Ninth Democratic Debate: What We’re Watching For
Share
The Brief
The remaining Democratic presidential candidates hit the debate stage again tonight ahead of this weekend’s Nevada caucuses. Here are the issues we’ll be watching for.
For BPC’s coverage of previous debates, check out the briefs from the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth debates.
Election Integrity
The questions about the Iowa process and result remain salient ahead of another caucus in Nevada this weekend. major issue for both candidates and the Democratic Party. As Tim Harper, senior policy analyst with the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Elections Project, noted last week, the New Hampshire primary going off without major hitches should give voters confidence in the electoral process.
“Importantly, New Hampshire’s primary was run by state and local election officials, while the Iowa caucuses were run by the respective political parties,” Harper wrote. “New Hampshire voters were able to vote on the same certified and tested equipment that they are accustomed to using in all other local, state, and federal elections. Moreover, election officials tallied and reported the initial results as usual, which prevented unexpected technology issues.”
As calls for change in the primary and caucus calendar grow louder, we’ll be watching to see if candidates avoid casting doubt on the legitimacy of professionally run elections.
Share
Read Next
New Hampshire voters were able to vote on the same certified and tested equipment that they are accustomed to using in all other local, state, and federal elections. Moreover, election officials tallied and reported the initial results as usual, which prevented unexpected technology issues.![]()
![]()
Immigration
Immigration has been largely absent from the last few Democratic debates, but look for it to make a fresh appearance tonight.
We’ll be looking for candidates to highlight their plans to reform the legal immigration system, react to the transfer of Defense Department funds to support construction of a border wall, and address the Trump administration’s latest travel ban.
“I think what happened in 2019 was the administration was able to pivot back to legal immigration, especially once [the Migrant Protection Protocols] began having an impact on the arrival of Central American migrants,” BPC senior immigration policy analyst Cris Ramón told the Washington Post’s Nick Miroff last week. “They were slowly trying to push through reforms, and now that the [border] crisis has diminished, they are moving forward.”
David Lapan, BPC’s vice president of communications, discussed the transfer of military funds to support the border wall project on a recent episode of This Week in Immigration. Since that episode was recorded, the Trump administration has announced that additional funds will be reprogrammed toward border wall construction.
The latest episode of This Week in Immigration delved into the new travel ban, which expanded the list of affected countries and added more stringent bans on certain kinds of visas for citizens of a smaller list of countries.
Listen to the latest This Week in Immigration episode
Climate Change
Although it has not been a centerpiece issue of any Democratic debates thus far, climate change figures to be a point of conversation at tonight’s debate as news reports highlight the pace of climate change and Republicans recently released legislative plans to combat it.
Some of the key questions may be around the scale of effort required, the timeline for making adjustments, whether to put a price on carbon, and the role of innovation.
The American Energy Innovation Council’s new report details how greater U.S. investment in energy technology research and development is essential in the effort to combat climate change and transition toward cleaner energy.
Read the new AEIC report
Support Research Like This
With your support, BPC can continue to fund important research like this by combining the best ideas from both parties to promote health, security, and opportunity for all Americans.
Give NowRelated Articles
Join Our Mailing List
BPC drives principled and politically viable policy solutions through the power of rigorous analysis, painstaking negotiation, and aggressive advocacy.