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Political Memo

Why the Democratic Debates Are Starting to Feel Like a Reality Show

The Democratic National Committee has all but encouraged presidential candidates to strive for performative breakout moments as a way to attract more donors.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — There are fierce rivalries, long-tangled histories, deeply personal grudges — and in the end, only one winner can hold the rose.

No, this isn’t “The Bachelor.” But the Democratic presidential candidates are taking part in the latest installment of a storied tradition of American politics: They are aiming to outwit, outplay and outlast a field of rivals in a campaign so far defined partly by its theatrics and big moments.

From the heavily rehearsed jabs, gimmicks and one-liners at the June debates to the elaborately staged “live drawing” for the July debate lineups that aired Thursday night on CNN, it’s starting to look like Democrats have been drawn into the reality TV genre that President Trump, who first entered most homes as a character on “The Apprentice,” started spreading in American politics.

The Democratic National Committee has all but encouraged candidates to strive for performative breakout moments as a way to attract more donors, which are needed to qualify for the party’s televised debates.

[These are the top 5 match-ups to watch in the next round of debates.]

The result is a field of candidates in search of did-you-see-that clips to dominate successive news cycles, something to keep them in the churn of cable and social media content that drives attention, small-dollar contributions and, they hope, a rise in the polls.

“It has become more and more like a game show,” said Brett O’Donnell, a Republican strategist who coached John McCain and Mitt Romney, both presidential nominees, in their debates.

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Senator Amy Klobuchar, center, with voters in Iowa.Credit...Alyssa Schukar for The New York Times

The paradox: In a contest for the hearts, minds and wallets of a Democratic electorate that loathes Mr. Trump, candidates aiming to replace him are forced to choose between adopting his modern media tactics or being left behind as others do.

“I’m not going to have this huge viral moment,” Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota lamented last weekend in the back room of a dusty union hall in Waterloo, Iowa — where the wall behind her was emblazoned with the phrase, “We celebrate the past.” “I hope I do, but I’m not going to do something crazy just to have it.”

On Thursday, the campaign reality show added a new twist: a game-show episode.

CNN, which is set to air the second set of debates later this month, devoted an hour of prime time to a special called “THE DRAW.” It took 40 minutes to draw 20 names out of three different boxes and divide them into two debating groups.

All afternoon, the news network had one of its familiar countdown clocks on the screen, ticking down the seconds until “THE DRAW.” At the appointed hour, viewers watched three of the network’s esteemed anchors escape from behind their desks to play the role of Wink Martindale and choose the candidates’ names out of boxes. Overhead cameras showed the boxes’ interiors to ensure no funny business was at play.

It was manufactured excitement that came with its own pre- and postgame shows. The drama was slightly less attractive for the candidates, whose fates may depend on which stage they were placed.

“I’ll be watching some paint dry here at the State Capitol,” Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington said in a Thursday afternoon phone call from Olympia. “I find that more intriguing.”

If there was any doubt about the value of viral moments in the 2020 campaign, the first set of debates in June eliminated them. Senator Kamala Harris of California and former Housing Secretary Julián Castro turbocharged their lackluster fund-raising efforts by launching rhetorical torpedoes at unsuspecting targets.

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Senator Kamala Harris, right, confronted former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., second from left, over his remarks about segregationist senators and his past support of antibusing policies.

Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

Ms. Harris raised nearly $4 million in the week after she clocked former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. for his past opposition to busing and his warm remarks about segregationist senators. Mr. Castro in the six months before the debate had attracted 70,000 donors. In the four weeks since he won a verbal sparring match over immigration against former Representative Beto O’Rourke, he’s had 60,000 more — enough to qualify for the September debate if he also meets the D.N.C.’s polling threshold.

It was the conflict that Ms. Harris and Mr. Castro generated, more than the policies they were promoting, that produced their memorable moments in the Miami debates.

