The Clemson College Democrats hosted a watch party for the fourth Democratic Debate on Tuesday, Oct. 15. They had an attendance of 35, down from the 120 watching the previous debate, likely due to its coincidence with fall break.
This watch party precedes, by exactly one week, the debate that will be occurring here at Clemson between the College Democrats and College Republicans on many of the same issues that were debated in the national debate.
For those who missed it, here are some each candidate’s defining moments from this debate:
Joe Biden – Biden still took shots back and forth with Warren, focusing on who is more capable of accomplishing the goals of their constituency; this is a change from their pervious focus on policy.
Elizabeth Warren – Warren stood out as a candidate once again, speaking over 3,900 words. Taking a lead over Sanders in the polls painted a target on Warren’s back for this debate as she fielded one especially assertive attack from Klobuchar saying that she needed a “reality check.” Warren has still yet to directly answer a question that she was asked 4 times (in different ways) over the course of the debate: “Will her healthcare plan raise taxes?”
Bernie Sanders – Just before this election, Sanders spent some time in the hospital, leaving many worried about his personal health. In the debate, he responded that he is “feeling great.” As a way to prove this to his constituency, he has promised a “vigorous campaign” in the coming days.
Kamala Harris – Harris brought up an issue that has not yet played a large role in the debate side of this election cycle: how to balance keeping “big tech” in check without treading the line of censorship. Harris leaned towards the censorship side, once again suggesting that Trump be kicked off Twitter and she called Warren to join her in this push. Warren responded dismissively, saying that their goal is to get Trump out of the White House.
Pete Buttigieg – Buttigieg, affectionately called Mayor Pete, really stepped out in this debate. Buttigieg increased his contribution to these conversations, clocking 2,600 words – the third most in the debate overall. In the past, Buttigieg tended to keep to himself, but he was much more combative this time. In response to O’Rourke’s gun buyback program, Buttigieg attacked the policy and shot back at O’Rourke’s claim that he would be one of the only candidates with enough courage to implement the policy.
Andrew Yang – In an interesting turn in response to a question about surprising friendships, Yang named a trucker, Fred, who he met over the course of his campaign. All of the other candidates noted other political figures, but Yang noted a man named Fred, who he claimed was an avid Trump supporter at the time they met.
Cory Booker – Booker stayed in the background this debate, never really stepping out on a limb alone. He maintained agreement with other candidates. This mentality of agreement was resonated with Booker’s call to end intraparty attacks and focus on making sure the Trump presidency is confined to one term. His only standout moment was when he joked about Sanders being in favor of legalizing marijuana when Sanders was asked about his health. 
Beto O’Rourke – O’Rourke took a massive policy hit from Buttigieg on gun control based on the ability to put through legislation to start helping quickly enough and based on Buttigieg “not needing lessons from [O’Rourke] on courage.”
Amy Klobuchar – Klobuchar commented on the illegality of Trump’s communications with Ukraine and agreed with Castro and Booker about codifying the “Roe v. Wade” decisions. Klobuchar personalized the opioid epidemic, re-iterating her experience with her father’s alcoholism that we heard previously in the Kavanaugh hearings.  Klobuchar stepped out on a huge branch and butted heads with Warren directly, calling her plans unrealistic.
Julián Castro – Castro only deviated content-wise from other candidates when he brought up the issue of border security, criticizing the current administration and contrasting that with their failures in bringing ISIS to justice.
Tom Steyer – Steyer stands as one of the most interesting candidates running for the democratic nomination, given that his occupation is a hedge fund manager and he is a billionaire.
Tulsi Gabbard – Gabbard invoked the name of Hillary Clinton in saying that one of the few things upon which they agreed was the necessity of “safe, legal and rare” abortions. She did suggest that abortions in the third trimester should be restricted to instances where there is a risk of life or severe health consequence for the woman giving birth.