The Democrats met in Houston on Thursday night for the third Democratic debate of 2019, this time all on one night. After nearly three hours of sparring between the 10 candidates who qualified, here’s who won, who lost, and what it means moving forward.
The Democratic Party: Given this was the first time the cream of the Democratic crop was all on the same debate stage, it took on added significance. The field was better than it has been. The absence of bomb-throwers who were at 1 percent in the polls helped keep things focused. But even beyond that, the candidates including former vice president Joe Biden — though he still had his poor moments — and Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), who fell apart somewhat in her closing statement, were generally sharper than they have been. I named President Trump a winner after a previous debate, given how so-so the Democrats were. Party leaders should be more encouraged by what they saw on Thursday.
