Gov. Steve Bullock entered the political fray Tuesday night in his maiden voyage to the national political stage during the Democratic candidates’ debate in Detroit, often tangling with other Democrats seeking to be president in 2020.

CNN's John King, the network’s chief national correspondent, said the Montana governor had “a decent night.” Another CNN commentator said Bullock had a “great” night but wondered if it might be too late.

A CNN editor said Bullock presented himself as a viable alternative for moderates. Early Wednesday polls did not show a bump for the governor from the debate.

Due to the legislative session running until late April, Bullock officially entered the race May 14, later than most other candidates. He did not qualify for the first debate in June in Miami. He was among 10 Democratic candidates who debated at the Fox Theatre on Tuesday with another 10 slated to debate Wednesday. Nearly 8.7 million viewers reportedly watched Tuesday's debate.

Bullock, considered a moderate in a party tug-of-war with more liberal candidates, verbally tussled somewhat Tuesday with South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

In his opening statement, he labeled himself “a pro-choice, pro-union, populist Democrat" who's won three elections in a red state — not by compromising our values, but by getting stuff done.

"I’m a progressive, emphasis on progress, and I’m running for president to get things done for all those Americans Washington has left behind," Bullock said.

He said Democrats could win back the places they lost in 2016 by “showing up, listening, focusing on the challenges of everyday Americans.”

Bullock called President Donald Trump the "biggest problem we have now with immigration ...," saying he was using it to rip apart families.

He said America needs a president with "judgment and decency" who treats someone who comes to border as one of our own.

Bullock also said he could not support a Medicare for all proposal, saying he could not back a "plan that rips away quality health care from individuals."

He called it an example of 'wishlist economics."

Bullock mentioned his son Cameron had a heart attack shortly after being born, but the family had good insurance.

“At the end of the day, I'm not going to support any plan that rips away quality health care from individuals,” he said. “This is an example of wishlist economics. It used to be just Republicans who wanted to repeal and replace. Now many Democrats do, as well. We can get there with a public option, negotiating drug prices ...”

O’Rourke accused Bullock of offering a “false choice.”

Bullock denied the claim and said it took decades and “false starts to get the Affordable Care Act. So let's actually build on it. A public option, allowing anyone to buy in.”

He called for negotiating prescription drug prices and ending surprise medical billing.

“That's the way that we can get there without disrupting the lives of 160 million people that like their employer-sponsored health insurance,” he said.

Bullock was asked by journalist Don Lemon how Democrats could trust him to be the leader on gun safety when he changed his position to call for an assault weapons ban last summer?

Bullock said he is a gun owner who hunts.

“Like far too many people in America, I've been personally impacted by gun violence,” he said. "(I) had an 11-year-old nephew, Jeremy, shot and killed on a playground.”

He said the country needed to start looking at it as a public health issue, not a political issue.

He said gun violence, as well as climate change and prescription drug prices, was controlled by dark money.

“That's been the fight of my career. Kicking the Koch brothers out of Montana, taking the first case after Citizens United up to the Supreme Court, making it so that elections are about people,” he said, adding that most of the issues candidates are talking will not be resolved until dark money is removed and the post-Citizens United corporate spending out of elections.

Buttigieg doubted Citizens United could be overtaken without constitutional action.

Bullock said Montana has a law, passed with a Legislature that was two-thirds Republican, in which dollars spent in the last 90 days of an election must be disclosed.

Bullock was asked about Warren's proposal to make it U.S. policy that the United States will never use a nuclear weapon unless another country uses one first. He said he did not agree.

"Look, never, I hope, certainly in my term or anyone else, would we really even get close to pulling that trigger," he said. "But by the same token, America's strength -- and, look, this president has made America first as America alone. Our allies no longer trust us. Our adversaries are with us. But going from the position of strength, we should be negotiating down so there aren't nuclear weapons. But drawing those lines in the sand, at this point I wouldn't do."

"... when you actually have Korea; when you have others, I don't want to turn around and say, 'Well, Detroit has to be gone before we would ever use that.'" Bullock said. "When so many crazy folks are getting closer to having a nuclear weapon, I don't want them to think I could strike this country and I and we as the United States of America wouldn't do a thing."

CNN said Bullock ranked fourth in terms of time talking with 10.44 minutes. Warren was first with 18.11 minutes, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was second with 17.31, Buttigieg was third with 14.09.

Donald J. Trump for President Inc. offered an opinion on the debate: “Same radical Democrats. Same big government socialist message. Same winner of tonight’s debate: President Donald Trump,” Kayleigh McEnany, national press secretary.

Kristoffer Shields, a research professor at the Eagleton Center on the American Governor, said Bullock was emphasizing his executive experience as a governor and the fact he is a Democratic governor in a red state.

“He clearly wanted to claim the moderate ground,” Shields said. “But even more, he wanted to pull himself out as a pragmatist.”

Jeremy Johnson, associate professor of political science at Carroll College, said many pundits he had read thought Bullock gave a solid performance and stood out more than some of the other candidates who blended into the background.

"What really matters is if he can move his poll numbers up," Johnson said. "Time will tell if it was a breakout moment for Bullock."

He said Bullock's skills at debate have definitely improved over the years.

In his closing statements, Bullock said he said was raised in a single-family household and "actually had a chance that no longer exists for some Americans."

He said he wants to "make sure Americans know that where Washington has left them behind, the political system. I will be there.”

Afterward he said the debate gave him the opportunity to introduce himself to voters as a pro-choice, pro-union, populist Democrat.

“I made clear that this election isn’t a choice between the left and the center or between ‘wishlist economics’ and sacrificing our values in order to win," he said in an email.

CNN Editor-at-Large Chris Cillizza said Bullock, "to his immense credit," understood that this debate was his one big chance to make an impression with voters and move upward.

"I'm not sure if his numbers will move in a major way, but Bullock went for it -- from his opening statement on. He made clear, time and time again, that he did not believe that the liberal views of Warren and Sanders were grounded in reality and did believe that those views would cost Democrats the election.

"If moderates were looking for someone other than former Vice President Joe Biden to support in this primary, Bullock offered himself as a viable alternative," Cillizza wrote.

Shortly before the debate his campaign announced Bullock won his lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration and IRS.

A federal judge in Montana ruled that IRS guidance reducing donor disclosure requirements for certain nonprofits is unlawful and will be set aside, The Hill reported. Governor Bullock sued the IRS in July of 2018.

On July 24, 2018, Gov. Steve Bullock and the Montana Department of Revenue sued the IRS and the U.S. Department of Treasury in U.S. District Court in Great Falls.

Prompting the lawsuit was a July 16, 2018, IRS rule change exempting several classes of federally tax-exempt organizations from disclosing the names and addresses of substantial contributors, which the state argues violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

Bullock said at the time the IRS decision eliminating the reporting requirement made it easier for organizations to hide sources of money spent in political campaigns, also known as "dark money", which is a major plank of his campaign platform.

Bullock poll

The Tribune asked online readers to rate Bullock's debate performance and 322 votes had been cast as of Wednesday afternoon.

Of those, 63.66% said he did a good job.

There were 19.88% who thought he did a poor job

And 16.46% thought he did a fair job.

This story has been updated.

Phil Drake is our eye on the state capitol. For tips, suggestions or comment, he can be reached at 406-231-9021 or pdrake@greatfallstribune.com. To support his work, subscribe today and get a special offer.

See for yourself

NBC has a transcript of the debate at https://nbcnews.to/2Ygsxs1

Take the Bullock poll athttp://bit.ly/315PevZ