After a string of debates, forums and campaigning, the Democratic candidates — Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley — will face off in the second Democratic debate on Saturday. This will be the last primary debate for either party until Dec. 15.
John Dickerson, host of CBS News’ “Face of the Nation,” will moderate the debate, which
will be televised on CBS, starting at 8 p.m. Central Time.
Clinton has maintained a steady lead over runner up Sanders, who has lost some of his initial momentum after the first debate. O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland, has kept low poll numbers, leading some to believe he is running for vice president rather than president.
Kirby Goidel, a fellow at the Public Policy Research Institute and communication professor, said O’Malley’s low support may not lend itself towards that.
“He’s gotten almost no traction, so I’m not sure if that is even still a possibility,” Goidel said.
Others like Amol Shalia, president of Aggie Democrats and geophysics senior, believe O’Malley’s bid for the presidential office is sincere.
“He’s been hitting Hillary on enough issues and articulating his progressive vision for the country that it’s clear that Gov. O’Malley is running for President of the United States,” Shalia said.
While O’Malley’s intentions may be unclear, the ground he has to make up isn’t. Goidel said the lack of expectations on the former governor may work to his advantage.
“I really don’t expect much from Martin O’Malley, which may mean that he’s in a place where he can finally really win,” Goidel said. “A lot of times candidates do well at debates because they beat expectations.”
Sanders also has ground to make up if he wants a serious bid for the nomination, Goidel said.
“The big thing is to watch and see whether Bernie Sanders can reestablish himself as a credible alternative to Hillary Clinton,” Goidel said. “He’s going to stay in the race for a while, because I think there are a lot of people who are sort of anybody-but-Hillary on the Democratic left.”
While the primary debates have been happening for a while, the presidential election is still a year away. Shalia said it’s still important to watch the debates now because primary voting is much closer.
“On March 1, 2016, Texans get to go to the polls to vote for who they believe ought to be the nominee for the Democratic or Republican Party,” Shalia said. “We need Aggies to show up on that day as well as Election Day, and watching the debates is an important part of figuring out who your guy is.”
