Which candidates made the 2nd Democratic Debate?

Candidates on night two of the 1st Democratic debate. NPR/Getty.

20 candidates have made the 2nd Democratic debate. I will list them in a second but there are quite a few that did not make the cut, most notably billionaire Tom Steyer. The cut was determined on both polling and how much money has been raised. With Steyer just entering the race, it makes sense he hasn't done much of either. Gun confiscation candidate Eric Swalwell has already dropped out of the race. 

Here is the list of candidates, in alphabetical order, and a short comment by me for each one:

Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado: Pretty much an unknown to me and I am honestly not sure if he was actually in the last debate. Either way, I don't expect him to make much of an impact. 

Former VP Joe Biden: The frontrunner. He had an awful debate performance last time and Kamala Harris had him against the ropes. He's still clinging onto his lead but that's mostly inertia at this point and another horrible debate performance will likely knock him out of frontrunner status. His performance will be the thing to watch at the next debate.

Senator Corey Booker from New Jersey: Booker had an ok debate last time but hasn't really stood out from the crowd. Kamala Harris pretty much has the same platform as Booker but had a very good last debate and is higher on the oppression ladder than he is. He's going to have more trouble standing out unless he has an amazing debate.

Governor Steve Bullock of Montana: Another non-factor that is unique as being a blue governor in a very red state. Expect him to be mostly ignored. 

Mayor Pete Buttgieg of South Bend Indiana: Buttgieg had a semi-decent debate where he acted like an adult while everyone else was acting like a clown. He's a media darling and is well spoken but I don't see him having an amazing debate. 

Julian Castro, former Obama secretary: Castro had one of the most insane moments of the last debate where he advocated for abortion rights for transgender men, confusing millions of people. I'm hoping he has another gaffe like that for purely entertainment reasons, but I don't think he's a serious candidate. 

Bill de Blasio, New York City Mayor: How de Blassio made the cut is beyond me, he's not getting any polling support at all. I also expect de Blassio, if he makes any impact at all, it will be because he abandoned New York when it had a major blackout to campaign. Otherwise I expect him to be a non-factor. 

Former representative John Delaney: Delaney didn't make much of an impact but tried to make himself to be a more reasonable alternative to the other candidates Still, very unlikely to be a major player.

Representative Tulsi Gabbard: Gabbard's a foreign policy wonk that runs populist on that position at least, which makes her seem reasonable (in comparison) for people like me. That being said, the Democratic Party hates her for that and she got very little attention in the 1st debate. I expect her to do fine in her area of expertise but to be ignored otherwise. 

Senator Kristen Gillibrand from New York: She was awful in the 1st debate always interrupting people and even getting shrill at some points. I consider her one of the most unlikable people in the debate and I fully expect her to be the most annoying person yet again. 

Senator Kamala Harris from California: She got the biggest boost in the polls from the last debate and is a dark horse candidate for the nominee. She pretty much destroyed Joe Biden and appeals to the woke side of the Democratic Party. She will be looking to take out Joe Biden again this debate and I expect her to do so.

Former governor John Hickenlooper: Always forget he is running and he made zero impact on the first debate. His only saving grace is being opposed to socialism and with "The Squad" feuding with President Trump, it will be interesting if he sticks with that. 

Governor Jay Inslee of Washington: The global warming candidate, I don't see him as anything other than an issue candidate like Eric Swalwell was. He's there to get attention for his pet cause and little else.

Senator Amy Klobocher: The other shrill female candidate who isn't quite as annoying as Kristen Gillibrand. Expect her to say something about hunting while at the same time trying to ban guns. 

Former Representivie Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke: My least favorite candidate just because of his insufferable nickname and very punchable face, O'Rourke's campaign is on life support. He was a media darling for a bit but his campaign collapsed as other candidates sucked the air out of it. He needs a miracle to continue his campaign as I have seen polls where he was at 0% support. It's a minor miracle that he even made it to this debate in the first place. 

Representative Tim Ryan from Ohio: Another no name candidate that even the NPR report I cited got lazy with. I don't expect much of anything from him

Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont: Sanders has faded into the background a little bit, especially compared to last election. There are a couple of reasons for that. First is the fact that many of his supporters abandoned him for good after he endorsed Hillary Clinton, of all people, in the last election even after it came out that both her and the DNC colluded with the media against him. Second, he lost his platform as pretty much every candidate moved far left this election cycle compared to last. He was the only far left candidate in 2016 but almost everyone has a similar platform, diluting his support.

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts: Warren is a technocrat who likes to bloviate about complex plans that makes peoples eyes glaze over. She's pretty good at talking but she doesn't really evoke an emotional response. Expect her to talk at length about her various plans, but not to win the debate. 

Mariane Williamson: The most odd-ball candidate in the race, I have heard of people donating to her just for the entertainment value. She's a new age spiritualist and author and you can really tell. I don't think she has a real chance of winning the debate, or the nomination for that matter, but I do expect more than a few soundbites.

Andrew Yang: The Universal Basic Income candidate, Yang wants to give everyone $1000 a month. Out of all the candidates his platform is the most interesting, if not realistic at all. Unfortunately for Yang, his performance was terrible. He even managed to flub the easy question about his core issue. He barely spoke with the least time talking out of all candidates. His defenders say that his mic was cut but either way, after what I saw of him in the last debate I can't see him doing much better. He will still survive due to the obvious appeal of free money, but without more charisma I can't see him winning.

That's all who made the cut and who knows if someone will drop out between now and the 30th. No matter what happens I hope I will be able to live tweet the debate. I always enjoy doing that even if it does increase my blood pressure...