Democrat debates find their razzle-dazzle Welcome to the Maclean's Politics Insider: America 2020, launched for readers who crave U.S. political news during primary season. If you want to receive this new newsletter, take no action, it will arrive in your inbox every weekday at noon. If you'd rather not receive it, please unsubscribe here. Boffo ratings for Dem debate: If there's one thing even Donald Trump respects, it's TV ratings, and Wednesday night's debate in Nevada suggests that the Democrats are becoming a TV attraction all their own: a delighted NBC announced that their coverage established a record for the most people tuning in for a Democratic party debate, with almost 20 million viewers (including viewers on both NBC's broadcast and cable networks), an additional 13.5 million live-streaming viewers, and another record in viewers aged 25-54 — you know, the viewers advertisers actually pay for. Apparently the chance to see the Democrats turn on Michael Bloomberg attracted people who don't normally find 'Democratic debate' to be an exciting concept. Warren trolls Trump supporter by giving him money: Fresh from the good reviews for her performance at the debate, Elizabeth Warren continued her newly-assertive, headline-grabbing style by buying a full-page ad in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, owned by casino billionaire and major Trump donor Sheldon Adelson. The ad declared: "Here's how much Sheldon Adelson pays under Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax in the first year: $2,300,000,000," and told readers that if she's elected, she'll use Adelson's money to "invest in Nevada families." Trump ahead in one swing state, behind in two: No matter who gets nominated, the 2020 election is expected to hinge on a few states that gave their electoral votes to Trump in 2016 after being solidly Democratic for years: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. A new poll of registered voters from Quinnipiac University found that Trump has a solid 7 to 11-point lead over every potential Democratic challenger in Wisconsin, but that he trails several Democrats in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Sanders too pro-gun, says Biden: There haven't been many attempts by Democrats during this election cycle to go after Bernie Sanders on guns, one of the few subjects on which he hasn't been reliably liberal throughout his career (thanks to representing many rural pro-gun constituents). But in the last month, Joe Biden has finally been bringing it up. First in a New Hampshire debate, and more recently in a speech about gun violence, Biden criticized Sanders for his vote against a 1990s bill that mandated background checks and waiting periods for certain guns. He did acknowledge, however, that Sanders has become more of an orthodox Democrat over the years on gun-control issues. Bloomberg's plan B for a brokered convention: Even before his rough first debate, Michael Bloomberg was a longshot to win the most delegates during the primaries — particularly since he won't be competing in this Saturday's Nevada caucuses at all. But the former Mayor is already looking ahead to the Democratic National Convention in July, when it's possible that Bernie Sanders will arrive without having won a clear majority of delegates. In the event that happens, Bloomberg's senior advisers are talking with supporters of other candidates, hoping they'll switch their allegiance to Bloomberg at the convention. The idea would be to make Bloomberg the consensus choice of "superdelegates" who would prefer Joe Biden or Pete Buttigieg but really, really want to stop Sanders. —Jaime Weinman | 
