Updated on Oct. 16 at 12:20 p.m.

Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for the Oct. 15 Democratic presidential candidate debate in Westerville, Ohio. 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.

Elizabeth Warren

Charles Blow (10/10) — Elizabeth Warren is now the clear front-runner, even if the polls are not there. Everyone seemed to know it. She took fire from all sides. And she responded solidly, adroitly, even brilliantly at points.

Jamelle Bouie (7/10) — To the extent that there’s a front-runner, it’s Warren, and she was the target of virtually everyone. She had moments of weakness — her answers on health care are a real vulnerability — but she withstood the heat well enough.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (8/10) — She had a weak explanation for how she would pay for Medicare for All but seemed to gain her footing when it came to taxing the wealthy. She was grounded, compelling and assertive.

Ross Douthat (6/10) — Apart from her weird non-answers on Medicare and taxes, in her first front-runner debate, she was fine. But hardly untouchable, and not quite as great as her press coverage.

Michelle Goldberg (6/10) — I’m irritated by the demands that Warren give the right a talking point by saying she’ll raise middle-class taxes to pay for Medicare for All. But her inability to finesse those demands scares me to death.

Nick Kristof (8/10) — Strong on wealth tax, evasive on Medicare financing, inevitably took hits as others ganged up on her as the new front-runner.

Daniel McCarthy (8/10) — Bruised but unbeaten. Her health care plan attracted skepticism over how she intends to pay for it, but she kept her cool and knows what she wants to accomplish. She’s a candidate working-class America might go for, and she sounds like a Democrat.

Melanye Price (8/10) — She is unsinkable. They were all attacking her. She stood up to them without breaking a sweat.

Mimi Swartz (8/10) — She held her own again, didn’t get flustered and didn’t need to get lost in convoluted dodges. “Thank you, President Obama” did the job.

Tanzina Vega (6/10) — She came across as an academic mired in her usual talking points.

Pete Wehner (4/10) — In an era when politicians are despised she’s showing us that she’s a quintessential politician: evasive, canned, rehearsed. She feigned shock at the charge that she’s “punitive” toward billionaires and corporations. I’m not sure why.

Will Wilkinson (8/10) — Her stoutly poised defense against relentless attacks solidified the perception that the race is now Warren’s to lose. Refusing to say she’d raise taxes to pay for M4A hurt her in the debate but will help her in the race.

Bernie Sanders

Charles Blow (6/10) — Sanders is the dean of the stage. His legacy is secure. But it feels that his moment has passed. At times he felt like the Cal Naughton to Warren’s Ricky Bobby from “Talladega Nights”: His answers served only to help Warren. Slingshot!

Jamelle Bouie (9/10) — For a guy who just had a heart attack, Bernie was feisty, energetic and occasionally very funny. Not just the best performance of the night but probably his best debate performance thus far.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (9/10) — He was the toughest and most genuine candidate. His frustration with the state of health care, climate change and wealth inequality reflected the frustration of average Americans who are desperate for radical change.

Ross Douthat (7/10) — Seemed fit, vigorous, very much himself: More “with it” than Biden, more straightforward than Warren. And the AOC endorsement as the capper!

Michelle Goldberg (8/10) — It’s nice to see that after his heart attack he’s exactly the same as ever.

Nick Kristof (6/10) — Admirable passion and authenticity. But didn’t resolve doubts about his age or stem the progressive drift to Warren.

Daniel McCarthy (7/10) — He has the same passion, same energy, same disregard for policy details as before the heart attack. And he was right to highlight his cooperation with Senator Mike Lee against the Saudi war in Yemen.

Melanye Price (6/10) — He needed to show Democratic voters that he was healthy enough to stay in the race. He did that by answering questions about his health head-on.

Mimi Swartz (7/10) — Less crazy angry uncle and more kind angry uncle this time around. Sharper than Big Joe throughout.

Tanzina Vega (7/10) — He appeared lower on energy — though not on policy — than usual.

Pete Wehner (6/10) — This debate is the first time I think I’ve seen him smile. He also actually struck a grace note, and it happened in response to a question about his heart attack. The rest of the time he was the old Bernie.

Will Wilkinson (8/10) — Sanders did not seem a bit infarcted, made the case for tax hikes Warren studiously evaded, and drew blood in his dissenting account of Biden’s record of “getting things done.”

