Upcoming Democratic debates: Who are the candidates and what do they stand for?

On Feb. 7, the Democratic Party held a nearly three-hour long debate with former Vice
President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth
Warren, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Tom Steyer and former New
York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. The next scheduled debate was Feb. 19.
According to Business Insider, only five candidates — Sanders, Buttigieg, Biden,
Warren and Klobuchar — have earned pledged delegates from Iowa and New
Hampshire.
NPR notes that Sanders has “stepped up his criticism of other top-tier candidates,
especially former Vice President Joe Biden.” During the Feb. 7 debate, Sanders called
out Biden for voting to enter the Iraq War. The two went head-to-head in the Feb. 19
debate.
According to CNN, Sanders is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination after the
Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary. The senator ran in the 2016 Democratic
primaries against Senator Hillary Clinton unsuccessfully, but his Democratic-Socialist
platform garnered attention from young voters due to his free college tuition proposal.
He is running on a similar platform this year. Right behind Sanders is Buttigieg.
Biden, whose largest draw is his experience after serving as Vice President to President
Barack Obama for two terms, 2008-2016, currently falls in third place. According to
CNN, his largest platforms are the climate crisis and health care.
Warren and Klobuchar earned their place in the Feb. 19 debate. Warren takes a
progressive stance that is similar to Sanders’, while Klobuchar is more moderate,
emphasizing her senatorial bipartisan achievements.
The final primary debate will be on Feb. 25.