Democrats will make their first appearance on the debate stage this week as part of a two-night extravaganza in Miami that will serve as one of the first major moments of the 2020 campaign and could be a make or break moment for some candidates as they try to make a name for themselves with voters. The sprawling field of White House aspirants got some practice on stage — with matching blue T-shirts — in South Carolina during an annual weekend fish fry hosted by House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who says he's neutral in the presidential race. While 20 candidates will take the stage on Wednesday and Thursday, all eyes are on former Vice President Joe Biden, who has come under fire from rivals and other candidates in recent weeks for multiple reasons but has maintained his frontrunner status. Biden attended the fish fry in South Carolina, but this will be his first political debate since he faced off against former vice presidential challenger Paul Ryan (R) in 2012 when former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, now the junior senator from Utah, was at the top of the ticket trying to defeat former President Obama. Democrats are wondering how Biden will handle his current status. As Niall Stanage writes, controversies over hot-button issues such as race and abortion have put a small dent in his campaign. Responses on both topics have left many Democrats dissatisfied and have sparked fresh questions about his judgment and about how long he can maintain pole position in the Democratic field. Underneath Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is embroiled in a battle with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has found herself in the ascendant in recent polls, including some showing that she has surpassed Sanders in some instances. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) are trying to show that their best days are ahead of them and not in the rearview mirror as both have seen their poll numbers become stagnant over the past month. For other candidates, they view this as the time to make their move, as almost everyone else has found it tough to crack 4 percent support in early states or nationally. The Hill: 2020 primary debate guide: Everything you need to know ahead of the first Democratic showdown. NBC News: Biden's soft spots exposed, but Democratic rivals strike only glancing blows. As tensions bubble to the surface and candidate-on-candidate sniping becomes commonplace in the primary, some Democrats are worried that the race is turning into a redux of 2016 when the back-and-forth between supporters of Hillary Clinton and Sanders became so bitter that supporters of the Vermont democratic socialist sat on the sidelines instead of supporting Clinton as the party's nominee. According to Amie Parnes, Democrats are concerned that it could help President Trump in a general election fight, as it did in 2016. "Democrats will beat Donald Trump by making this a referendum on Donald Trump. But if they tear each other apart between now and the convention, they risk depressing their own turnout," said opinion contributor to The Hill and former Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), who twice served as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "They've got the most polarizing and unpopular Republican president in history, and it's just political malpractice to be firing at each other instead of targeting him," Israel added. Paul Kane: Clyburn's fish fry draws the Democratic hopefuls and illustrates a concern. Although Democrats see warning signs there, they are also trying to focus on other issues that plagued them in recent campaign cycles. Among them is turning out Hispanic voters in Florida, as activists are launching an aggressive effort to court the state's fastest-growing voting bloc. Trying to avoid a repeat of their high-profile losses in 2018, activists are diving headfirst into the community this cycle and are doing so earlier than they have in the past. As Max Greenwood reports, the goals are to mobilize dozens of organizers in the state and to fine-tune Spanish-language outreach. Republicans, meanwhile, are making their own push, including this week, as Vice President Pence is scheduled to campaign in Miami on Tuesday ahead of the Wednesday debate. Elsewhere on the 2020 Democratic scene, the field of candidates unexpectedly grew to 25 on Sunday as former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), a retired two-star Navy Admiral, announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination. A run by Sestak, who most recently lost two Senate bids in Pennsylvania, came out of left field not only to national Democrats, but also to Pennsylvania party goers. Two Pennsylvania Democrats told The Hill that they were completely blindsided by the news, with one saying that "0.0" people had any idea this was coming. Additionally, the former suburban Philadelphia lawmaker is not well-liked among the party's higher-ups in the state and has been known throughout the years as a difficult boss on Capitol Hill and as a nuisance to the party. As T.J. Rooney, a former Pennsylvania Democratic Party chairman, put it, Sestak is running a race no one asked for. "Joe Sestak embodies some people in politics who are absolutely forgotten, but obviously not gone," Rooney told The Hill on Sunday. "If you were a delusional, self-important gasbag and you have nothing better to do, you'd run for president. It's sad because it dumbs down an already overcrowded group to begin with." "What people in Pennsylvania, Dems in Pennsylvania are talking about is who can win Pennsylvania, because if you can win Pennsylvania, you can win the presidency, and this guy has proven twice that he cannot win Pennsylvania," Rooney said. "It's typical of this guy. It's just so, so Sestak. It's a 'Sestak.' He's become an adjective." The Washington Post: Black voters are cutting Biden some slack — for now. The Associated Press: New phase in presidential race tests Dem aggression. CNN: Buttigieg confronts leadership test in impassioned South Bend town hall. The Washington Post: Harris, eyeing a prime debate opportunity, is still looking for a political niche. 
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