“The gloves came off and she slayed.”
That’s what a New York Times opinion writer said about Elizabeth Warren’s performance at Wednesday night’s Democratic debate in Nevada, and it seemed to be a general sentiment in the aftermath of the Massachusetts senator’s strongest performance in months.
The looming specter of Super Tuesday and the possibility of being anywhere from front-runner to a former Democratic presidential candidate — as well as the debate stage debut of New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg — made for the rawest debate yet. And Warren set the fiery tempo from the get-go when she dunked on Bloomberg.
Warren didn’t let up. The Times said she “sometimes attacked almost everyone in a single breath.” But it was her attacks on Bloomberg that highlighted a night full of verbal dropkicks — the lead story on The Atlantic Thursday morning was titled “Bloomberg’s beating.”
In short, it was precisely the sort of performance Warren needed if she wants any chance at reviving her candidacy. Her campaign said it raised $2.8 million Wednesday, a single-day high for the campaign, with more than a third of it coming during the debate.
Here’s what everyone had to say about Warren’s night:
Scorecard: Grading the debate performance of the Democratic candidates, The Boston Globe
“Warren dominated this debate. Her performance was a master class. She needed to come in and fight like she had nothing to lose, because, let’s be honest, she didn’t. She entered this debate sort of lost in the race: there, but not really there.”
6 Takeaways From The Democratic Debate In Nevada, New York Times
“It was the kind of aggressive performance that allies and even some of her campaign advisers had been hoping for, even if it marked a sharp shift from her recent strategy of appearing as an above-the-fray candidate who could unite Democrats.
She had one-liners. And twice she plowed through the weaknesses of so many of her opponents in a single answer that it left moderators struggling to even give everyone a chance to respond. Perhaps most notably, she forcefully addressed health care and her “Medicare for all” plan, which has been a liability for months.”
Elizabeth Warren Was a Boss, Slate
“I have no idea if one strong debate performance will be enough to reinvigorate Elizabeth Warren’s presidential bid after her disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. But the senator seemed to give her campaign some new, much needed energy on Wednesday night during the Democratic showdown in Nevada, where she pretty much laid Michael Bloomberg out on the stage and then ran a truck back and forth over him while the crowd cheered like it was a Monster Jam rally. Then she gunned it for her other opponents.”
In Fierce Democratic Presidential Debate, 1 Winner And 5 Losers, Fox News
“Warren spent the debate drawing a sharp contrast with her opponents, making the case for herself for all to see, and laying out her plans. Most of all, Warren demonstrated once again that she could take on Trump and that may be the thing that helped her the most. That fiery Elizabeth Warren has been missing in debates and on the campaign trail of late and she came roaring back Wednesday night.”
3 Winners And 4 Losers From The Nevada Democratic Debate, Vox
“It seems like Warren needs a miracle to save her campaign, and while strong debate performances haven’t always translated into good polling in the past, Wednesday night was still one hell of a start. Warren dominated the stage, delivering striking answers in one of the best performances I’ve seen from a presidential candidate — not just in this cycle, but ever.”
‘Cause Of Death: Elizabeth Warren’: Democratic Debate’s Brutality Delights Viewers, The Guardian
“From the very start of the Las Vegas debate, the tone for the night was set. It all kicked off when Elizabeth Warren branded Michael Bloomberg a ‘billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians’ in her first answer.”
Mike Carraggi is a Patch senior editor in Massachusetts. Reach him at [email protected].