During the first night of the 2020 Democratic debates, Senator Elizabeth Warren stood alone. Up there on that stage in Miami, there were other talked-about candidates, sure (Beto O’Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker), but none that were polling as high as her. She ended the night a clear star.

Maybe it was the fact that the other top contenders—Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris—were all together on night two that led Anderson Cooper to ask Warren whether she would have rather been debating Bernie Sanders instead. Maybe it’s because, in the pool of top tier Democratic candidates, they arguably fall farthest to the left, unabashedly promoting programs like Medicare for All and free public college.

Either way, when asked, Warren told Cooper, “Bernie and I have been friends forever, long before I ever got involved in politics, I went up to Vermont and did town halls with Bernie. I’ve given Bernie much of my work when the housing crash was coming. So I’m always glad to be anywhere with Bernie.”

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Then during the second debates, progressives got their wish. The line-ups were announced, and Warren and Sanders were chosen for the same night. And how did the two fair on stage together? They were teammates, shoring up against all the other candidates who came at their plans. Warren nodded along as Sanders talked about the health care industry. At one point, after Warren spoke about trade deals, Sanders told the audience, “Elizabeth is absolutely right.” And they seemed to sneak each other small glances while the others talked on and on about how wrong they were. Warren and Sanders were, in essence, the Jim and Pam of the Democratic race.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI Getty Images

Getty Images

It's obviously not that Sanders and Warren are secretly in love with each other and waiting for the end of season 3 to finally start dating. But rather, in the crazy, confusing world that is the 2020 race, they seem to be on the same page—or at least more of the same page than anyone else. (Again, did I mention the small glances?)

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

In a New York Times op-ed, which admittedly criticizes the two, columnist Frank Bruni wrote, “You were expecting the two of them to fight each other, because they have overlapping fan bases and because both of them want the progressive mantle? Hah. They were too busy doing battle with the candidates flanking them.”

BuzzFeed News similarly reported after the debate: “Few really expected Warren and Sanders, the highest-polling candidates in the first of two Democratic debates this week, to go after each other here in Detroit. The two senators, both dominant and at ease onstage, instead worked in lockstep at points to bat back moderate critics, even as moderators attempted to incite a conflict between the two big-name progressives.”

Their intentions were clear, even before the night started. When asked before the debate about debating against Sanders, she told reporters in Ohio, “Look, I’m not against anyone. Bernie and I have been friends forever.”

As you might be able to tell, this is a common refrain—the two referring to each other as friends. (They even made a pact not to go after each other throughout their 2020 campaigns, and Warren reportedly sat down with Sanders while considering her run.) When asked about Warren being a threat in the race, he said that “Elizabeth is a friend of mine” who’s “running a good campaign.” They’ll stand up for each other on Twitter, with Sanders defending Warren after Rep. Liz Cheney came at her for one of her answers about national security during the debate:

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Taking national security advice from a Cheney has already caused irreparable damage to our country. We don't need any more, thanks. https://t.co/pHr5TM9UgX — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 2, 2019

It’s not that things have always been sunshine and political rainbows for the two. While it’s true that Warren worked alongside Sanders before she ever joined politics, she then did run for Senate in 2012, and in 2016, she chose not to endorse Sanders in the presidential election. It’s also not that the two are necessarily even drawing in the same group of voters. According to Politico, Sanders is more likely to appeal to lower-income and less-educated voters, as well as young people and men. Warren, on the other hand, does better with female voters and senior voters, along with people who have postgraduate degrees. (This is probably due to the fact that while they espouse some similar platforms, at their core, they’re quite different. Warren has made it clear she’s a hard-core capitalist, while Sanders is the country’s most well-known democratic socialist.)

But in the end, they are literally in competition with each other—both candidates are polling in the double digits, something only Joe Biden can also boast—which is why it’s all the more heartening that they’ve decided to take this approach. It’s Bernie and Liz against the rest of Dunder Mifflin—or at least the rest of the 2020 race.

Madison Feller Madison is a staff writer at ELLE.com, covering news, politics, and culture.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io