability.
At the same time, the absence of several black and Latino candidates from the debate stage had a noticeable impact on the dialogue, in a way that could hurt Democrats. No moment reinforced that risk more starkly than when Sanders responded to a question about running as a male candidate, and the oldest in the field, by shouting, "and I'm white as well!"
He meant it was a joke, but it served as an awkward reminder of what has become of the most diverse field of candidates in presidential history.
Andrew Yang _ the one candidate of color who met the party's polling and fundraising requirements _was silent for long stretches of time and ended up with the least amount of speaking time for the second debate in a row.
Yang did address his race and the challenges of minority politicians early on in the night. But he also acknowledged that his experience as the son of Asian immigrants was very different than that of blacks or Latinos.
