The two leading candidates to lead the Democratic Party appeared to agree with each other on most of the issues in a CNN debate Wednesday night, while outsider candidates and the moderators needled them about how sharply the party should focus on President Donald Trump and whether sitting Democratic officeholders should be primaried in 2018.
The two front runners for the race, former Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, both vowed to remain neutral if sitting Democrats are challenged by more liberal candidates in 2018 and also stuck closely to a message of economic empowerment aimed at making Democrats more appealing to “working people.