CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa _ Nineteen candidates. Five minutes each. The math of an early, unwieldy field of Democrats added up to a long procession of White House hopefuls across an Iowa stage, where they wooed the voters and party activists who could decide their fates.
Only four candidates skipped Sunday's fundraiser for Iowa's Democratic Party, the largest gathering of the 2020 candidates to date, in the state that will kick off the nominating process next year.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders took a veiled shot at one of them _ former Vice President Joe Biden, who skipped the event because he was celebrating his granddaughter's high school graduation.
"I understand there are some well-intentioned Democrats and candidates who believe the best way forward is a middle-ground strategy that antagonizes no one, that stands up to nobody and that changes nothing," Sanders said. "In my view that approach is not just bad public policy, but it is a failed political strategy that I fear would end up with the reelection of Donald Trump."
Iowa voters won't caucus until February, but the gathering took place during a critical period of the primary. It's the first major cattle call in Iowa, and the party's first debates and a key fundraising deadline are just weeks away.
Each candidate was give just minutes to speak, making it difficult for them to differentiate themselves. But the speeches did provide an opportunity for invaluable publicity among some of the most coveted voters in the nation.
They largely agreed on policies such as cracking down on the easy availability of guns, protecting abortion rights and fighting climate change.
Candidates highlighted their personal ties to Iowa.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker noted that his grandmother was born and raised in the state.
"My family comes from a mining town called Buxton, where blacks and whites went down into the mines together to carve out of the earth their American dream," he said. "They built a community together ... But today those bonds are being tested."
Bay Area Rep. Eric Swalwell pointed to his childhood in the western part of Iowa, where his father was a police officer and his mother worked odd jobs.
"They worked hard enough, dug deep enough, sacrificed enough so their first-born son could be the first in the family to go to college," he said. "Their hard work paid off. We're at risk of being the first generation that does worse than our parents. The only way to change that is to be big on the issues, be bold in solutions and do good in the way you treat each other."
About 1,400 people attended the event, known as the Hall of Fame gathering because it celebrates Democratic volunteers and activists. Tickets to the multi-hour affair cost $75, with campaigns buying tables for their supporters.
In addition to Biden, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro; Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts; and Mayor Wayne Messam of Miramar, Fla., did not attend.
A new poll by the Des Moines Register and CNN released Saturday night found Biden leading the pack in Iowa with the support of 24% of likely caucus-goers. Sanders came in second with 16%; Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren got 15% and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg had 14%. California Sen. Kamala Harris came next with 7%. The remaining candidates had 2% or less in the poll.
Sunday was as much about projecting organizational strength as it was about the messages the candidates made from the stage.
Campaigns in Iowa are won based partly on building a large, loyal cadre of volunteers willing to knock on doors during the freezing Iowa winter. Evidence of that organizing came in the wee hours Sunday, as sign-waving supporters for most of the candidates massed in front of the convention center, banging on drums, ringing cowbells and chanting their preferred politician's name.
They had been there for hours when Darryl Raasch, 37, arrived for his job as a parking attendant directly across from the event.
The Cedar Rapids resident was sandwiched between groups enthusiastically backing former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
"I'm not going to lie, I'm about to go ... crazy," Raasch said.
