On Oct. 13, all five Democratic nominees for the presidential election of 2016 went up against each other in Las Vegas, Nevada. The nominees that made the smallest impact were Jim Webb, the former Senator of Virginia, Martin O’Malley, the governor of Maryland, and Lincoln Chafee, the Republican-turned-Democrat former Senator of Rhode Island.

The debate’s two main contenders were the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the former Senator of Vermont Bernie Sanders.

During the course of the debate, many current issues were discussed that have previously been ignored by Republicans. The five nominees argued in detail over race, Wall Street reform, the top 1%, college affordability, gun control, and diplomacy, more specifically in the Middle East.

Bernie Sanders focused mainly on three things: race, financial inequality, and his idea for a so-called “political revolution.” In answering a question from a citizen, Sanders stated that “black lives matter,” a point in which he strongly believes.

By saying this, he appealed to the African-American community, and perhaps gained votes. Sanders focused almost entirely, however, on the issues of income inequality and claimed how the top one percent of Americans “…own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent.” His idea of “democratic socialism” focuses on the immorality of this inequality and, if elected, he will work to change this discrimination.

Hillary Clinton, who some say won the debate and is now considered the front-runner of the Democratic Party, had a lot to say on the issues of gun control, diplomacy, and the affordability of college tuition. Clinton does not believe that Sanders, not to mention the other nominees, is tough enough when it comes to the issue of guns. She fully supports gun registry and background checks.

When confronted on her beliefs regarding diplomacy and the issue of Russian forces in Syria, Clinton did not hold back. As the former Secretary of State, she was able to draw on her experiences to demonstrate how she would handle the situation. She believes that diplomacy is not just about reaching a solution, it’s also about balancing the risks.

Many believe that due to her experiences in her former position, Clinton would be excellent at dealing with foreign policy and diplomacy. One of her most notable beliefs from Tuesday’s debate is her stance on college affordability. The price of college tuition is one thing that all candidates agreed on: it is too high. Clinton strongly advocates for lower tuition.

The other three nominees, Chafee, O’Malley, and Webb, are considered by many to be the losers of the debate. While out of the three of them, O’Malley seemed to be the most successful, he still fell short of pleasing the public.

According to CNN, he was unable to ignite his campaign due to the fact that, while he had some good points, he could not convince American viewers that he would improve this country. Chafee and Webb struggled greatly presenting their arguments. Chafee was attacked by Anderson Cooper on the issue of his political viewpoint because while he was governor of Rhode Island, he switched from being a Republican to a Democrat.

Webb, however, only seemed focused on the fact that he is a veteran of the Vietnam War and that he was not receiving the same amount of speaking time as the other candidates. However, as of Oct. 20, 2015, Webb officially dropped out the presidential race, and as of Oct. 23, 2015, Chafee did as well. 

Only time will tell what will happen and who will come out on top as the presidential nominee at the next Democratic debate which will take place on Nov. 14.