Delaney Takes Aim at Front-Runner Candidates in CNN Debate
During the second set of Democratic primary debates on CNN, John Delaney, Maryland’s former District 6 representative, appeared to have made a name for himself.
The Washington Post, CNN, Vox, and Politico all listed Delaney as one of the night’s winners because of his viral exchanges with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (Vt.).
The New Yorker said of Delaney’s performance that “the former congressman whose idea of good news these days is a poll that finds him at one per cent support, must be thrilled with how the night went” since he received so much airtime.
Update: Live-tracking the candidates' speaking time during the #DemDebate. Follow along here: https://t.co/dXFXvp8TC9 pic.twitter.com/Te9vxSIhWl
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 31, 2019
CNN’s Jake Tapper opened the debate asking Sanders to respond to Delaney’s criticism about his “Medicare for All” plan.
“Congressman Delaney just referred to it as bad policy and previously he has called the idea political suicide that will just get President Trump re-elected,” Tapper said.
Sanders responded to the criticism, saying, “You’re wrong.” Exchanges like these — which drew ideological contrasts between the Democratic candidate — were at the forefront of Tuesday’s debate.
Throughout the evening, Delaney served as a foil to Warren since he criticized her for running on “impossible promises.” Warren shot back at Delaney with one of the most memorable lines from the evening.
“I don’t understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running to the president of the United States to talk about what we really can’t do and shouldn’t fight for,” Warren said.
Despite Warren’s criticism, going after the front runner candidates appears to have created more “John Delaney buzz” — which is important for the candidate since his national polling average stands at 0.8%.
Axios tweeted Delaney was in a four-way tie as the second most searched candidate during the debate.
Most searched candidates over the last three hours, via @GoogleTrends
1. Williamson – 12 (indexed)
2. Sanders – 7
2. Warren – 7
2. Buttigieg – 7
2. Delaney – 7
6. O'Rourke – 4
6. Ryan – 4
8. Hickenlooper – 3
8. Bullock – 3
8. Klobuchar – 3 pic.twitter.com/BulzEALHtV— Axios (@axios) July 31, 2019
Politico’s Dan Diamond also tweeted that Delaney increased his Twitter following 4.1% during the duration of the debate.
How that breaks out as relative growth:@JohnDelaney: +4.1%@TimRyan: +1.4%@GovernorBullock: +0.60%@PeteButtigieg: +0.35%@marwilliamson: +0.30%@Hickenlooper: +0.27%@ewarren: +0.20%@amyklobuchar: +0.11%@BetoORourke: +0.05%@BernieSanders: +0.02%
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) July 31, 2019
Will McDonald, the communication’s director for the Delaney campaign, tweeted Wednesday morning, that the following has continued increasing.
https://twitter.com/willismcdonald/status/1156589786385264641
In an exchange on Twitter, McDonald confirmed that Delaney has received 10 times their typical amount of donations since the debate.
https://twitter.com/willismcdonald/status/1156606295312674816
Delaney told Fox News that he thought he had a very good night because of the contrasts he drew with the frontrunners.
“Everything I’m trying to achieve is progressive in terms of the goal, but I have workable solutions to how to get there,” Delaney said. “The best outcomes are when the private sector and when the government work well together.”
The third set of Democratic primary debates will be in Houston in September, and Delaney hasn’t yet met the threshold to qualify for the debate. Per Democratic National Committee rules, Delaney will need need to be polling at 2% and receive 130,000 donations from at least 20 states or U.S. territories.
The only candidates who’ve reached the threshold so far include former Vice President Joe Biden, Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Warren, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and former representative Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas).
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