Monterey County Democrats host debate watch party

Monterey County Democrats hosted a debate watch party in Seaside on Wednesday for voters to witness the first of two events centering around the Democratic field of presidential candidates.

You could not hear even the slightest cough during the two hour debate, where 10 Democratic presidential candidates had everyone glued in the room in Seaside, even if no one person stuck out.

“I keep watching for someone to do the breakout thing, and I really haven’t seen that yet,” said Karen Martinez, a Democrat visiting from Hawaii.

From college tuition to immigration, candidates like Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke and Tulsi Gabbard debated why they deserve to be the nation’s top leader. For first-time voters like 18-year-old Imogene Johnson, it is a chance to learn about who could be on the ballot.

“I though they were really productive. There’s an amazing group of really progressive, forward-thinking candidates,” said Johnson.

As for what people in the room wanted to hear debated: gun control, healthcare and climate change ideas will influence who they support. California State Senate hopeful John Laird says they need to focus on the policy.

“I think their challenge tonight is to be affirmative on the issues, to do it in a brief amount of time, maybe get one good line off and make an impression on people,” said Laird.

Former Congressman Sam Farr was in the crowd on Wednesday. He tells me voter turnout will be key in the general election. He says President Trump got the same amount of votes as Romney did when he was beaten by then-President Obama in 2012.

That means Democrats did not come out for Hillary Clinton, something Farr believes must change this time around.

“You can’t just hang on to those and say… Well, my candidate didn’t get nominated, therefore I’m not going to vote or I don’t like any of these other candidates,” said Farr.

At the end of the debate, while some people here had their favorite picked out, many voters left still undecided.

Organizers did take a straw poll to see which candidates stuck out to the watch party group of about 30 after the debate. Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julian Castro had a majority of those votes.