Pete Buttigieg

Charles Blow (6/10) — Buttigieg came raring for a fight. Sometimes he was smart and informed — in his exchange with Warren on health care. But at other times he came across as condescending — in his gun control exchange with O’Rourke. Buttigieg was the diet soda of the stage: a smart, responsible choice with an unpleasant aftertaste.

Jamelle Bouie (6/10) — If Buttigieg wasn’t as good as he was during the foreign policy segment this would be two points lower only because he lets people call him “Mayor Pete” onstage.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (5/10) — He did himself a huge disservice by trying to portray himself as potential commander in chief — he came across as cold, rehearsed and unnecessarily argumentative.

Ross Douthat (7/10) — Much improved, picked an effective fight with Warren early, helped his (shaky) case to be included in the Top 4.

Michelle Goldberg (8/10) — Not sure why he got into a heated exchange with Beto. But he dominated on foreign policy, and he’s right about expanding the Supreme Court.

Nick Kristof (8/10) — Dazzling at his best, uneven in other answers. Made an effective case to moderates.

Daniel McCarthy (7/10) — Bizarre plan to pack the Supreme Court notwithstanding, he was the strongest Republican onstage. Not my kind of Republican, but the kind that Democrats might do well to welcome.

Melanye Price (3/10) — He’s not the Democratic wunderkind anymore.

Mimi Swartz (6/10) — He had to look like a grownup and did, for the most part. Smacked down Beto, sir, yes sir!

Tanzina Vega (8/10) — Mayor Pete was on fire tonight.

Pete Wehner (10/10) — He was terrific, from taking on Warren for her evasiveness to hammering O’Rourke, from his impassioned defense of American honor to his insistence that Democrats think beyond Trump. If Democrats were smart, they’d recognize the potential of his appeal. They probably won’t.

Will Wilkinson (8/10) — He went to the mat for moderation, waging precision attacks on pie-in-the-sky radicalism to his left. Gambling that “good enough” is good enough for Democratic voters isn’t a bad bet.

Amy Klobuchar

Charles Blow (4/10) — Still standing in the middle of the road watching the cars whiz by.

Jamelle Bouie (5/10) — She loves jokes and thinks your plans aren’t going to work. A candidate for conservative Democrats and NeverTrump Republicans and no one else.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (4/10) — She tried to paint herself as the perfect moderate but only appeared to want the world the way it is.

Ross Douthat (7/10) — Probably her best night, albeit still with some cringe one-liners. If there’s an opening for a credible non-Biden moderate, she helped herself. If.

Michelle Goldberg (8/10) — This was her best debate, especially on opioids, anti-trust and abortion rights.

Nick Kristof (9/10) — Her best debate so far. Feisty and effectively presented herself as a moderate alternative to Biden.

Daniel McCarthy (5/10) — She’s running to be Biden’s VP and made a good case for herself as a Democrat who can win red districts. She has more confidence and projects more competence than the other also-rans.

Melanye Price (1/10) — She is working so hard to win Republicans and Independents that she is losing Democrats.

Mimi Swartz (7/10) — Much livelier, much feistier. But wow, that death ray stare!

Tanzina Vega (6/10) — She came out swinging, but she lacks that wow factor.

Pete Wehner (8/10) — She had her best debate by far. She took aim at Warren and hit the mark; at the close she spoke movingly about Senator McCain.

Will Wilkinson (7/10) — Klobuchar put in her strongest, liveliest performance to move up in the moderate lane. She gets a bit quavery when she’s passionate, though.

Cory Booker

Charles Blow (5/10) — I like Booker’s high-mindedness, but his head gets so far up in the clouds that he forgets that the fight is on the ground.

Jamelle Bouie (5/10) — Constantly admonishing the debaters about debating each other gets old very quick.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (5/10) — He spent more time trying to make the stage a “safe space” than articulating a vision for America. If he believes that a politics of passivity and “let’s just all get along” one-liners will keep him in the race, he is wrong.

Ross Douthat (6/10) — Solid as ever, still in search of a clear justification for why voters should choose him.

Michelle Goldberg (9/10) — He always excels at these things and it never seems to matter.

Nick Kristof (9/10) — Eloquent and unifying, and gets credit for raising child poverty. He lifted the debate.

Daniel McCarthy (3/10) — An echo, not a choice: outspoken on abortion, but no more so than others. He spent an inordinate amount of time lamenting the party’s in-fighting, i.e., its real debate. Is he running for school counselor?

