Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for the Nov. 20 Democratic presidential candidate debate in Atlanta. In this special feature, Times Opinion writers rank the candidates on a scale of 1 to 10: 1 means the candidate probably didn’t belong on the stage and should probably drop out; 10 means it’s on, President Trump. Here’s what our columnists and contributors thought about the debate.

Read what our columnists and contributors thought of the last debate.

Cory Booker

Jamelle Bouie (8/10) — Booker sits at the center of what Democratic voters say they want. He’s aspirational, he values compromise and cooperation, he wants change but he’s not too far to the left. He hasn’t been able to get any traction, but his debate performances have been uniformly good and last night was no exception.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (3/10) — The time for platitudes is over. He needs to put forth thoughtful policy solutions or bow out of the race.

Jorge Castañeda (8/10) — His best performance yet, but not good enough to break out.

Gail Collins (6/10) — Glad he mentioned Pete Buttigieg wasn't the only combo Rhodes scholar-mayor.

Maureen Dowd (6/10) — I’d almost forgotten he was still running. But he had a Maui Wowie moment when he smoked Uncle Joe over his refusal to legalize pot and his closing on civil rights was a gateway to winning back support.

Nicole Hemmer (8/10) — Passionate, funny, clear-eyed — Booker made a great case that if you're looking for a moderate, you've got options other than Biden and Buttigieg.

Liz Mair (7/10) — Always seems to do quite well at debates — no exception last night — but people just don’t seem to be buying it. Sorry.

Daniel McCarthy (6/10) — Booker was energetic, confident, clearly having fun. His call for Democrats to emphasize entrepreneurship, not just government, set him apart.

Melanye Price (7/10) — He is never going to convince us that he turned Newark into Nirvana.

Mimi Swartz (7/10) — Took the kumbaya criticisms to heart. Now it’s “equalities of opportunity” and “the other Rhodes scholar mayor on this stage.” Everyone’s choice for veep?

Bernie Sanders

Jamelle Bouie (7/10) — The most energetic 78-year-old in American politics, with an unmatched ability to punctuate a point in the strongest — and clearest — terms possible. Another solid performance.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (10/10) — He showed that he is both prepared for a fight and expecting to win it at all costs.

Jorge Castañeda (8/10) — He’s always in a bad mood but speaks with authority on foreign policy and immigration. A tough contender.

Gail Collins (5/10) — Don't think you can be president when you sound this cranky.

Maureen Dowd (5/10) — He seems to have bounced back from his health problems and used humor well, but wasn’t particularly vivid. Can he continue to keep pace with his progressive rival, Elizabeth Warren, when he once again had to remind people that he was the one who wrote the damn bill on Medicare for All?

Nicole Hemmer (7/10) — It's Bernie Sanders! Pretty much everyone has made up their mind about him. But he seemed more impassioned than irascible last night.

Liz Mair (4/10) — Bernie’s so old he was the first person to do or sponsor whatever socialist-y thing is the new hotness. In case you’d missed the memo the first hundred times.

Daniel McCarthy (7/10) — Sanders is a progressive's progressive and a (left-) Democrat's Democrat. He always has numbers ready to hand, contested though they may be by center and right alike.

Melanye Price (8/10) — He was most eloquent when he talked about climate change and reproductive rights.

Mimi Swartz (5/10) — Looks healthier, sounds stronger than last time. Prosecute the fossil fuel industry? Yeah, he’s back.

Amy Klobuchar

Jamelle Bouie (8/10) — Like Booker and Harris, Klobuchar stood out from the pack, making a strong pitch for her Midwestern centrism. The Democratic donors and elites behind Deval Patrick and Mike Bloomberg may want to give her a second look.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (4/10) — Her lukewarm policy ideas and weak one-liners have no staying power in this race.

Jorge Castañeda (5/10) — Too many platitudes, and wavered on many issues. She should have been more aggressive.

Gail Collins (8/10) — She’s great at these comebacks. Not so much at the stirring calls-to-arms.

Maureen Dowd (6/10) — Used humor well and stressed her role as the queen of election reform. Got off one of the best lines of the night on double standards for women, noting that if you think a woman can’t beat Donald Trump, you’re wrong because “Nancy Pelosi does it every single day.”

Nicole Hemmer (7/10) — If you're searching for a centrist to love — and lots of Democrats are — Klobuchar made a strong case that she's your woman. Even her ex-boyfriends are Team Klobuchar!

Liz Mair (9/10) — Very solid. Showed why she’s rising in Iowa. She deserves to be in the Top 5, perhaps higher. Came across as competent, likable, someone you wouldn’t worry about seeing sworn in in 2021.

Daniel McCarthy (4/10) — Her appeal in red and purple regions doesn't really distinguish her from Biden, who outclasses her in experience. She added no momentum.

Melanye Price (6/10) — Her argument that a centrist could win, which is plausible, fell flat.

Mimi Swartz (7/10) — Witty: “I raised $17,000 from ex-boyfriends.” Accomplished: “I passed over 100 bills in Congress.” Solid claim on the middle. Why isn’t she gaining more?

