By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The next Democratic debate in Phoenix on Sunday will not have spectators. An Emporia State political scientist says the impact will be interesting to see.
"It's a little bit mixed," said Michael Smith. "On the one hand, the audience at these debates is asked not to cheer or boo or otherwise participate, except at the beginning and the end. There's not a lot of audience participation. In that sense, their role is limited anyway. On the other hand, the moderators reminding viewers that there's no audience will keep the issue of coronavirus front and center."
In terms of the actual impact on the Democratic primary, it's clear that Joe Biden is in control of the race at this point. A good comparison may be to a Formula One race.
"He's a good lap ahead," Smith said. "In a good race, that's very, very difficult to close, unless there's some sort of an accident or equipment failure."
The most likely thing to fell a candidate at this stage of the race is something that isn't likely to happen to Biden.
"Some type of scandal from his past that we didn't know about," Smith said. "The thing about a candidate like Biden is, he's been so vetted as a Senator and Vice President that I see that as extraordinarily unlikely. There is one wild card that's being kicked around. I'm sure you've heard about it, that's this idea that his famous Biden gaffes are getting more frequent and that may be a sign of some type of age related problem."
Biden is 77 years old. Sanders is 78. President Trump is 73.