Newsletter: Essential Politics: What’s next for Clinton?

Before this week's Democratic presidential debate, the big question was whether anyone would watch. Without Donald Trump to draw in viewers who don't typically follow politics, what sort of audience would the Democrats get?

A huge one, it turned out. The Nielsen ratings indicated that some 15.3 million viewers watched at least part of the debate. As our colleague Stephen Battaglio noted, that's less than the Trump-infused GOP debates have drawn, but enough to make Tuesday's forum the most watched Democratic debate ever. In April 2008, about 10.7 million people watched then-Sen. Barack Obama debate then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. 

Good afternoon, I'm David Lauter, Washington bureau chief, and this is the Friday edition of our Essential Politics newsletter, in which we look at the week's developments with a focus on the stories that go beyond the headlines.

Immediately after the debate, media analysts and Democratic strategists were virtually unanimous in declaring Clinton the winner and posing the question of whether her performance would deter Vice President Joe Biden from entering the race. Here's how I assessed the aftermath. And Mike Memoli and Mark Z. Barabak took a look at Biden's diminishing prospects.

Some supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont cried foul at the widespread sentiment that Clinton had "won," insisting that the media was rushing to judgment. By week's end, however, polls began to reinforce that initial analysis of a Clinton victory.

Meantime, a top aide to Biden sent a letter to supporters alerting them that a decision was near. Memoli got a copy.

However Biden's decision works out, Clinton strategists continue to assume that Sanders will do well in the campaign's initial two contests, in Iowa and New Hampshire. That puts big pressure on them to build a firewall in the next two states to vote, South Carolina and Nevada.

Evan Halper and Kurtis Lee took a look at how Clinton hopes to turn Nevada into a bulwark. And Lee focused on one of the kingmakers of Nevada politics, the Culinary Union, a heavily Latino organization that the candidates have eagerly courted.

Latino voters will be key to Democratic prospects in Nevada but will also be an important force in other Democratic primaries. Clinton is counting on getting a big majority among Latino voters, as she did when she ran in 2008. And as Halper found, the former secretary of State, who often has trouble connecting with voters, came alive with a heavily Latino audience in San Antonio.

Making the most of Clinton's Latino connections is the job of a 27-year-old woman who has never been able to vote in a presidential election because she is not yet a U.S. citizen. Kate Linthicum brought us the story of Lorella Praeli, a young immigrant who helped build the Dreamer movement and has now emerged as a major figure in the campaign.

And Christina Bellantoni took a close look at some of the volunteers backing Sanders. It's a colorful picture of a do-it-yourself liberal army moving ahead with little direction from campaign headquarters.

What we're reading

Ron Brownstein, writing in the National Journal, had a different take on this week's debate. Regardless of which candidate prevails, he noted, the debate showed how much the Democrats have moved to the left. The careful triangulation that marked the Bill Clinton administration is now very much a thing of the past. The way the country has moved on social issues and its changing demographics have opened the way for that shift, Brownstein wrote, adding that the voters' continued skepticism about big-government solutions could make the Democratic move a risky gamble.

That wraps up this week. On Monday, Christina will be back with the daily newsletter. Until then, keep track of all the developments in the 2016 campaign with our Trail Guide, at our politics page and on Twitter at @latimespolitics.

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