{"id":7527,"date":"2019-06-26T23:58:15","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T06:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=7527"},"modified":"2019-06-27T02:01:08","modified_gmt":"2019-06-27T09:01:08","slug":"post1-60","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=7527","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Democrats Diverge on Economy and Immigration in First Debate&#8221;, The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, June 26, 2019<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">MIAMI \u2014 Democratic presidential candidates leveled a stark critique of President Trump\u2019s immigration policies and the condition of the American working class in the first primary debate on Wednesday, but split in unmistakable terms over just how aggressively the next president should seek to transform the country along more liberal lines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">The strength of the party\u2019s progressive wing was on vivid display in South Florida, starting in the first minutes of the debate when Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts branded the federal government as thoroughly corrupt. Ms. Warren, the highest-polling candidate onstage, called for the government to bring to heel oil companies and pharmaceutical companies, and embraced the replacement of private health insurance with single-payer care.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">\u201cWe need to make structural change in our government, in our economy and in our country,\u201d Ms. Warren said, setting the tone for the handful of populists in the debate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-o6xoe7\">\n<div class=\"css-ke163a\" data-testid=\"article-companion-wrapper\">\n<div id=\"newsletter-module\" class=\"css-48vsi0\">\n<div class=\"css-1k9ek97\">\n<div class=\"css-tjpxhb\">\n<div class=\"css-sefkcv\">\n<div id=\"story-ad-1-wrapper\" class=\"css-2ninbb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Joining Ms. Warren in driving hard from the left were two lesser known candidates \u2014 Juli\u00e1n Castro, the former housing secretary, and Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York \u2014 who sought to jump-start their campaigns by confronting rivals who hesitated to match their progressive demands on immigration, health care and national security policy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">The debate, the first of two featuring 10 candidates each, underscored just how sharply Democrats have veered in a liberal direction since Mr. Trump\u2019s election. On issues ranging from immigration and health care to gun control and foreign policy, they demonstrated that they were far more uneasy about being perceived as insufficiently progressive by primary voters than about inviting Republican attacks in <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/news-event\/2020-election?module=inline\">the general election<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">But there were also several avowed pragmatists who voiced hesitation or outright disagreement over some of their party\u2019s most ambitious policy demands. Most prominent among them was Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who expressed doubts about liberal plans for single-payer health care and free college education; she instead called for more modest alternatives like the creation of an optional government-backed health insurance plan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s a bold approach, it\u2019s something that Barack Obama wanted to do,\u201d Ms. Klobuchar said, linking her more moderate views to those of one of the most popular Democrats in the country. She added, of a single-payer bill written by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont: \u201cI am just simply concerned about kicking half of America off of their health insurance in four years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Though Ms. Warren and Ms. Klobuchar did not engage the other by name, Ms. Warren drew loud applause by retorting that politicians who suggest \u201cMedicare for all\u201d is impractical are really telling Americans \u201cthey just won\u2019t fight for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Other candidates tried to chart a middle path between those poles on health care, with Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey saying that he supported single-payer care but would embrace more incremental options as well. \u201cWe have to do the things, immediately, that are going to provide better care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">At times the forum became a free-for-all of cross talk among candidates desperate to wedge their personalities and signature ideas into brief snippets of television airtime. But even the disagreements were squarely over matters of policy substance: There were no personal attacks or criticisms of character, and nothing resembling the Trump-style personal taunts that came to define the last crowded presidential primary, waged among Republicans in 2016.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">There were Democrats boasting about their executive r\u00e9sum\u00e9s \u2014 Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington trumpeted the laws he had personally enacted, on matters like health care and abortion rights \u2014 and those who focused on sharing aspects of their personal biographies. Ms. Klobuchar, for instance, spoke of her father who attended community college.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Perhaps mindful of the debate\u2019s South Florida venue, several took pains to flaunt their Spanish-language skills, particularly when it came time to discuss immigration. Among those were Mr. Booker, Mr. Castro and former Representative Beto O\u2019Rourke of Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">\u201cThe situation now is unacceptable,\u201d Mr. Booker said in Spanish, of the crisis unfolding on the Mexican border. \u201cThis president has attacked, he has demonized immigrants. I am going to change this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/06\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall3\/merlin_157062276_37382372-112e-4f4c-bf97-ee21c3b955d2-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/06\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall3\/merlin_157062276_37382372-112e-4f4c-bf97-ee21c3b955d2-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/06\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall3\/merlin_157062276_37382372-112e-4f4c-bf97-ee21c3b955d2-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/06\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall3\/merlin_157062276_37382372-112e-4f4c-bf97-ee21c3b955d2-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"The debate on Wednesday featured three of the female candidates in the 2020 presidential race: from left, Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. Three other female candidates will participate in the debate on Thursday.