“They’re looking for the captain of the team, to learn who is the best to lead the team into victory,” Mr. O’Donnell said of Democratic voters. “They are like gladiator events. People are looking for who is their champion.”

CNN’s draw produced a cliffhanger for the network to hype: A Biden-Harris rematch highlighting the second debate night, to follow a showdown between Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on night one.

The 10-candidate debates, said Seth Grossman, who produced reality series including “Hollywood Hillbillies” and “Intervention,” are like opening episodes, when contestants are scrapping to not be thrown off the island by appearing boring.

Candidates including Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Representative Eric Swalwell of California tried interrupting their way to debate moments in June, but they were brushed aside. Mr. Swalwell ended his campaign soon afterward.

“What makes somebody good at conflict is narcissism. As soon as you have a healthy ability to empathize with another person’s point of view, you’re less likely to verbally insult that person,” Mr. Grossman said. “Audiences get off on watching narcissists go head to head.”

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A television showing the live drawing to determine the debate line-ups on CNN in Manhattan.Credit...Jeenah Moon for The New York Times

The characters who do the best on reality shows often wind up being the ones audiences dislike the most.

“People who are truly unhinged are the best reality stars you can find,” said Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, who was a producer for “The Bachelor.” “People who don’t care about haters, don’t care about trolls and just say, ‘I’m going to tell it like it is.’”

Ms. Shapiro had little advice for the Democrats preparing for the next round of debates.

“I’m as terrified and confused as everybody else as far as what would work at this point,” she said.

Karen Dunn, a Washington lawyer who helped former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepare for their debates, said the goal of debates has always been to create a lasting moment borne out of interpersonal conflict.

And in a primary to determine who will face Mr. Trump next year, how candidates punch and counterpunch is as relevant to voters as any position they may hold.

“One of the salient questions in this election is who is going to be able to go toe to toe with the president and not back down,” Ms. Dunn said. “Voters could be looking for a calm, steady presence, but that is not going to distinguish you in a debate.”

Veteran Democrats — especially those partial to Mr. Biden — are not thrilled that their party’s highest-profile events have evolved into a televised battle royal. With so many campaigns on political life support, Mr. Biden is the biggest target for struggling candidates looking to replicate Ms. Harris’s tactics from the first debate.

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Senator Bernie Sanders will face his chief progressive rival, Senator Elizabeth Warren, in the first of two nights of debates.Credit...Samuel Corum for The New York Times

Tom Vilsack, the former Iowa governor and agriculture secretary, hosted Mr. Biden for a campaign event Monday at his home in Waukee, Iowa. But Mr. Vilsack refused to entertain questions about how Mr. Biden performed in the first debate and whether he needs to do better in the second.

“To me it’s, ‘Have you hired and fired? Have you managed? Do you understand how to get things done?’” Mr. Vilsack said. “I mean, at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about, getting things done, not necessarily debating.”

There is little doubt more of the Democratic candidates — especially those outside the race’s top tier — will launch a series of in-your-face attacks in search of a viral moment.

They’ve had little luck winning attention so far. Just ask former Representative John Delaney of Maryland and former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, who have each tried elbowing their way into a fight over socialism with Mr. Sanders, a front-runner campaigning on his brand of democratic socialism.

Aside from snarky tweets, Mr. Sanders hasn’t responded. When they gather in Detroit later this month, Mr. Delaney and Mr. Hickenlooper will be sharing the stage with Mr. Sanders and will have the opportunity to try again.

Ms. Klobuchar predicted that the second round of debates would feature more conflict than the first.

“I think that there’s just going to be more and more definition of contrast on issues,” she said.

Asked if she was telegraphing a more assertive approach that would inject her into the post-debate news cycles, Ms. Klobuchar demurred.

“I’m not predicting what I’m going to do,” she replied. “That would be really dumb debate strategy.”

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 20 of the New York edition with the headline: Candidates Are Pushed to Go Viral, or Risk Being Left Behind. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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