After two nights of exciting debates, all of the democratic candidates hoped to have made their mark with the audience. Despite having the same goal, each and every one of the candidates had drastically different outcomes.

Biggest Winners

Elizabeth Warren:

Undoubtedly Warren is the biggest winner from both nights of the debates. Other than the new persona, Warren’s explanations and clear stances made her stand out in a largely similar pool of democratic candidates. For example, when asked about climate change, Warren proposed a new plan: allocate 2 billion to research and development of green technology exclusive to the U.S. Additionally, Warren didn’t shy away from the problems with her plans, taking charge of any accusation. When confronted with the loss of private insurance from her Medicare-for-all plan, Warren made it clear: private health care is no longer available. Her upfront, powerful answers proved to be a successful strategy. After the debate, Warren’s poll position remains steady.

Joe Biden:

Although less dominant than Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden’s resilience on night two made him a winner. In the first debate, Biden seemed defeated as his platform on race, women’s rights, and past policy actions all came into question. However, in his Detroit performance, Biden came out better and with a more aggressive, energetic, and demanding nature. He successfully withstood heavy fire throughout the debate and will likely maintain his lead as the frontrunner candidate. Biden’s road ahead will be extremely tricky, and he will need to play his cards carefully. In the second debate, Biden was put at a crossroads with his position on President Barack Obama. The former Vice President uses Obama’s defining policies to build his own platform. However, when confronted with the problems of the President, Biden falters. If he intends on winning this election, he will need to clearly establish his opinions on President Obama’s deportation policies as well as the former president’s lack of criminal justice reform.

Tulsi Gabbard:

Congresswoman Gabbard yet again stands out in the debate. This time, however, her target shifted from Senator Ryan to Senator Harris. Gabbard’s attack against Harris was risky. Despite this, she pulled it off nearly perfectly. She hit on Harris’ past career as California’s Attorney General, a role Harris had been flaunting since the start of her campaign. By presenting her mistakes, Gabbard painted Harris as a villain who purposefully tried sending innocents to jail and the death penalty. Gabbard’s attack was an unforgettable moment. Her performance in Detroit will undoubtedly increase her standing as a candidate. However, on the other hand, her successful attack against Senator Harris won’t come without pushback. Kamala Harris has spent most of her debate time attacking frontrunner, Joe Biden. After this past debate, Harris will likely counter-attack Gabbard. Tulsi will need to stay vigilant and prepare well for the 3rd debate in September.

Losers

Kamala Harris:

No other candidate in Detroit in either night appealed less than Senator Kamala Harris from California. Harris, up to this point in the race, has been a harsh critic of Vice President Biden. However, in the 2nd debate, Kamala Harris found out what it’s like to be the target. After Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard brought up her history as a prosecutor, Harris will likely need to rethink her strategy. Harris has heavily relied on her job as Attorney General in the past, consistently bringing it up in questions about leadership and criminal justice. Though, consistently bragging about her “success” as AG failed to counter Gabbard’s attacks on her record. In an interview with Anderson Cooper, Harris fired back at Gabbard’s comments by stating “ Especially when some people are at zero or 1%, whatever she might be at. So I did expect that I might take hits tonight.” Harris lost a key part of her platform in Detroit, and this loss will be extremely hard to come back from.

All other low-polling candidates:

Many of the candidates tonight NEEDED a breakout moment to force their polls to increase. However, almost none of them made this happen. If candidates such as Senator Ryan, Former Governor Hickenlooper, Senator Bennet, and others want to stay in the race, they will need a defining response–, something none of them has been able to do so far.

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