By: Emily Larsen & Naomi Lim – washingtonexaminer.com – January 14, 2020

With Iowa polls showing a tight, fluid race between the top four candidates in the 2020 Democratic field, the last debate before the first votes are cast could be a critical moment for the White House hopefuls.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, businessman Tom Steyer, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren debate in Iowa on Tuesday evening. Here are five things to watch:

1. Beef between Sanders and Warren

The two left-wing ideological candidates have refrained from attacking each other during almost all of the primary campaign so far. But a Sanders volunteer script revealed over the weekend has heightened tensions between the candidates, causing Warren, 70, to criticize Sanders, 78, for “sending his volunteers out to trash me” and fundraise off the document.

Tensions escalated when Warren said Monday that Sanders told her in a private 2018 meeting that he did not think a woman could win the presidency in 2020. Sanders has denied the comment. Warren stated that she does not want to discuss the matter further, but it is likely to come up on the stage.

2. Iran policy and Biden’s Iraq War support

President Trump’s ordered strike that killed Revolutionary Guard Quds Force leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani earlier this month put candidates’ foreign policy in the spotlight. The candidates have doubted that the Trump administration thought through next steps in the region after Soleimani’s death, with Warren and Sanders warning that it could lead to another war in the Middle East. Expect the contenders to make their pitches on how they would better handle the situation as commander in chief.

Biden’s history of support for the Iraq War could be a point of conflict during the debate. With the Middle East back in the spotlight, the Sanders campaign slammed Biden, 77, for not being truthful about his support for the war. While Biden has claimed several times on the campaign trail that he opposed the effort “from the moment” the March 2003 invasion started, the public record shows Biden supporting the effort months later.

3. Klobuchar’s last stand?

Though Klobuchar, 59, is still a second-tier candidate in the polls, her performances at previous debates have been spun into a media narrative suggesting she should not be overlooked on Feb. 3. The pragmatic Midwestern contender for the nomination has recently deprioritized differentiating herself from her more liberal rivals. Instead, she has targeted opponents such as Pete Buttigieg, from whom she needs to swipe support if she wants to meet the caucus’s 15% viability thresholds and stay in the race.

But she may not leave the debate stage unscathed. A former country attorney, her prosecutorial record has yet to be picked apart like California Sen. Kamala Harris’s was earlier in the primary.

4. Steyer showing he deserves a seat at the table

Steyer, a billionaire hedge fund manager-turned-activist philanthropist who is largely self-funding his campaign, surprised many when he surged in a pair of polls released last week to 15% in South Carolina and 12% support in Nevada, helping him make the cut for the debate just before the qualifying deadline.

Rival campaigns criticize Steyer, 62, for heavy ad spending and accuse him of trying to buy support. Before the former New York Mayor and ultrabillionaire Michael Bloomberg entered the race, Steyer led the field in ad spending. Outside commentators wonder whether Steyer’s support is genuine.

Voters are not as familiar with Steyer as they are with top-tier candidates and even some candidates who will not be in the debate, and January could be his last chance on a national stage outside of advertisements.

5. Buttigieg’s expecations fight

Buttigieg, 37, embarked on his White House bid as an underdog. But his rise in the polls and popularity with donors has made him vulnerable to attacks, particularly over his corporate work with a management consultancy firm and exclusive fundraiser in a Napa Valley “wine cave.”

Regardless of whether the dings cost him 9 percentage points in the most recent Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll, the Harvard grad, Rhodes scholar, and former naval Intelligence officer who served in Afghanistan requires a strong performance heading into the Feb. 3 caucuses so he can at least meet the high expectations set by political pundits. Watch to see if he raises his military experience in response to questions about tensions in Iran.

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Source: Bernie Sanders vs. Elizabeth Warren and four other things to watch for during the Democratic debate