Senator Amy Klobuchar and moderate rival Pete Buttigieg clashed multiple times during Thursday night’s sixth presidential debate as Democratic hopefuls go into the home stretch to the Iowa caucuses. In one exchange, Klobuchar admonished Buttigieg, an Indiana mayor, to respect other candidates’ experience. “We should have someone heading up this ticket that has actually won and been able to show that they can gather the support that you talk about,” she said. “That matters.” Buttigieg fired back, “If you want to talk about the capacity to win, try putting together a coalition to bring you back to office with 80 percent of the vote as a gay dude in Mike Pence’s Indiana.”
And Klobuchar grabbed the initiative as Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren sparred in last night’s debate. It started when Warren said a recent Buttigieg fundraiser “was held in a wine cave full of crystals and served 900-dollar-a-bottle wine…. Think about who comes to that.” The audience cheered when Buttigieg responded, “I’m literally the only person on this stage who’s not a millionaire or a billionaire…. This is the problem with issuing purity tests you cannot yourself pass.” But Klobuchar got even more applause when she cut in: “I did not come here to listen to this argument. I came here to make a case for progress, which is campaign finance reform. That means passing a constitutional amendment.”