The fourth Democratic presidential primary debate was largely a “status quo” night for the 12 contenders, longtime political consultant Rebecca Katz writes for The Post:

WINNERS

– Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vermont): Sanders arguably had more to prove tonight than anybody, and he knocked it out of the park with an aggressive, energetic performance. If you hadn’t known he was in the hospital last week, you wouldn’t have been able to tell from what we saw onstage.

– Entrepreneur Andrew Yang (New York): Yang wanted to separate himself from the other politicians onstage — and between his casual look and plain-spoken manner, he did just that. Yang knows how to break through by speaking like a regular person — or at least the kind of regular person who wears a button that says “MATH.”

– Sen. Cory Booker (New Jersey): Consistently solid debater, and had a great moment when he cited the Planned Parenthood closures in Ohio and said, “Women shouldn’t be the only ones in this fight.” He worked very hard to get on this stage and showed he deserved to be there.

LOSERS

– Sen. Kamala Harris (California): Strong sound bites around abortion rights and gun violence, but not enough breakout moments for a candidate who needs a big boost in the polls. She has the ability to be a true star on the debate stage, but we just didn’t get to see that side of her Tuesday night.

– Former US Rep. Beto O’Rourke (Texas): Struggling in the low single digits, Beto needed to recapture some of the glory of his Senate run. He did not. There was no shine.

– US Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii): Gabbard threatened to boycott this debate, and her performance left a lot of Democratic voters wishing that she had. From arguing that impeachment will help President Trump, to picking a questionable fight over Syria, it’s not clear how she hopes to win over Democratic primary voters.

– Billionaire Tom Steyer (California): After spending tens of millions of dollars of his own fortune to buy his way onto the debate stage, Steyer didn’t do much with his moment in the spotlight. You can’t buy charisma.

TREADING WATER

– Former Vice President Joe Biden (Delaware): Once again, with the bar lowered, Biden was able to do just well enough to survive the debate. But how long is just surviving going to be good enough for a candidate who was supposed to be our front-runner?

– Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts): If you didn’t know that Warren is the new front-runner, then Tuesday night’s attacks on her made it abundantly clear. She took the most hits, but also managed to deliver yet another strong, consistent debate performance.

– Mayor Pete Buttigieg (South Bend, Ind.): Pete is at his best when he’s delivering prepared lines, and Tuesday night was no exception. However, he did nothing to reach out to voters of color, which he’ll need to do if he wants to compete beyond Iowa.

– Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota): She had a few zingers that will guarantee a spot in the roundup clips, but she did nothing to move her case forward. She’s failed to stand out in this race, and the polls show that.

– Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro (Texas): Had a very strong moment when he brought up Atatiana Jefferson (shot dead last weekend through her window by a cop), broadening the conversation about gun violence to include shootings involving the police. That’s a message many voters want to hear more about from our candidates.

Katz served as a top aide to former US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and helped engineer Mayor Bill de Blasio’s come-from-behind wins for public advocate in 2009 and City Hall in 2013. After departing City Hall, Katz founded New Deal Strategies, a political consulting firm for progressive candidates. She was the lead strategist on Cynthia Nixon’s 2018 insurgent campaign against Gov. Andrew Cuomo.