\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"css-jcw7oy e1g7ppur0\"><figcaption class=\"css-1l44abu e1xdpqjp0\"><span class=\"css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0\">The debate on Wednesday featured three of the female candidates in the 2020 presidential race: from left, Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. Three other female candidates will participate in the debate on Thursday.<\/span><span class=\"css-vuqh7u e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit<\/span>Doug Mills\/The New York Times<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"story-ad-3-wrapper\" class=\"css-1r07izm\">\n<div id=\"story-ad-3-slug\" class=\"css-l9onyx\">\n<p>After drawing little notice initially, Mr. Booker offered a series of commanding answers in the second hour of the two-hour debate on issues such as guns and L.G.B.T. rights, and he repeatedly highlighted his residency in heavily black Newark.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Booker is one of two African-Americans in the debate field, along with Senator Kamala Harris of California, who will appear on Thursday. Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. enjoys an early lead in the polls thanks in part to his support among black voters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio, dominated the segment devoted to immigration, promoting his proposal to decriminalize illegal immigration \u2014 a policy that Ms. Warren has adopted in recent days and that Republicans have gleefully highlighted to argue that Democrats support open borders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Turning to Mr. O\u2019Rourke, whose unsuccessful 2018 Senate bid and presidential candidacy have overshadowed him, Mr. Castro asked his fellow Texan why he would not support making illegal immigration a civil offense.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">\u201cI just think it\u2019s a mistake, Beto,\u201d said Mr. Castro.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. O\u2019Rourke noted that he had introduced legislation in Congress to decriminalize \u201cthose seeking asylum\u201d and said that he had unveiled a comprehensive immigration overhaul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">But Mr. Castro interjected that it was not sufficient to relieve only those seeking asylum from criminal penalty, because many of those charged for crossing the border illegally are \u201cundocumented immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Booker made clear that he sided with Mr. Castro on the question, an illustration of the party\u2019s shifting center of gravity on perhaps the dominant issue of the Trump era.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-9wbzuf ehw59r12\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<div class=\"css-t972an ehw59r13\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-overlay\">\n<div class=\"css-oe0vuu ehw59r11\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-captionblock\">\n<div class=\"css-8h527k\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1h6w7uo e1t57l6r0\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new2\/26debate-ledeall-new2-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new2\/26debate-ledeall-new2-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new2\/26debate-ledeall-new2-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new2\/26debate-ledeall-new2-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"Juli\u00e1n Castro, left, with Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. Mr. Castro dominated the segment devoted to immigration, promoting his proposal to decriminalize illegal immigration.\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"css-jcw7oy e1g7ppur0\"><figcaption class=\"css-1l44abu e1xdpqjp0\"><span class=\"css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0\">Juli\u00e1n Castro, left, with Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. Mr. Castro dominated the segment devoted to immigration, promoting his proposal to decriminalize illegal immigration.<\/span><span class=\"css-vuqh7u e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit<\/span>Doug Mills\/The New York Times<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">While the candidates looking to break out were most eager to confront others onstage, the better-known and better-financed contenders were less eager to duel with one another.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">When the debate turned to tech companies, Mr. Booker stopped short of endorsing Ms. Warren\u2019s call to break up the biggest firms, like Facebook and Google, while saying it was clear that the economy \u201cis not working for average Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">When Mr. Booker was reminded that he had attacked Ms. Warren this year for naming some of the corporations she would break up, he retreated. \u201cI don\u2019t think we disagree,\u201d he said, adding that he also felt strongly about \u201cthe need to check corporate consolidation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. O\u2019Rourke also declined to hit back when he found himself under attack, first by Mr. de Blasio and then by Mr. Castro.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">When the moderators asked the 10 candidates which of them would support eliminating private health insurance as part of a single-payer health care plan, only Ms. Warren and Mr. de Blasio raised their hands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">\u201cHow can you defend a system that\u2019s not working?\u201d Mr. de Blasio demanded of Mr. O\u2019Rourke.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Ms. Klobuchar was the most firm in staking her claim to moderate terrain and also got off a handful of one-liners that drew applause and laughs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">When Mr. Inslee boasted about his record in support of abortion rights, Ms. Klobuchar noted the <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/06\/26\/us\/politics\/women-running-for-president-abortion.html?module=inline\">gender diversity of the candidates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-o6xoe7\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-z3e15g\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper-hidden\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1h6w7uo e1t57l6r0\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new3\/26debate-ledeall-new3-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new3\/26debate-ledeall-new3-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new3\/26debate-ledeall-new3-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new3\/26debate-ledeall-new3-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"Two lesser known House lawmakers, Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, right, and Tim Ryan of Ohio, second from left, clashed over how aggressively to target the Taliban.\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"css-jcw7oy e1g7ppur0\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1l44abu e1xdpqjp0\"><span class=\"css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0\">Two lesser known House lawmakers, Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, right, and Tim Ryan of Ohio, second from left, clashed over how aggressively to target the Taliban.