Melanye Price (5/10) — Sometimes he seems more like a referee than a primary candidate.

Mimi Swartz (6/10) — Mr. Inspirational. Mr. Hopeful. Mr. Conciliatory. But how does he get to the next level? The Office of Reproductive Freedom?

Tanzina Vega (5/10) — He was both the peacemaker and the vegan.

Pete Wehner (4/10) — Robert Bork is “laughing in his sleep”? What an awkward, unfortunate line. An office for reproductive freedom? Uh, no. He also sounded pained that Democrats are criticizing Democrats in a presidential primary, which they do every four years.

Will Wilkinson (6/10) — Booker ably performed the role of very concerned debate guidance counselor.

Kamala Harris

Charles Blow (5/10) — Something just isn’t jelling. Harris always has a couple of zingers in her quiver, but they just didn’t do it for me on this debate stage.

Jamelle Bouie (6/10) — At her best, Harris is as sharp as a Hattori Hanzo blade. And there were moments where she cut through questions with ease. But her exchange about Twitter with Warren was inexplicable and a real low point.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (5/10) — She thinks people of color are going to embrace her business-as-usual politics, vote against their own collective interests and forget her shameful prosecutorial record as long as she invokes Maya Angelou. She is misinformed.

Ross Douthat (4/10) — Her attempt to shame Warren over the question of whether Twitter should suspend Trump was just another weird choice in her candidacy’s weird decline.

Michelle Goldberg (5/10) — She didn’t get nearly enough time, which made her decision to dwell on Trump’s Twitter account all the more baffling.

Nick Kristof (5/10) — Some great answers but lost me by picking a fight over Trump tweets.

Daniel McCarthy (4/10) — When she spontaneously spoke out for abortion rights, she set herself apart with her passion and commitment. But mostly she sounds annoyed and affected. Discipline is her strength — she commands her facts and figures — but empathy is her weakness.

Melanye Price (4/10) — She is performing a version of powerful leadership that I don’t really buy.

Mimi Swartz (7/10) — Even with sanded edges, she managed to hang tough. But like so many others, she needs a breakout issue.

Tanzina Vega (7/10) — Her use of the “she/her” pronoun when referring to the future president was suave.

Pete Wehner (4/10) — Good grief: She spoke as if kicking Trump off Twitter is now a national priority and the most important issue of her campaign. Her campaign continues to lose altitude — fast.

Will Wilkinson (6/10) — Harris showed flashes of strength, but her intensity can collapse into a casualness both charming and weird. Her attack on Trump’s Twitter account was odd.

Joe Biden

Charles Blow (7/10) — Bless his heart. It feels like he’s just hanging on for dear life. At moments, it felt like he vanished, not just because it wasn’t his time to speak but because his aura of invincibility is flickering like a candle in a hurricane. But he yelled in his closing, so there’s that.

Jamelle Bouie (3/10) — At the halfway point I had Biden at about a 5 or 6 but then he tried to claim credit for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and yelled at Warren about it. It was one of the most unbecoming moments of the primary thus far.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (3/10) — Biden’s unintelligibility proved that he remains a logical choice only for Americans who prefer a figurehead statesman to a truly effective leader. America is moving on.

Ross Douthat (5/10) — Without the front-runner’s halo, he seemed to fade until a closing scrap with Sanders and Warren. Expect his poll numbers to be stable again.

Michelle Goldberg (6/10) — Seeing him struggling to express himself is deeply anxiety-provoking, like watching someone walk a tightrope drunk. What does “clipping coupons in the stock market” mean?

Nick Kristof (5/10) — Strong on foreign policy and always seems decent and honorable — but also rambling and unfocused. Didn’t fend off Senator Warren.

Daniel McCarthy (6/10) — He doesn’t drive the debate, doesn’t stand out for his ideas, struggles with words and struggles to explain his son’s foreign income. And “the most shameful thing” in recent foreign policy history would actually be the Iraq war that Biden voted for.

Melanye Price (3/10) — He casts himself as an old-school prize fighter, but he comes off as just old-school.

Mimi Swartz (7/10) — He stayed in the game until the fourth quarter for the first time, with no record player references. Fielded Hunter questions well enough, but his last stab at Warren translated onscreen as “Listen here, little lady.”

Tanzina Vega (6/10) — His frustration with the current president was palpable. It’s the Joe Biden that older centrist Democrats like.

