The Democratic Showdown in Iowa

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4 • 102.8K Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2019

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In just three months, the first election of the Democratic presidential race will be held in Iowa. Over the weekend, the party held its most important political event yet in the prelude to that vote — including a fabled annual dinner attended by almost every remaining candidate in the campaign. At this dinner in 2007, Barack Obama, then a senator, delivered a searing critique of Hillary Clinton’s electability, helping him pull ahead in the polls. Candidates this time around were hoping for a similar campaign-defining moment. We traveled to Des Moines to find out how the candidates are trying to stand out in a crowded field and to try to discern who might have the political support, financial might and organizational prowess to become the nominee. Guest: Reid J. Epstein, a campaigns and elections reporter for The Times based in Washington D.C. Clare Toeniskoetter and Monika Evstatieva, producers for “The Daily,” who traveled to Des Moines to speak with campaign supporters. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: With the Iowa caucuses fast approaching, the ideological debate has remained the same, but the key players have shifted, with Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Elizabeth Warren appearing to have gained momentum. The latest poll in Iowa suggested that Ms. Warren had seized much of Bernie Sanders’s youthful following. Here are five takeaways from the survey.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the New York Times, I'm Michael Babaro. This is the Daily.
0:10.0	Today, in exactly three months, the first election of the Democratic Presidential
0:16.5	Primarily will be held in Iowa, marking the official start of the race.
0:22.0	Over the weekend, the party held its most important political event yet, in the run-up to
0:28.7	that election. A fabled annual dinner attended by almost every remaining candidate in the
0:35.1	campaign. It's a closely watched test of who exactly has the political support, financial
0:42.8	might, and organizational prowess to become the nominee. Daily producers Claire Tennis-Getter
0:50.6	and Monika F. D'Ava traveled to Des Moines to meet up with political correspondent Reed
0:56.5	Epstein, who was covering the event.
1:06.5	It's Monday, November 4.
1:20.1	So Monika and I fly to Des Moines, not really knowing what to expect. This liberty and justice
1:26.2	celebration wasn't supposed to start until 6.30.
1:34.2	But we headed over to the venue at about 10 in the morning.
1:40.2	9.42 a.m. on a Friday morning in Des Moines, Iowa. It's a bit chilly. It's 37.
1:53.2	It's very morning. Got our winter jackets on.
1:58.2	And already when we got to the Main Street, there's this massive crowd of people.
2:02.2	It's not like any political event I've ever been to.
2:33.2	So the main event is at a big sports stadium. And it's really fitting because the whole thing
2:37.6	feels like a college football game. But instead of two teams, there are 14.
2:47.2	14 Democratic presidential candidates.
2:53.2	So each candidate, each team, has staked out their own area. And that each have...
2:59.2	Every candidate has a color, right? Yeah, he's black and white. I've got my bed of sweatshirt on underneath.
	...

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