(photo courtesy of Elijah Nouvelage)

As the Democratic field begins to slim in numbers of candidates at the debates, 10 nominees traveled to Atlanta last Wednesday to participate in the fifth Democratic debate. Covering big issues like impeachment, health care and electability, here are the winners and losers of the debate.

Winner #1: Amy Klobuchar

Only one word can explain the Minnesota senator’s performance from last night: wow. Not only was Klobuchar able to back up her points and policies with immense research and passion, she finally had that breakout moment she has been begging for. She immediately became one of the night’s best winners after showing how a moderate can actually lead the country and she was the only one that even tried to go after South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg due to him leading in the Iowa polls. Klobuchar has been stuck in a shadow this entire race, but now she will never be forgotten. This was all managed with an impressive speaking time of 10 minutes and 47 seconds.

Winner #2: Kamala Harris

One big thing that I was able to take notice of this debate was the fact that most of the nominees who needed a break out moment received it; California Sen. Kamala Harris is no exception. Harris had a huge following earlier this year due to her being one of the first women to join the race and the fact that she called out fellow candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden in earlier summer debates. Harris was able to try new things this time around such as focusing on foreign policy to call out President Donald Trump and getting the best of Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. By her stating that Gabbard had betrayed the Democratic party by insulting former President Barack Obama back during his presidency, Harris made people realize she is done with corruption in politics and merely wants to fight for the common American. This impressive performance was done with 11 minutes and 20 seconds of speaking time.

Loser #1: Joe Biden

There is a recurring theme when it comes to losers of the debates. This is the fact that Biden never seems to come out a winner despite leading in most polls. This debate performance was appalling and showed that he is far from being the right person to hold the highest office in the land. Biden continues to fail at answering why he deserves to be the president and how he feels about the entire impeachment inquiry. Leaving the problems with Ukraine on the side, Biden has once again made factual errors that cannot be looked past. The most memorable mixup is that Biden stated he was the only nominee on stage to have the support of the only female African American senator — referring to Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun. However, Biden failed to remember that Harris is also a female African American senator who has since joked about the slip up. This was done with a total of 12 minutes and 35 seconds of speaking time.

Loser #2: Tulsi Gabbard

This performance was not memorable nor impressive for the Hawaii representative. She failed at making herself known to the American public as electable and she received major backlash for Harris’s betraying Obama remark. Gabbard has constantly thought of herself as the best candidate on stage and fails to show the American people how she would be an effective leader. This mediocre performance was done with only nine minutes and 18 seconds of speaking time.

Please leave in the comments below who you thought were the winners and losers of this debate! The Prospector must screen all comments before publishing in order to avoid offensive and obscene language.