Democrats seeking the presidency in 2020 are readying for battle with Donald Trump. But at this point they appear to be running against a different Republican: Mitch McConnell.

The Senate majority leader loomed large over Wednesday night’s first Democratic primary debate in Miami — and clearly flummoxed the presidential prospects when his name came up in questions from the debate moderators.

On several occasions, contenders struggled to articulate a coherent strategy on how they would deal with McConnell if they were to win the presidency and he was still majority leader. Their proposals ranged from persuading senators to kill the filibuster to campaigning in red states.

The McConnell answers “were all over the place,” Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) said Thursday. “I didn’t think they necessarily addressed the question. Because it’s a difficult question.”