Kamala Harris

Jamelle Bouie (9/10) — Like Booker, Harris has a flagging campaign. Like Booker, Harris had to show Democratic voters that she was still in this. And she succeeded with one of the strongest performances of the night, centered on her ability to take Trump one-on-one.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (6/10) — Lost count of how many times she said “criminal,” which was not a good look for those who already view her as little more than prosecutor in chief.

Jorge Castañeda (6/10) — She missed her chance, again. She was strong on North Korea and race, but she did not shine.

Gail Collins (7/10) — Comeback after floundering in the last two.

Maureen Dowd (5/10) — Harris was trying to get back to channeling Obama and she made strong points about candidates only courting African-American women every four years. But she still sometimes sounds canned.

Nicole Hemmer (6/10) — She sliced up Gabbard in a tantalizing preview of how she'd take on Trump if given the chance.

Liz Mair (4/10) — She had a better night last night than she has in a while, but that’s not enough. I strongly suspect she’s done.

Daniel McCarthy (5/10) — Her convictions shine through when she talks about the concerns of black and women voters. Moderators baited her into a fight with Gabbard, though, and her asperity is more striking than her policy agenda.

Melanye Price (7/10) — She aced those Senate hearings, but she is mastering the debate stage too late.

Mimi Swartz (6/10) — Good work knocking out Gabbard. Good joke about Trump getting punked in Korea. Good job sticking up for women. Will the electorate care?

Elizabeth Warren

Jamelle Bouie (6/10) — It almost felt like Warren was absent from the debate, but when she spoke, she did well enough, hitting her marks and not getting drawn into another useless argument over health care spending.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (8/10) — She spent the first half of the debate arguing for better use of tax dollars only to say America needs to recruit more people for the military. Baffling, truly.

Jorge Castañeda (7/10) — She was strong on Central American immigration, but the rest of her performance fell flat.

Gail Collins (9/10) — She always has the best answers. And she's sounding more accessible. And nobody else matched her.

Maureen Dowd (5/10) — She started out strong but then seemed to disappear in the general malaise of the debate. But she continues to make the great point that it won’t kill some of those billionaires to give up a few bucks.

Nicole Hemmer (6/10) — Warren is celebrated as a wonk, but she's at her best when she focuses less on the mechanics of an issue and more on its moral core. Her answer on immigration showed she can be a riveting politician — she needed a few more moments like that.

Liz Mair (3/10) — She’s bleeding badly from all the justified attacks on her Medicare for All proposal. She spent lots of time signaling to everyone that either she doesn’t have a plan for everything, or if she does, it might stink.

Daniel McCarthy (4/10) — She's a more cynical candidate than Democrats dare admit. Her willingness to offer everything for nothing is as much evidence of that as her mythologized personal history was. She's tenacious, but promises what she cannot deliver.

Melanye Price (8/10) — The attacks on her plans and how we can pay for them seem like a concerted attempt to undermine her; the men make more vague claims with less pestering for increased specificity.

Mimi Swartz (5/10) — She talked about unity by saying she was tired of freeloading billionaires. Better when she got off script, i.e., reminding viewers of border horrors and her mother at the mailbox, waiting for a letter from a son in Vietnam.

Pete Buttigieg

Jamelle Bouie (7/10) — Buttigieg has surged to the front in Iowa and is making ground in New Hampshire. He’s something of a frontrunner. But for most of the night he escaped serious scrutiny, and successfully pushed back on attacks from Tulsi Gabbard. For whatever reason, no one wants to come for him.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (5/10) — He seems insecure about his lack of experience. His man of the people spiel did not do much to reassure me.

Jorge Castañeda (8/10) — The best on substance, from climate change to race.

Gail Collins (5/10) — He always sounds smart, but not quite like a leader.

Maureen Dowd (6/10) — Trashing Washington is always a winner. And he escaped the beating that people anticipated with his new frontrunner status. In fact, he did the whacking when Tulsi targeted him, pointing out her weird coziness with the “murderous dictator” Assad.

Nicole Hemmer (7/10) — He was supposed to be the candidate with the target on his back, but no one other than Tulsi Gabbard took aim. Who knows why, but he got through unscathed.

Liz Mair (5/10) — Shockingly, for the guy who’s performing so well in Iowa and looks like all the rage, he didn’t seem very present last night or to make much of a mark.

Daniel McCarthy (3/10) — He avoided any controversial stand besides supporting Trump's farm subsidies. Rising in the Iowa and New Hampshire polls has turned him into a script, a blandly pasteurized politician.

Melanye Price (6/10) — The leap from South Bend to the White House seems too implausible.

Mimi Swartz (7/10) — Mostly stayed the course while asserting “We need something very different right now,” which is where a front-runner in Iowa should be. Moving when he reminded the audience he was gay; let Gabbard get under his skin, and that was a good thing.

Joe Biden

Jamelle Bouie (3/10) — Hour one: He was fine. Hour two: He seemingly lost the ability to speak and forgot that there have been two black women elected to the Senate, including one of his competitors. It was weird! And if the past is any indication, it will have no effect on his numbers or standing.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (4/10) — He seems intent on glorifying a past that only worked for the few.

