With the first Democratic presidential debates behind us, pundits and average voters are asking the same question: What just happened?

An inflection point in the discussion and, perhaps, the entire campaign came when U.S. Senator Kamala Harris prosecuted former vice president Joe Biden on his civil credentials. Pivoting off some comments that Biden made to supporters about “getting along” even with old segregationist codgers like James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia, Harris opened fire with a carefully orchestrated attack on the front runner. It was good theater and even better political strategy. She proved she could take on opponents with precision and saw her numbers go up immediately.

Joe Biden, for all his years of experience and impressive array of accomplishments, was caught off-guard and bungled what should have been an easy response to an upstart. In fact, he inflicted more damage to himself when he meekly relinquished the microphone at one point by saying: “My time is over, I’m sorry.”

Congressman Eric Swalwell had already made a point about generational politics and used Biden’s own words about “passing the torch.” Biden’s passing the microphone seemed like a painful harbinger that the Vice President’s time might, in fact, be over.

Not so fast, say Biden’s supporters. Take a look at the 2008 presidential election, for example. At this point in the cycle, Rudy Giuliani led the Republicans with 24%; Mike Huckabee was second with 17% and the eventual nominee, John McCain was a distant third. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton was almost the presumed nominee, leading Barack Obama by more than 25 points. Things did not shake out until the Iowa caucuses – and they are still nine months away.

Also, Politico reports that the Biden team is regrouping after what they viewed as a low-ball assault on their candidate. One called Harris’s attack a mistake that has disrupted the possibility of a dream ticket: Biden-Harris. After the debate, said the Biden contributor: “That [expletive] ain’t happening.”

Notwithstanding the brave faces put on in the Biden camp, it is hard to dismiss the impact of the debates and the recalibration going on. Biden dropped 10 points after his lackluster performance, Harris and Warren rose to the top tier of candidates and Bernie Sanders seems to have begun a downward plunge.

Since one underlying theme of the debates seems to have been generational change, it seems only right to see how Rolling Stone critiqued the performances. Notably, the magazine said that Kamala Harris dominated the debates. “If Democrats are looking for a gladiator to send into battle against Trump, Harris has an edge.” Others who scored highly among the millennials: Julian Castro, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg.

Rolling Stone’s analysts was less impressed with Hickenlooper, Bennet, Yang, and Delaney. Surprisingly, they also gave a “C-“ grade to Beto O’Rourke, who seems to have lost some of his original luster. They were especially harsh on Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio who, they said, “had the stage presence of a bewildered fraternity brother.”

After a flurry of immediate post-debate polls, Suffolk University and USA Today went to Democrats in Iowa to see where candidates now stood in that critical first caucus state. Here is the current new line-up: Biden 24%, Harris, 16%, Warren 13% and Sanders 9%.

Clearly, there is a new top tier of candidates, with some saying that the race for the nomination is now wide open.

An optimistic view of the field is that the Democratic Party is brimming with talent and generational change. One California Democrat said that: “You’ve got 20 people who are technically running for president, but, realistically, I think five or six of them are. And the rest of them are hopefully running for vice president or a cabinet seat.”

Therein lies the challenge facing Democrats.

Joe Biden was the “safe” candidate – the one who could mend the “blue wall” of Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and ensure that the electoral college aberration that elected Trump doesn’t happen again.

Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren represent a more exciting approach that could tap into the anger that women, African Americans and minorities feel toward the Trump administration. This is a wave that manifested itself in the 2018 elections. If it can be strengthened and harnessed in 2020, voter turnout in urban and suburban areas alone could bring the blue states and maybe Florida back into the Democratic fold.

The prime directive among Democrats is to replace Donald Trump. The stage will be less crowded at the next debate and it will be up to the remaining Democrats to begin moving toward a ticket that can win.

Mark S. Singel is a former Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. He and Republican Charlie Gerow can be seen at 8:30 a.m. each Sunday on CBS21’s “Face the State.”