Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenWarren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Joint Chiefs chairman says he regrets participating in Trump photo-op | GOP senators back Joint Chiefs chairman who voiced regret over Trump photo-op | Senate panel approves 0B defense policy bill Trump on collision course with Congress over bases with Confederate names MORE (D-Mass.) cemented her position as the leading candidate to win the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday, aggressively parrying attacks from her rivals and turning the conversation to her own purpose. To her left — physically, if not ideologically — South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegScaled-back Pride Month poses challenges for fundraising, outreach Biden hopes to pick VP by Aug. 1 It’s as if a Trump operative infiltrated the Democratic primary process MORE locked in his own budding reputation as the pit bull in the field, sparring with any and all available opponents who dared come his way. In what remains a massive field of candidates, 12 of whom qualified for Tuesday’s debate in Westerville, Ohio, Warren and Buttigieg stood out from a pack of others who felt at times like they were fading from view. ADVERTISEMENTThe sixth debate held so far this year conformed to many of the same patterns that have emerged in each previous contest: The early hour was dominated by a feud over health care reform, in which the sharpest and best-practiced attacks were lobbed against the front-runners. Then the candidates turned their focus to President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE, retreated to comfortable talking points unless opportunity for another practiced line presented itself, and pledged party unity in opposition to Trump’s second term. On Tuesday, however, two more trends began to emerge: While former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Trump finalizing executive order calling on police to use ‘force with compassion’ The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook MORE continues to claim the front-runner mantle, Warren’s rivals began to act like they believe the public polls that show she is leading the Democratic field. And Buttigieg’s sharp elbows were on display more pointedly Tuesday as he took shots at a majority of the other candidates on stage in an effort to capitalize on what Democratic voters almost universally say is one of the sharpest and most eloquent minds in the Democratic field.  Buttigieg’s first target was Warren herself, after moderators once again put the Massachusetts senator on the spot over whether her “Medicare for All” proposal would raise taxes on middle class Americans. After Warren repeated the same talking point several times, Buttigieg said she had failed to answer a yes-or-no question. “Your signature, senator, is to have a plan for everything. Except this,” Buttigieg said. “I don’t understand why you believe the only way to deliver affordable coverage to everybody is to obliterate private plans.” Buttigieg was not the only Democrat who took on Warren’s Medicare for All proposal. Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy KlobucharHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Democrats demand Republican leaders examine election challenges after Georgia voting chaos Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk MORE (D-Minn.), staking out the same relatively centrist ground as her fellow Midwesterner, said Warren had not been honest about whether her plan would raise taxes. “At least [Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersThe Hill’s 12:30 Report: Milley apologizes for church photo-op Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness MORE is] being honest here,” Klobuchar said. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth, but you haven’t done that yet.” At times, Sanders, Warren’s closest ideological ally on stage, acted as her secret weapon, defending her positions in more succinct ways than she had. Sanders, who has spent two presidential races defending his policies rather than his politics, routinely stepped in between Warren and some of her rivals’ most cutting attacks. Biden, the consummate senator who values the relational aspects of politics, declined to engage with his progressive rivals. Asked whether Warren or Sanders could win a general election, Biden struck a middle course. “Well I think their vision is attracting a lot of people, and I think a lot of what they have to say is really important,” Biden said of Warren and Sanders, before pivoting to his own record. “I’m the only one on this stage that’s gotten anything really big done.” Buttigieg was not content to take on the two leading liberals on stage. He sparred with Rep. Tulsi GabbardTulsi GabbardGabbard drops defamation lawsuit against Clinton It’s as if a Trump operative infiltrated the Democratic primary process 125 lawmakers urge Trump administration to support National Guard troops amid pandemic MORE (D-Hawaii), who barely qualified for Tuesday’s debate, over her support for President Trump’s decision to abandon Kurdish military forces in northern Syria. “When we think our only choices are between endless war or total isolation, the consequence is the disappearance of U.S. leadership from the world stage, and that makes the entire world a more dangerous place,” Buttigieg said. Buttigieg and former Rep. Beto O’RourkeBeto O’RourkeBiden will help close out Texas Democrats’ virtual convention: report O’Rourke on Texas reopening: ‘Dangerous, dumb and weak’ Parties gear up for battle over Texas state House MORE (D-Texas) also sharply disagreed over O’Rourke’s call for mandatory buy-backs of assault-style rifles like the AR-15 and the AK-47. O’Rourke, who has turned his campaign into a crusade for gun control measures after a mass shooting left more than 20 people dead in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, in August, called Buttigieg a “poll-tested” politician after Buttigieg cast doubt on O’Rourke’s buy-back proposal. Buttigieg called O’Rourke naive. “We cannot wait for purity tests, we just have to get something done,” Buttigieg said. “I don’t need lessons from you on courage, political or personal.” Facing attacks from most of the other candidates on stage, Warren spent much of Tuesday’s debate defending herself from candidates eager to take on the front-runner. At times, O’Rourke, Klobuchar, businessman Andrew YangAndrew YangGeorge Floyd protests show corporations must support racial and economic equality Andrew Yang discusses his universal basic income pilot program Andrew Yang on the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis MORE and even Biden all turned their attention to the Massachusetts Democrat.  In a previous debate, Warren unleashed a withering critique of a candidate who did not make Tuesday’s stage, former Rep. John DelaneyJohn DelaneyThe Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says country needs to rethink what ‘policing’ means; US cases surpass 2 million with no end to pandemic in sight Minnesota AG Keith Ellison says racism is a bigger problem than police behavior; 21 states see uptick in cases amid efforts to reopen The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan says there will be consequences from fraying US-China relations; WHO walks back claims on asymptomatic spread of virus MORE (D-Md.). She did not understand, Warren said then, why any candidate would run for president by claiming something was too hard to do. On Tuesday, she broadened that critique to her entire field of rivals. “I understand that this is hard. But I think as Democrats we are going to succeed when we dream big and fight hard, not when we dream small and quit before we get started,” Warren said. The Democratic debates so far this year have mirrored the contests in 2016, when Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhite House accuses Biden of pushing ‘conspiracy theories’ with Trump election claim Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton qualifies to run for county commissioner in Florida MORE fought most of their battles over policy proposals while the Republican field competed to insult each other in the gravest — or most craven — terms.  Even in the most heated moments of the debate, the 12 Democrats on stage sought to turn attention back to their common foe, President Trump. “Russia and Putin understand strength. This president, time and time again, is showing moral weakness,” Booker said in a largely harmonious conversation about Trump’s decision to pull troops out of Kurdish Syria. “This president is making us less safe. He is partnering with Putin more than he is with [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel and [French President Emmanuel] Macron.” Click Here: NRL Telstra Premiership