Bernie Sanders leads the US Democratic presidential race against incumbent Donald Trump. Now his democratic competitors are targeting the left senator.
Washington (dpa) - The favorite of the US Democrats in the race for the presidential candidacy, Bernie Sanders, has been sharply attacked by its competitors in the last television debate before important primaries.
Several democratic competitors accused the left-wing senator of being a self-proclaimed "democratic socialist" in the presidential election on November 3 against Republican incumbent Donald Trump. The debate took place in Charleston, South Carolina.
South Carolina primaries are scheduled for Saturday. On March 3rd, "Super Tuesday" will also vote in more than a dozen states. More than a third of all delegates are assigned, who ultimately determine the Democratic candidate. This candidate will vote against Republican Trump.
Seven of the eight remaining Democratic applicants had qualified for the debate in Charleston on Wednesday night. Ex-Vice President Joe Biden, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, Senator Amy Klobuchar, former Hedge Fund Manager Tom Steyer, and Senator Elizabeth Warren were on stage alongside Sanders , Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who is in last place in most nationwide surveys, did not qualify.
Buttigieg (38) warned at the debate that if Sanders (78) became a Democratic candidate, Trump would not only face re-election. The Democrats could then lose their majority in the House of Representatives and their chances of recapturing the Senate from the Republicans. Competitors criticized Sanders' plan for state health insurance for all Americans. Sander's competitors complained that the senator could not conclusively present the financing of this project. Sanders replied that the biggest misconception was that his ideas were radical. In one form or another, they existed in countries elsewhere in the world.
This Saturday is the key area code in South Carolina, in which significantly more black people can vote than in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada - Democratic primaries have been held in these three states so far. Former Vice President Biden hopes to score among black voters. The area code in South Carolina is therefore considered a crucial test for Biden, which has so far performed significantly worse than expected.
Biden said at the debate, "I worked like hell to win the votes of black Americans, not just here, but everywhere in the country." When asked whether he would continue his candidacy in the event of a defeat in South Carolina, he said, "I will win South Carolina." Biden is currently ahead of Sanders in surveys in South Carolina.
Biden was initially considered a beacon of hope for the Democrats, but several mishaps in his appearances have raised doubts over the past few months as to whether he can actually challenge Trump. Most recently, Biden's appearance caused ridicule on social networks when he applied for a seat in the Senate in South Carolina - instead of the US presidency. "My name is Joe Biden, I am a candidate for the United States Senate," he said.
During the debate last week in Las Vegas in Nevada, multibillionaire Bloomberg - who started the race late - was particularly attacked by his democratic rivals. They accuse him of wanting to buy the candidacy. The attacks on Bloomberg also continued during Tuesday night's debate. "The economy is really great for Bloomberg and other billionaires," said Sanders. "It doesn't look that good for the normal American."
Buttigieg had been close to Sanders in the first area code in Iowa last month. The area codes afterwards in New Hampshire and and in Nevada again won clearly. Sanders is also ahead of its competitors in nationwide surveys. However, Biden leads Sanders in surveys in South Carolina.
The primaries run until June. In summer, Democrats and Republicans finally nominate their presidential candidates at nomination conferences - the Democrats in July in Milwaukee and the Republicans in August in Charlotte.