Pete Wehner (5/10) — He once again showed that he starts O.K. and gets worse — more confused and louder. Also, the fact of the matter is that “the fact of the matter” is a phrase that shouldn’t be used more than a dozen times in a debate.

Will Wilkinson (5/10) — He was peppy but often tongue-tied. His petulance in the late exchange with Warren drew an unfavorable contrast with her stinging restraint.

Julián Castro

Charles Blow (4/10) — He seemed chastened by the blowback from going after Biden in the last debate. But his non-confrontational style came across as cowed. He reverted to the “cordial candidate” I dubbed him when I interviewed him in December.

Jamelle Bouie (7/10) — Castro’s answer on gun violence and police violence was one of the most sophisticated things I’ve heard from a candidate. He’s been a solid, impressive debater, but too bad he isn’t doing better in the polls.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (4/10) — Castro was competent, clear and thoroughly uncompelling.

Ross Douthat (3/10) — The most unmemorable performance on the stage.

Michelle Goldberg (7/10) — “Police violence is also gun violence” was one of the more memorable lines of the night.

Nick Kristof (5/10) — Always smart, but less relevant in this debate.

Daniel McCarthy (2/10) — He’s charisma-deficient and made no mark on the debate. Yet he sets a benchmark for “garden-variety politician” that two others failed to meet.

Melanye Price (5/10) — His comment that “police violence is also gun violence” will resonate with many black and Latinx voters.

Mimi Swartz (7/10) — More thoughtful, more serious, less snippy, but still needs an issue to separate him from the pack.

Tanzina Vega (7/10) — He was the only candidate to mention Atatiana Jefferson, a black woman who was shot and killed in her home last weekend by a white police officer.

Pete Wehner (3/10) — It was his worst debate. He was flat and forgettable. Enough said.

Will Wilkinson (5/10) — A solid performance with a handful of strong responses, but he failed to make a mark.

Andrew Yang

Charles Blow (3/10) — I like to hear Yang explain his proposals, but in repeated tellings they feel more and more narrow. Like the “MATH” lapel pin.

Jamelle Bouie (7/10) — I personally think Yang is a shallow candidate whose only saving grace is his ability to stay on message. But he’s able to do that very well, and that’s not nothing.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (5/10) — He presented himself as a pragmatic and highly competent businessman, but America is not a start-up.

Ross Douthat (5/10) — I just fundamentally like him, but he’s probably wrong about the automation problem and since that’s his core pitch I can’t help getting frustrated.

Michelle Goldberg (4/10) — The Democratic National Committee really needs to tighten the qualifying rules for these debates.

Nick Kristof (6/10) — Leadership on economic malaise and on drug policy, but not obviously ready for the White House.

Daniel McCarthy (5/10) — Remember the 999 plan? Andrew Yang is this year’s Herman Cain, a somewhat likeable technocrat with one big, not-very-good idea. The rest of what he says is an Economist editorial.

Melanye Price (1/10) — He is very smart and asks interesting questions that would be fun to debate at a social gathering, but they’re not the kind of questions that make me want to vote for him.

Mimi Swartz (3/10) — Here’s the deal. I will have you to dinner and let you talk as long as you want if you will withdraw.

Tanzina Vega (5/10) — This one note candidate won’t cut through the congressional gridlock.

Pete Wehner (6/10) — He showed he’s got one of the most interesting, creative and idiosyncratic minds on the debate stage. Not only does he believe that we are in the Fourth Industrial Revolution; he is not going to let you forget it.

Will Wilkinson (6/10) — Yang’s Freedom Dividend spiel has made U.B.I. an issue candidates must take a position on. He was a source of good sense on wealth taxes, but unnecessarily alienated faithful Bing users.

Beto O’Rourke

Charles Blow (5/10) — I still love O’Rourke on gun control, but he has to grow his national appeal.

Jamelle Bouie (4/10) — Very strange for Beto to go after his rivals for “dividing America” while simultaneously calling for gun confiscation and an end to tax exempt status for churches who disagree with his politics.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (6/10) — He proved he would be the perfect successor to Obama in the bygone era of the beloved Everyman politician who is concerned, but it is just that — bygone.

Ross Douthat (2/10) — To me, as unbearable as ever. Your response may be more positive, but then you’d be wrong.

Michelle Goldberg (4/10) — Seriously? You’re going to call Elizabeth Warren “punitive”?

