Round two of the Democratic Debates are here which will take place over the course of two nights in Detroit starting this evening on CNN.
This also may be the last we’ll see of certain candidates on the stage given the requirements needed to qualify for the Fall Debates goes up. Those requirements include securing at least 130,000-donors and have at least two percent of the vote in four qualifying polls. That means candidates like New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Seth Moulton or perhaps even Amy Klobuchar could see their campaigns for President of the United States come to an end here in the coming weeks. In any sense, it’ll be important for not just those three candidates but a number of others to really make a statement for themselves starting tonight in Detroit.
🎓 Student Loan Debt 💰
The cancellation of student loan debt has been a huge topic among the democrats with senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren leading the charge with their own plans to offer relief to millions of people in the United States. According to Neal Rothschild of Axios, Sanders and Warren have by far generated the most online buzz when it comes to eliminating student debt so you can be sure to expect that both candidates will continue to drive that home tonight and throughout the course of their respective campaigns. Additionally tonight will also give both Sanders and Warren a chance to distinguish themselves from one another, especially when it comes to their battle for the more progressive votes, primarily amongst younger people.
🗣 Top of the heap talking points
So what can we expect to hear from some of the candidates are on the upper end of the tier? Here’s a small breakdown:
Joe Biden: He’s said he’s going to be more aggressive after coming out flat in the first debates, especially when it came to Senator Kamala Harris and her take down of the former Vice President over the issue of busing. Look for Biden to also push his polling numbers against Donald Trump.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: The Vermont Senator will continue to push his student loan debt cancellation plan as it compares to his counterpart Elizabeth Warren. Look for him to also continue to discuss his plan when it comes to
Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Like Sanders, Warren will also push her student loan debt plan which may be even more important for the Massachusetts Senator as she continues to battles against one of the champions of the cause in Bernie Sanders.
Sen Kamala Harris: With Sanders and Warren fighting for the progressive vote on Tuesday, Harris will battle Biden for the African-American vote on Wednesday as the California Senator continues to lag behind the former VP in that area. To help offset those numbers, Harris is expected to roll out her ‘black home ownership plan‘.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg: Mayor Pete has had some problems when it comes to rolling out policy. It’s unlikely he’ll roll out anything substantial on that end during the debate however one thing he’ll continue to do is carry on his battle against the religious right.
Andrew Yang: Universal Basic Income, Universal Basic Income, Universal Basic Income…
Beto O’Rourke: Like Mayor Pete, Beto needs to start to unveil some detailed policy if he wants a campaign run that last beyond the rest of this year. Also like Mayor Pete, don’t expect anything detailed to come out during the debates however something you probably hear the former Texas Congressman address is his abortion rights stance and the attacks he’s taken from those on the right in relation to the subject.
Sen. Cory Booker: Booker is another candidate who really needs to start making some statements that’s going to garner some attention for himself. Although he’s qualified for the Fall Debates he’s in very real danger of not lasting too long after that. Look for him to clear up some of the attacks he’s been hearing from the right on his gun control stance.
🔥 The hot topics in Detroit
There has been some percentage change in terms of the
The Economy is still at the forefront amongst the candidates however it has taken a six percent dip from the first debate now sitting at 50 percent. The environment has taken a one percent dip and now sits at 15 percent.
Health care and Immigration took the biggest jumps at four percent with Health Care now sitting at 18 percent and Immigration at 11 percent.
Meanwhile, Education took a one percent dip and now sits at three percent.
The Economy though seems like too much of a generalized topic though and can be misleading especially since Health Care and Education certainly factor into that.
Hamilton Place also took a look at the jump in Twitter followers for the candidates. Senator Kamala Harris and Mayor Pete Buttigieg received the biggest jump in followers after the Miami Debates with Julian Castro also seeing a nice increase.
Beto was the biggest loser when it came to new Twitter followers as his gain couldn’t be measured and rounded out to zero.
❗️New rules for the Detroit Debates
According to AP media writer David Bauder, CNN will look to stay away from asking candidates to raise their hands when addressing certain questions and will have their moderators stay away from asking ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions.
During the first round of Debates in Miami, Senator Kamala Harris said she was misled by a question that asked the candidates to raise their hands if they would be in favor of getting rid of private insurance companies for a government-run program. That second night Harris and Sanders were the only two that raised their hands however the California lawmaker walked that back the following day claiming she didn’t understand the question. This of course despite the same question being asked the previous night and Harris taking a big stance on a national stage only to take back that same stance without as many eyes on her.
🚘 The Auto Industry won’t be forgotten
With tonight and tomorrow debates being in the Motor City, expect the auto industry to get their fair share of attention amongst the candidates on stage. This will especially be the case for General Motors — whose headquarters will be steps away from the debate stage — undertaking high-profile job cuts since the government bailout several years ago writes Reuters’ David Shepardson:
“The largest U.S. automaker preemptively released two fact sheets on its U.S. operations and details about its 2009 U.S. government bailout ahead of the debates”.
