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Democrats make final pitch in Iowa hours before first US vote
DES MOINES, United States, Feb 3, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Democratic candidates
made their frantic, final campaign pitches Sunday in Iowa, on a mission to
persuade undecided voters one day before the state’s nominating contest
officially starts the US presidential election season.
Iowa, a largely rural state of three million people, has traditionally
served as a vital launching point — or burial ground — for presidential
hopefuls.
Even as all eyes turn to the debut vote, Donald Trump’s US Senate
impeachment trial weighs over the Democratic kick-off, with the president
expected to be acquitted just days after the Iowa contest.
“This is the most consequential election, certainly in the modern history
of this country… and it all begins tomorrow night,” Senator Bernie Sanders,
the leading progressive in the race, told invigorated supporters at a meet-
and-greet event in Iowa City.
Similar scenes played out across the state this weekend as most of the 11
remaining candidates made their final push to convince undecided voters that
they are best positioned to defeat Trump.
Monday’s caucuses have created an air of suspense with no clear
frontrunner. Several hopefuls look to strike gold here and seize the momentum
going into the next contest, in New Hampshire on February 11.
Leftist Sanders holds only a narrow lead over moderate former vice
president Joe Biden. South Bend, Indiana ex-mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator
Elizabeth Warren are mere points behind.
“Tomorrow, you can ruin Donald Trump’s night!” Biden said as he rallied
1,100 supporters at a Des Moines middle school.
“I promise you: if you stand with me, we will end Trump’s reign of hatred
and division.”
Three of the leading candidates seized on a brief break from their duties
as impeachment jurors to barnstorm Iowa.
The senators — self-styled democratic socialist Sanders, progressive
Warren and pragmatist Amy Klobuchar — each hosted multiple events Sunday.
The impeachment trial — only the third in history of a US president —
created an unprecedented situation by limiting the senators’ ability to
campaign ahead of Iowa’s vote. They must return to Washington Monday for the
trial’s resumption.
Senate leaders have scheduled a Wednesday vote that will almost certainly
acquit Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
MORE/FI/ 0940 hrs
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– ‘He’s a communist’ –
Trump will likely claim victory over Democrats’ efforts to oust him when
he delivers his State of the Union speech Tuesday — although he told
reporters he would be delivering “a very, very positive message.”
That did not stop him from branding Biden “Sleepy Joe” and hurling an
epithet at Sanders.
“I think he’s a communist,” Trump told Fox News in an interview that aired
before the Super Bowl got underway Sunday.
With campaigns loath to door-knock during American football’s championship
game, some candidates like Sanders and Klobuchar attended Super Bowl watch
parties.
Underdog Klobuchar argues that her Midwestern roots and propensity to work
with Senate Republicans can help her win Iowa and defeat Trump.
She compared the big game to the last-gasp nature of the final weekend
before Iowa’s vote.
“I would call it the Super Bowl of campaigns,” she told supporters in
Cedar Rapids.
Turnout will be critical, as candidates seek to persuade voters on issues
including health care, improving conditions for the working class and ending
Washington corruption.
They were also pushing their own electability, as Buttigieg did repeatedly
on the stump and during Sunday TV talkshows.
“I certainly think that I am better positioned to beat Donald Trump than
any of my competitors,” Buttigieg told CNN.
A former consultant and US Navy reservist who became a mayor at 29,
Buttigieg portrays his youth as a reason voters should prefer him over the
gray-haired Biden, 77, and Sanders, 78.
One in two Iowa voters claimed to still be undecided ahead of the quirky
caucus process.
Among them was Kim Robinson, 67, a precinct caucus chair in Clive who said
he switched support Sunday from Biden to Buttigieg.
“And I might change to Amy Klobuchar” before the vote, he told AFP. “Right
now it’s a matter of who I think will win” against Trump.
At 7:00 pm Monday (0100 GMT Tuesday), Democrats take part in caucuses at
about 1,700 venues — schools, libraries, churches — to publicly declare
their choice by standing under one candidate’s banner.
Candidates who reach 15 percent support can earn delegates for the
nomination race. If a candidate does not meet this threshold after the first
alignment of caucus-goers, their supporters can shift to other candidates.
At that point, the rallies and TV advertising fade away, as neighbors seek
to convince and persuade the undecided, or those from unviable candidates, to
align with another.
Iowans take their role as first-in-the-nation voters to heart, and their
pick has a recent historical track record of becoming the Democratic nominee.
At an Iowa City home that Warren supporters were using as a base, people
streamed in and out, looking for extra posters or lists of doors that still
needed to be knocked on.
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, traveled from far-off New
York to help Warren.
“Having a good showing in Iowa is so important to build momentum,” Johnson
said.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0942 hrs