The first Democratic debate in Las Vegas made some bold statements about the party Tuesday, Oct. 13.

The party has taken a turn to the left as a result of Bernie Sanders spearheading popularity with his socialist policies. With the great attraction of these politics, the candidates seldom took moderate positions on the policies discussed.

When the topic of regulation of Wall Street arose, it became a contest of who could be tougher on the stock market hub. Sanders called for the breakup of the large banks that foreclosed millions of homes in the 2008 recession, stating, “Congress doesn’t regulate Wall Street, Wall Street regulates Congress,” while his opponent, Hillary Clinton, chose to remain silent as Bernie Sanders accused her of having Wall Street in her “back pocket.”

All was not well for Bernie Sanders, however. When he was asked whether gun manufacturers should be shielded from legal responsibility for mass shootings, he gave a lackluster explanation. Arguably the most liberal candidate on the Democratic ballot, Sanders took a very conservative stance on the issue, and mentioned that he voted against the Brady Bill, which would require background checks and a five-day waiting period when buying handguns.

The debate revealed that the race is not a five-candidate race, but a two-candidate duel, with outliers Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee embarrassing themselves by fumbling for responses to the topics addressed.

With the Democratic Party seemingly becoming more and more liberal as a whole, it is unlikely a moderate candidate like Webb would win the nomination. Likewise, Lincoln Chafee used to be a Republican and held on to various conservative values, which does not sit well in the Democratic Party.

Martin O’Malley is trying to push his policies towards the more progressive wing of the party, the wing that Bernie Sanders controls and even if O’Malley stays true to his progressive policies, Sanders dominates the radical left and is a veteran of progressive politics — so a fresh-faced former governor with no other political experience will stand little chance in taking those progressive votes away from Sanders.

While Hillary Clinton perhaps looked the most presidential, the biggest winner of the debate might just have been Bernie Sanders, whose passion for progressive issues was evident.