Iowa Caucus

It was an hour and a half into Joe Biden’s event in Knoxville, Iowa, and the former vice president wasn’t ready to leave. Taking his third question after his staff called for a “last question,” Biden walked into the crowd to an older gentleman emphatically raising his hand. The man choked up as he told…

Sen. Kamala Harris called it “the donkey in the room”: Are Americans ready for a black woman to be president? Harris, California’s junior U.S. senator, is used to making history. She was the first woman to serve as California’s attorney general and the first African-American to represent her home state in the U.S. Senate. Friday…

Marianne Williamson was not on the debate stage Wednesday night in Atlanta. The last time she qualified for a debate was in July when she spoke for about nine minutes over the course of a long night. Instead, she hosted an event in Fairfield, Iowa, home to her one, unique stronghold of support in the…

The issues and challenges that Iowa cities face will get their time on the national stage early next month, as the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Accelerator for America brings a major presidential forum to Waterloo. Mayor Quentin Hart of Waterloo will welcome candidates to his city to discuss topics from housing to transportation to…

Elizabeth Warren brought her number of Iowa state legislator endorsements to ten today following last night’s Democratic debate. Cedar Rapids State Representative Art Staed announced he’d be in Warren’s corner on caucus night, along with 24 other notable Iowa Democratic and community leaders. “Elizabeth Warren has the passion and intellect to unite and lead our…

Iowans gathered around TV screens across the state this evening to watch the fifth Democratic debate, and the Starting Line team was out there with them in the Des Moines area. There were less “neutral site” debate watch locations as Iowa activists start to make up their mind, so we attended more candidate-specific events. Tonight’s…

During his first visit to Iowa since announcing his bid in the presidential race, Deval Patrick said his run is a little like the climate crisis: formidable but achievable. The former Massachusetts Governor’s abrupt entrance into the crowded 2020 race has been met with some frustration from tired voters and Democratic competitors, but he remains…

Senator Elizabeth Warren was speaking in Cedar Rapids when the new Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll was released Saturday evening. Nearly 25 percent of Iowa caucus goers favored Pete Buttigieg in the poll. Pollster J. Ann Selzer said the mayor of South Bend is now the “stand-alone front-runner.” The same poll showed Warren, whose numbers…

It is past time for more candidates to drop out of the presidential primary. Seventy-nine days out from the Iowa Caucus, we still have 17 Democratic contenders in the race. The total number started going in the wrong direction this past week with Deval Patrick’s entrance, and it could climb by one more if Michael…

A recently-released survey from PPP Polls has good news for Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer in the lead-off caucus state. Both are moving up in the still-crowded Democratic primary, with Klobuchar polling at 9% and Steyer at 6% in Iowa in this survey. Klobuchar’s new showing has her just outside the top tier of front-runners…