Clinton performs well in debate despite strong showings by Sanders and O’Malley

By Scott Lucas, Megan Messerly, Kyle Roerink

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 | 10:56 p.m.

Hillary Rodham Clinton entered Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate at the Wynn Las Vegas as the front-runner for the nomination. She did nothing to hurt her status.

And when the debate ended, she kept campaigning.

Minutes after she debated Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and others on issues such as gun control, the economy and the Patriot Act, the former secretary of state dropped by a watch party at the Wynn to greet supporters. They applauded and stood on chairs to take photos of her, continuing the loud cheer during and after an impromptu two-minute speech.

Clinton appeared to be in control and confident in her campaign, just as she did during the debate.

“I’m telling you right now, we’re going to keep working toward the caucus, and we’re going to turn out more people than they’ve ever seen,” Clinton told the group. “After we win that, we’re going to take a day off, and then we’re going to start working to make sure Nevada is blue and that we elect a Democratic senator to succeed Harry Reid and elect some more Democratic members of Congress.”

Despite spirited debate challenges from Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Clinton gave voters no reasons to abandon her campaign. It was unclear whether her performance had headed off an entrance by Vice President Joe Biden into the race, but if he were waiting for her to slip up, he found nothing to latch onto Tuesday night.

In a moment that encapsulated the debate, Sanders said he was fed up with Republican-led questions of Clinton’s handling of emails in her tenure as secretary of state. “Enough with the emails,” Sanders said. Clinton laughed and reached out to shake his hand.

Despite sharp difference on some issues, that was the main tenor of the first Democratic debate: a genial reluctance by Clinton’s two closest challengers to sharply criticize the former first lady.

“There’s no question that Hillary won,” said Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus, who has endorsed Clinton. ”She’s a progressive who can get things done.”

In many ways, that lack of separation on economic issues indicates that several years after its heyday, the Occupy movement has succeeded in shifting the party to the left on issues of income inequality and regulation of financial institutions. Clinton has moved to the left on several issues, most recently in shifting her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Sanders went into the debate seeking to prove his brand of progressive politics could appeal to voters beyond his core of support. Sanders, who at times walked the line between being energetic and strident, played well with his base, but he might not have made sufficient inroads to moderate voters. The two tangled early on the questions of capitalism and socialism, before largely avoiding direct exchanges.

“Our campaign-finance system is corrupt and undermining American democracy,” he said.

Opposing surrogates wasted no time in pushing back against Sanders. Judy Chu, a Clinton campaign spokeswoman, criticized Sanders after the debate, saying his proposals needed a “cost estimate.”

Dan Hayes, an O’Malley spokesman, said Sanders was not willing to take on the National Rifle Association, highlighting a sharp exchange between the two men on gun control. Sanders and O’Malley spent more time tangling with each other than with the front-runner, with each hoping to position himself as the leading alternative should she stumble.

Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee did little to strongly position themselves with voters who have largely ignored the campaigns.

Chafee stumbled in defending votes for the repeal of Glass-Steagall and the Patriot Act, positions he has subsequently repudiated. Webb spent time complaining about the debate rules and, at one point, telling a story about killing an enemy soldier in combat that seemed to fall flat with the crowd.

After the debate, former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said he was disappointed with the debate, adding that “all they talk about is problems. Nobody offers solutions.”

North Las Vegas Councilman Isaac Barron disagreed, saying, “Here we saw hope. They were offering solutions that seem genuine. That’s what democracy is all about: civil discourse, not telling people to shut up and sit down.”

Barron, who supports Clinton, added, “That’s not what the students learn about in my government class. I was very heartened.”

After the debate, O’Malley said that he was happy with his performance, in which the governor who badly trails in the polls seemed to spend more time scraping with Sanders over issues such as gun control than in directly confronting the front-runner.

“I don’t dislike Hillary,” O’Malley said after the debate, adding the he intends to perform strongly in Nevada’s early nominating caucuses.

Las Vegas supporters of both Clinton and Sanders believe their candidate fared the best in the debate.

“She’s got really good poise and experience,” North Las Vegas resident Christopher Garcia said.

Several Clinton supporters, who had attended a Clinton watch party at the Wynn, felt the candidates found unity during the debate and got into deeper policy discussions. During the debate, Clinton supporters applauded multiple times at comments Sanders made about the middle class, raising the minimum wage and income inequality.

“It wasn’t like a debate. It was like finding common ground,” Las Vegas resident Leonard Sabar said. “The Republican debates were more like a married couple getting divorced.”

Sarah Putnam of Las Vegas, a Sanders supporter, said he was “consistent” and that Clinton had “flip-flopped” too much on the issues.

“At first, I was enamored of a girl being president,” Putnam said. “But then I realized I’d rather have a guy that’s consistent.”

National Nurses United endorsed Sanders and nurses from multiple states traveled to Las Vegas to rally for Sanders on Tuesday afternoon. The union also hosted a watch party for Sanders supporters at the Wynn. RoseAnn DeMoro, its executive director, said after the debate that Sanders was “talking to the 99 percent.”

Whether that was enough for Sanders to continue his strong challenge to Clinton remains to be seen.