Live updates from the March 2020 Democratic primary debate

Collin 10:05 pm: Probably the biggest non-wagering news was Joe Biden saying he would nominate a woman to be his vice president, hoping for better success than Geraldine Ferraro or Sarah Palin on that front.

The debate probably didn’t change the path of the race too much for now, with Joe Biden actually increasing his odds on PredictIt to 85%, with Hillary Clinton pulling AHEAD of Bernie Sanders (!!): Hillary is now at 6&, and Bernie is down to 4%.

Thanks for joining us tonight, and we’ll keep looking for things you can take a financial interest in while we’ve got sports on the sidelines. From Fooch and I, hope you enjoyed this!

Collin 10:02 pm: And we’re done! Let’s check the final board here:

Collin 9:51 pm: We’re getting to the end here, and unless someone breaks out Hillary Clinton, it looks like we’re getting close to a “neither” there. If you’re not going to bring her up when discussing how to build a winning coalition, you’re probably not mentioning her at all.

Collin 9:27 pm: No props answered of late, but before they started arguing with each other, the senior senator from Vermont and the former senior senator from Delaware started things off with an elbow bump.

Also we just checked, and President Trump has not tweeted since the debate started.

Collin 9:03 pm: We are at the turn with the commercial break, and as Fooch predicted the first previous Dem candidate mentioned was Elizabeth Warren regarding her bankruptcy plan. It’s gotten slightly contentious at times, but both candidates going to break just promised to campaign for the other one if they lose the nomination. Also Biden was graded as the first to mention washing hands and was graded as such by DK, so if you’ve got him there you’re a winner.

Collin 8:36 pm: Welp, sometimes even the live-bloggers don’t get it right. Our friends at DK have let us know they’ve graded the “First to Mention Coronavirus or Covid-19” question for Sanders instead of Biden, because Biden only used the term “virus.” Also apparently we missed a mention of Trump by Bernie first? We’ll trust the graders as they’re better at this than we are. The chart below has been adjusted.

Collin 8:35 pm: I was a “neither” on Hillary Clinton, as I don’t think either of them will be looking for a reason to remind folks of the last losing candidate to hold the party nomination. In fact we haven’t heard a mention of any previous candidate so far, and we’re 30 minutes into the scheduled two-hour debate.

Fooch 8:30 pm: We would appear to be at the mercy of the moderators for some of these results.

Bernie Sanders was the first to mention China when one of the moderators asked him a question about what blame should be placed on China for this outbreak. Sanders avoided the xenophobic question.

Collin 8:05 pm: Through one question, we got 25% of the questions off the board. The first question was about coronavirus, and in his first answer Biden Edit 8:36 p.m. mentioned coronavirus and Donald Trump first.

Fooch 8 pm: We’ll be tracking updates throughout the debate, but here is our table to follow throughout.

Collin, 7:54 pm: I think the pragmatist in Biden, trying to show leadership where he doesn’t believe there is much and seem Presidential, will be the first to discuss “wash your hands.” It’s something simple people can do and it’s concrete, and simple messaging is right in his wheelhouse. That’s not a Bernie strength necessarily.

And whomever gets the first question, which I think will be Biden as they’ll come to him after his opening statement, that’s who will mention Trump first. I think they ask Biden about a previous vote he now regrets early because going back to CNN’s Bernard Shaw vs. Mike Dukakis in ‘88 (look it up), the moderators tend to lead with a tough one.

Fooch, 7:39 pm: It’s a virtual lock that coronavirus is the first question. That’s free points in the prediction pool. After that, I think Bernie is first to mention coronavirus and first to mention Donald Trump. Why? Usually they do an opening statement by the candidates and it starts with the person polling worst. With only two candidates and Biden rolling right now, it seems a decent bet Bernie gets a chance to speak first if they have opening statements. Coronavirus and Trump are sure to be mentioned.

A sneaky one to consider is which former candidate will be mentioned first. Earlier today, Biden endorsed a Bernie plan on student loans and a Warren plan on bankruptcy. It’s Warren or None for that one.

What are some of your favorites?

Collin, 7:38 pm: Well boss, we’re not going to get any No. 1 seed vs. No. 16 seed matchups in the NCAA Tournament this week, but we’ve got about the same odds entering the eleventh Democratic presidential debate tonight. There’s only two candidates for the first time, but Joe Biden has overwhelming momentum as most of the party establishment has rallied around his candidacy. Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Mike Bloomberg all endorsed him, and while Elizabeth Warren hasn’t done anything yet, the wind is clearly at his back.

Right now on PredictIt Joe Biden is 82% to win, Bernie Sanders is 10%, and the rest include… Hillary Clinton at 6%? Do those people think Vince McMahon can play her music and steal the nomination with the Money In The Bank briefcase?

Anyway, what props in tonight’s DraftKings contest do you think are the easiest wins, and which did you struggle with the most?

The Democratic primary is effectively down to Joe Biden vs. Bernie Sanders, and the two men will face off on March 15th in the first debate to only feature the two of them.

The debate was originally scheduled to air before an audience in Arizona, but has been moved to CNN’s studios in Washington, D.C. The debate will air from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET on CNN and Univision, and be livestreamed on cnn.com. It will be moderated by the CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, and Univision’s Ilia Calderón.

There is plenty to debate in advance of Tuesday’s next set of primary elections, but COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, will likely be the primary topic of conversation.

We’ll hear some of the usual talking points from both candidates, and plenty of cliches. There will likely be a viral moment or two, but even if not, there will be plenty to track thanks to a pool at DraftKings Sportsbook. The sportsbook set up a free-to-play contest in which you provide predictions on 12 events happening during the debate. They include things like either mentioning certain words or topics, Donald Trump tweeting, and who the moderators cut off first. I’ve put together my predictions here.

We’ll be back with updates throughout the two-hour debate, including results of the pool and whatever else entertaining comes out of the 100th debate of this primary season — ok, just the 11th. Follow along here for updates!