Thursday’s debate, like the collisions that preceded it, pitted a “leftist” lane led by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren against a “moderate” lane led by former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. The former believe in “big, structural change,” going to battle with billionaires, and eliminating private insurance; the latter believe in incremental progress, courting the wealthy, and building on Obamacare. The seemingly massive differences between these two factions represent a fierce ideological fight for the future of the Democratic Party.

The rhetoric of this clash is obscuring a deeper truth: All the lead contenders are running on the most progressive agendas to ever dominate a Democratic primary. Indeed, by the standards of the Democratic Party in 2008, the moderates look like leftists. As a result, if Biden or Buttigieg actually win the nomination, they will be running on the most progressive platform of any Democratic nominee in history.

We reviewed the details of the policy positions held by the four top 2020 Democratic contenders (Biden, Buttigieg, Sanders, Warren) across a handful of key issue areas. When you compare the ideas of the leftists and the moderates against Obama’s 2008 campaign positions, the overall shift toward the left is undeniable. The point here isn’t to offer a comprehensive rundown of where each candidate stands on every issue, but to illustrate the way the center of gravity in the party has moved.

-snipping lots of detailed comparisons-

While it is far from single-payer, universal student debt forgiveness, and a $16 trillion climate plan, the 2020 Democratic “moderate” agenda is anything but moderate by historical standards.

The Democratic Party’s shift to the left is multicausal. Some of it reflects Obama’s accomplishments: his achievements are a foundation the 2020 candidates are building on. Some of it reflects the changed realities the candidates are responding to — climate change has accelerated since 2008, the student debt crisis has worsened, and Donald Trump’s presidency has transformed the domestic political context, particularly on immigration. And some of it reflects the influence Sanders and a resurgent left have had on the entire Democratic Party.

Still, while the 2020 primary is being touted as an ideological battle for the future of the Democratic Party, in many ways, the future of the Democratic Party is already here.