<\/span><span class=\"css-vuqh7u e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit<\/span>Doug Mills\/The New York Times<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">\u201cI want to say there\u2019s three women up here who have fought pretty hard for a woman\u2019s right to choose,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">And she scorched Mr. Trump for his erratic posts on Twitter. \u201cI don\u2019t think we should conduct foreign policy in our bathrobe at 5 in the morning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">There was little discussion of foreign policy until near the end of the debate when two little-known House lawmakers, Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and Tim Ryan of Ohio, clashed over how aggressively to target the Taliban.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Ryan also used his limited time to challenge his own party. \u201cWe are not connecting to the working-class people in the very states that I represent in the industrial Midwest,\u201d he said, scorning Democrats\u2019 \u201cIvy League\u201d attitude.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. de Blasio was the most aggressive candidate when it came to confronting his rivals. But it was unclear if the New York mayor, who polls indicate is disliked by those Democrats who have heard him, would reap the benefit from his carrying the liberal banner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"story-ad-6-wrapper\" class=\"css-1r07izm\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Ms. Warren\u2019s repeated denunciations of economic elites and Washington\u2019s governing class won repeated ovations. But her unabashed willingness to terminate private health care, a question she had <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/02\/us\/politics\/medicare-for-all-2020.html?module=inline\">evaded in the past,<\/a> alarmed some members of her own party who fear that embracing a single-payer system would hand Republicans a political weapon in a country where nearly 60 percent of people are on private plans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Ms. Warren was less precise when she was asked how she would push through her agenda if Republicans still control the Senate in 2021. And while she never mentioned her rivals by name, it was clear Ms. Warren is building a case for why Democrats should reject Mr. Biden\u2019s consensus-oriented politics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1h6w7uo e1t57l6r0\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new1\/26debate-ledeall-new1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new1\/26debate-ledeall-new1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new1\/26debate-ledeall-new1-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w, https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/26debate-ledeall-new1\/26debate-ledeall-new1-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1716w\" alt=\"Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, left, and Mr. Ryan both challenged their own party during the debate.\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"css-jcw7oy e1g7ppur0\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1l44abu e1xdpqjp0\"><span class=\"css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0\">Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, left, and Mr. Ryan both challenged their own party during the debate.<\/span><span class=\"css-vuqh7u e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit<\/span>Doug Mills\/The New York Times<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">For the most part, though, the contenders trumpeted their own proposals and r\u00e9sum\u00e9s while training their fire on Mr. Trump and Republican economic policies, which they said were favoring the wealthy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">\u201cHe says wind turbines cause cancer, we know they cause jobs,\u201d Mr. Inslee said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">The debate came at a moment when party activists were unified on the urgency of ejecting Mr. Trump from the White House but deeply divided over the best approach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Dating to the day after Mr. Trump\u2019s inauguration, when millions of women marched in American cities, Democratic contempt for the president has produced a supercharged liberal activism \u2014 and prompted a new level of engagement culminating in last year\u2019s elections, which saw the largest turnout for a midterm campaign in a half-century.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">This energy has carried over into 2019, as many of the Democratic hopefuls have attracted unusually large crowds at early rallies and forums, large numbers of small-dollar donors and hundreds of volunteers who are already following every dip and rise in the race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">And for many of the party\u2019s primary voters, the <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/news-event\/democratic-debates?module=inline\">back-to-back debates<\/a> represented their first extended look at the Democrats\u2019 historically large, and diverse, field.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">So far, the race has been chiefly defined by a central question: Should Democrats rally behind Mr. Biden, a moderate who is the field\u2019s best-known candidate, or find a more progressive alternative? While Mr. Biden has proved to be resilient in the polls since entering the race in April, he is a fragile front-runner and has already seen his advantage ebb in Iowa and New Hampshire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Sanders has retained much of the grass-roots and financial network that powered him to unexpected success in the 2016 Democratic race, but he has struggled to expand his appeal beyond his committed supporters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">That is in part because the party\u2019s left flank now has a wealth of alternatives, including Ms. Warren, who has recently surged in a number of surveys after months of laying out a series of ambitious policy proposals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/06\/26\/us\/politics\/democratic-debate-2020.html?action=click&amp;module=Top%20Stories&amp;pgtype=Homepage\">The New York Times<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, June 26, 2019 MIAMI \u2014 Democratic presidential candidates leveled a stark critique of President Trump\u2019s immigration policies and the condition of the American working class in the first primary debate on Wednesday, but split in unmistakable terms over just how aggressively the next president should seek to transform the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7527"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7527"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7542,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7527\/revisions\/7542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}