5 Key Takeaways From The Second Night Of The Democratic Debate

There we no standouts in a fiercely combative second night of the Democratic primary debates. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) were joined on stage by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Michael Bennett (D-Colo.), Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

These are some of the key takeaways from the second night of Democratic debate:

Biden and Harris Bear the Brunt

Biden and Harris were in everyone’s crosshairs as the other candidates looked to move ahead in the race at the expense of the front-runners.

The clash began when opening candidate Bill De Blasio attaked Biden for “telling wealthy donors nothing will fundamentally change if he were president.” Biden, who led the pack with a commanding 19 points before the debate, also had to defend against his toughest critics in Harris and Booker throughout the night.

Harris, who was the breakout candidate in Miami owing to her fierce criticism of Biden, faced some heat herself this time around, with rival candidates chipping away at her.

She was called out for being unclear on her Medicare for all bill, which aimed to find middle ground between Obamacare and Sander’s progressive version. Harris was also put on the backfoot by Gabbard who challenged her record while serving as Attorney General for California

Racism and Trump discussed at length

The candidate dwelt at length on the issue of race and denounced President Donald Trump’s racist attacks on Baltimore and Democrats of color in the recent weeks.

Booker, Inslee and Castro all criticised Trump, with Inslee becoming the first presidential candidate to brand him a "white nationalist." Castro too denounced Trump’s comments on Baltimore and laid out steps he would take to improve such cities.

Harris and Biden also went at each other on the issue of federal busing, a topic which Harris had used to corner Biden during the first debate and improve her lead.