Nick Kristof (5/10) — Eloquently reminded us that he’s an excellent candidate — for the Senate.

Daniel McCarthy (1/10) — Only his call for confiscating AR-15 and AK-47 rifles stands out. But he couldn’t say how he would even identify the gun owners, let alone how he would forcibly take their guns.

Melanye Price (3/10) — He lost important ground in the last debate because of his support for mandatory gun seizures. He couldn’t get any of it back.

Mimi Swartz (5/10) — It’s been a long road back, and he’s halfway there. But Elizabeth Warren? Punitive?

Tanzina Vega (5/10) — His place is really in Congress, not on the world stage.

Pete Wehner (4/10) — He preached unifying the country and reaching out to people who don’t agree with you within a week after he said that as president he’d target charities, churches and religious organizations for holding views different than his on same-sex marriage. One suggestion: Don’t use Spanish when you’re answering a question about Russia.

Will Wilkinson (6/10) — The Gen X conscience of the nation bested Mayor Pete in an earnestness showdown over gun control, but he doesn’t know how to close the sale.

Tulsi Gabbard

Charles Blow (2/10) — Hard pass. No ma’am …

Jamelle Bouie (2/10) — The best way to show the world you aren’t an apologist for Assad is not to robotically repeat the same pro-Assad phrase for five minutes.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (2/10) — It seems she should fully embrace her isolationist tendencies and distaste for mainstream media and run on the Republican ticket.

Ross Douthat (4/10) — Sought, and conspicuously didn’t find, a defining conflict with Warren to match her earlier blow to Harris. Her pronunciation of “Mayor Pete” was her best moment.

Michelle Goldberg (2/10) — You don’t prove you’re not an Assad apologist by robotically repeating his talking points. Why couldn’t she have boycotted?

Nick Kristof (2/10) — Not a player tonight and weak on Syria, but glad she (and Sanders) mentioned Yemen.

Daniel McCarthy (6/10) — You’d hardly think she was in the debate, but she got to repeat the phrase “regime-change wars.” She didn’t flinch from the implications of what opposing such wars means in Syria and confronts Democrats with an acid test of their antiwar bona fides, and most of them fail.

Melanye Price (1/10) — It’s hard to understand how she continues to meet the requirements to get on the debate stage.

Mimi Swartz (2/10) — Cool under fire, even when she sounded like a lunatic. But who brags about a friendship with Trey Gowdy?

Tanzina Vega (2/10) — She threatened to boycott the debate. She should have stayed home.

Pete Wehner (2/10) — She employed an odd debate strategy, which is to list all the negative things that others have said about her and then answer in an aggrieved tone. She also picked a weird moment to come to the defense of the Assad regime.

Will Wilkinson (4/10) — Gabbard shored up her status as Trump voters’ favorite Democrat.

Tom Steyer

Charles Blow (2/10) — I have appreciated Steyer’s drive against Donald Trump from the beginning, but why on earth is he running for president? As Keke Palmer would say, “sorry to this man.”

Jamelle Bouie (1/10) — Very clear why Steyer had to buy his way onto this stage.

Bianca Vivion Brooks (1/10) — I tried, but the idea that a hedge fund investor who effectively bought his way into this debate could have any legitimate commentary on issues like wealth inequality was laughable.

Ross Douthat (1/10) — Was it worth it, Tom? How much did you spend for this magic moment?

Michelle Goldberg (4/10) — His campaign is an idiotic waste of money that he could spend on actually helping to defeat Trump. At least he brought up climate change, an issue at least as important as Ellen’s friendship with George W. Bush.

Nick Kristof (5/10) — Much of what he said was smart, but just wasn’t really a player.

Daniel McCarthy (1/10) — Far from making a case for capitalism, he showcases the billionaire as conformist mediocrity.

Melanye Price (1/10) — It’s unfair to voters watching these overly-long debates to have a new player this late in the game.

Mimi Swartz (4/10) — O.K. but no.

Tanzina Vega (3/10) — Who? The lone billionaire on the stage that wants to be fair to workers and take on corporations. Pass.

Pete Wehner (2/10) — Donald Trump has already shown us that being a billionaire doesn’t qualify a person to be president. But just in case you forgot that, Tom Steyer decided to remind you on Tuesday night.

Will Wilkinson (5/10) — Living proof that billionaires who find billionaires problematic do exist. Fine, but what does he think he’s doing there?