Jorge Castañeda (8/10) — He held his ground, but continues to think more intelligently than he speaks.

Gail Collins (6/10) — Still worried we're giving him credit for just standing there, finishing his thoughts, etc.

Maureen Dowd (4/10) — OK, pre-Boomer. We’ll try and get up and take back control of the world, but you didn’t do much last night to inspire us.

Nicole Hemmer (4/10) — Biden wants to punch the hell out of domestic violence, a disturbing response to a #MeToo question that was far from his only stumble of the debate. Maybe it was past his bedtime or maybe he's just bad at this, but either way, it wasn't a great showing.

Liz Mair (8/10) — Perfectly fine, which is all he really needs to be for now; good on foreign policy; came off as younger and more energetic than in some other debates.

Daniel McCarthy (4/10) — Struggled to remember a two-item list, switched tracks mid-sentence and wrecked a strong point about his black support by forgetting how many African-American women have served in the Senate. Flashes of strength but a lot of liability.

Melanye Price (7/10) — There is nothing as strange as watching an old white guy explain that he came out of the black community.

Mimi Swartz (5/10) — Mr. Been There and Done All of It. Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, “every world leader,” the Situation Room. Appeared presidential without being inspiring. Hit his usual late exhaustion limit with “punching at it.”

Andrew Yang

Jamelle Bouie (4/10) — Yang gave a few of the funniest answers of the night. He also demonstrated the extent to which he doesn’t know much about extremely important subject areas like foreign policy. I get why people like him, but that’s a real problem.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (6/10) — Made good use of what little time he was given to speak, but ultimately faded to the background.

Jorge Castañeda (9/10) — The night’s winner by far, but he has yet to find a way to insert himself in the conversation in a meaningful way.

Gail Collins (2/10) — I'm sorry, Andrew Yang is very smart and has good ideas but it's silly to have him in this race.

Maureen Dowd (5/10) — He remains a healthy and fun addition to the pack and got off a good spontaneous zinger when asked what his first words to Vladimir Putin would be after winning the presidency: “First I’d say, I’m sorry I beat your guy.”

Nicole Hemmer (3/10) — He's funny and would probably make a fine mid-level bureaucrat.

Liz Mair (7/10) — Thank God someone brought the funny. The best line of the night with his answer to the “what would you say to Putin” question.

Daniel McCarthy (5/10) — He's a metronome, reliable in his technocratic message but surprisingly human for all that, especially last night when he noted that not all parents want to work. An extra point just for that.

Melanye Price (5/10) — His failure to gain more support puts the nomination beyond his reach.

Mimi Swartz (4/10) — He’s grown in the process of running for office, but so has everyone else. Having too much fun to withdraw?

Tulsi Gabbard

Jamelle Bouie (5/10) — Gabbard, like Andrew Yang, is a one-note candidate. But she played that note fairly well. She took serious hits from Harris and Buttigieg, and I’m not sure that she recovered.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (3/10) — She was robotic, uninspiring and seemed to spend the entirety of the debate on the defense.

Jorge Castañeda (6/10) — She was the only one to say that the war on drugs has failed.

Gail Collins (4/10) — Really, her best talent is tearing down other candidates.

Maureen Dowd (2/10) — Everyone loves a spoiler but it’s time to tap out and head back to Fox Nation.

Nicole Hemmer (1/10) — She's more likely to land a Fox News gig than the Democratic nomination.

Liz Mair (6/10) — Disingenuous in many of her comments, but a good attacker and fun to watch.

Daniel McCarthy (6/10) — She's a two-note candidate, criticizing an awful, hawkish foreign policy running back several administrations and the need to tolerate political differences, not just racial and sexual ones. Two vital messages.

Melanye Price (4/10) — Why wasn't Julián Castro onstage?

Mimi Swartz (3/10) — The more she talks about unification, the less credible she sounds. Emits enough chill to save the polar ice cap.

Tom Steyer

Jamelle Bouie (5/10) — His answer on housing was very good. Otherwise, not great that a billionaire can buy his way onto a debate stage. Also, his tie! It was a bad look!

Bianca Vivion Brooks (4/10) — He should use his millions to back a candidate with a fighting chance at winning.

Jorge Castañeda (6/10) — He was categorical on climate change. One of the more intriguing candidates.

Gail Collins (2/10) — A billionaire has to sound way more accessible — Michael Bloomberg take note.

Maureen Dowd (1/10) — What an offensive waste of money.

Nicole Hemmer (2/10) — He's a vanity candidate who bought his way into the debate, but at least he's not a fan of Bashar al-Assad.

Liz Mair (3/10) — He made a very compelling case for why he should be Youth Turnout Political Director at the D.N.C. this cycle.

Daniel McCarthy (3/10) — Weirdly combines the Newt Gingrich idée fixe of 1994, term limits, with European-style Green Party environmentalism. Yet he stood out for more than just being a billionaire.

Melanye Price (5/10) — If nominated, it will be the Citizens United dream ballot — the actual billionaire vs. the so-called billionaire.

Mimi Swartz (5/10) — Spending millions and millions on his campaign. Think what that money would buy instead of a candidacy.