When Hillary Clinton takes the stage at the first Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Tuesday night, it won’t be the coronation her campaign hoped for earlier this year. With her claim to the throne undermined by a slow-burning e-mail scandal, the proper line of succession is in doubt and the pretenders are sharpening their swords.

Whether those swords will draw blood remains an open question. Though Clinton’s dominant lead has shriveled, she remains the Democratic front-runner and commands the loyalty of her party’s elite. The insurgent who represents the would-be queen’s biggest threat, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, continues to exercise extreme caution in criticizing her directly. And looming over all is the specter of a possible Joe Biden campaign, which would fundamentally transform the race in ways no one can accurately predict.

Discretion may for once prove the better part of valor in Las Vegas. With that in mind, here are five things to watch for in Tuesday’s Sin City face-off:

Until Biden enters the fray, the most important fight in the Democratic campaign is still between Clinton and Sanders. The Vermont senator benefited immensely from the former secretary of state’s summer e-mail troubles, pulling ahead of her in New Hampshire and nipping at her heels in Iowa. And he did it without directly attacking Clinton for her perceived untrustworthiness — a tactic Democratic strategists say he should continue.

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Source: Brendan Bordelon, http://www.nationalreview.com