CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa _ The Democratic presidential contenders are descending in force on Iowa this weekend to persuade voters and party activists that they have the message and organization to win the first-in-the-nation nominating contest.
As campaigning accelerates leading up to the first debates later this month, 19 of the 23 Democrats actively running to challenge President Donald Trump will be in the state, the biggest assembly of 2020 candidates to date.
The marquee event is the Iowa Democratic Party Hall of Fame dinner on Sunday, where they'll be making five-minute pitches to influential local party officials. Missing from the group is Joe Biden, the current front-runner, who is waiting until Tuesday to campaign in Iowa.
The dinner will let each candidate showcase the support and infrastructure they've built in Iowa, where caucuses in February launch the months-long, 50-state series of contests leading to the party's nomination. Since the beginning of the year, hopefuls have collectively visited Iowa about 200 times, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
"All these folks want to have the chance of trying to create favorable optics," said Dennis Goldford, professor of political science at Drake University. "How can they best use the enthusiasm of their supporters to propel them to be the focus of attention?"
The next big milestones in the campaign will be the South Carolina Democratic weekend on June 21 and 22, when 20 candidates, including Biden, are set to appear at a fish fry hosted by Rep. Jim Clyburn, and two nights of debates in Miami on June 26 and 27.
"While there's seven months left until the caucuses, you only get so many of these opportunities to make Iowa democrats feel important," said Joshua Darr, a political science professor at Louisiana State University.
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