Following a disastrous caucus in Iowa, the Democrats are now on the next phase of their journey to face off against Donald Trump, who’s hoping for re-election in 2020. Dozens of names have been pushed forward for the party’s presidential nominee, but with the first hurdle now over, only a few names have remained solid.

The Democratic Frontrunnners

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar are the top tier candidates. None has any significant majority. Perhaps another name, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, may join them due to fact that he intentionally skipped Iowa but continues to have significant support.

Buttigieg: Growing Support But Still Lacking Enthusiasm Among African-Americans

Buttigieg was eventually declared the winner in Iowa, surprising many pollsters. So-called Mayor Pete was a lesser known candidate when he put himself forward for the presidential race. He was mainly overlooked due to his lack of experience and questionable support among African-Americans and minority voters. It is also important to remember that Buttigieg is the first openly gay politician to seek the Democratic nomination, and in the beginning, it was rather unknown how this factor might play a role in his run. Despite these factors, Buttigieg’s young age and energy, notable foreign policy knowledge, solid performances in debates and moderate approach to various policies has had a positive impact and increased his support. His real power will be tested in areas such as South Carolina and Nevada. Buttigieg’s lack of experience may be quoted more frequently during the remainder of the presidential race and more contenders, including President Donald Trump, will focus their attacks on him.

Sanders: Questions Over Health And Far-Left Positions

Obtaining second place during the Iowa caucuses, experienced policymaker and Senator Bernie Sanders will try again—like he did in the 2016 election—to become his party’s presidential nominee. Sanders hopes to rise from the ashes after his close combat with Hillary Clinton in 2016. A self-described democratic socialist, Sanders’ age and his slide to leftist policies are the main obstacles facing him. If elected, the 78-year-old lawmaker will be the oldest president in the history of the United States. However, the heart attack that he suffered in 2019 raises questions about his health. Sanders’ leftist political ideas are also questionable in terms of the appeal they might have on more moderate voters. His positions on war, healthcare and the economy will be constantly questioned by his adversaries the further he gets in the race.

Warren: Losing Momentum But Still A Strong Candidate

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was another dominant name during the second part of the Democratic presidential race. Her ambitious approach on Medicare, the economy and taxation faced both criticism and praise from electors. Warren’s anti-establishment approach—like Sanders’—faced criticism and was accused of being unrealistic. For instance, her “Medicare for all” plan helped her gain significant momentum in the beginning, but then the same plan was accused of being unrealistic due to how it would be paid for. Warren never backed down in strong confrontations with other candidates—especially Buttigieg and Sanders—but it is also difficult to say that she won either of her main duels. Despite these doubts, Warren remains the most powerful female candidate for 2020, especially after being endorsed by the New York Times. If Warren can overcome doubts about her “electability,” she can remain a top candidate.

Biden: Iowa Loss A ‘Gut Punch,’ But VP Is Still A Formidable Contender

Biden called himself the only candidate who can beat Donald Trump during his campaign. Biden dominated the polls soon after announcing his run for the presidency, but for the same reason he became an obvious target. His fourth place in the Iowa caucuses was a surprise for many and Biden himself called it a “gut punch.” With age being a potential concern for Sanders and Warren, it is also an important factor for some in considering whether to vote for Biden, who is 77. Biden’s involvement in Trump’s impeachment case through work activities that he and his son Hunter had in Ukraine became both positive and negative at the same time. Biden’s cold-blooded coolness during the impeachment case was praised by his supporters, but his opponents saw that as a way to emphasize all the unanswered questions around his Ukraine activity. Nonetheless, Biden is one of the best choices for Republican voters due to his moderate political views. He is still seen as the candidate that may “steal” the most votes from the Republican vote pool and among right-leaning independents in the Rust Belt and other areas. Biden’s foreign policy knowledge and experience will also continue to play an important part. Like his supporters claim, Biden may witness a significant boost once he participates in voting in states with major racial diversity where he enjoys strong support among African-American voters and minority voters, unlike Iowa, which is a state with mostly white voters.

Klobuchar: Struggling To Stand Out, But Lots Of Potential

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar took the fifth spot at the Iowa caucuses, but she continues her attempt to become the leading candidate of the Democratic Party. So far, she has failed to dominate any polls. Klobuchar is struggling to solidify her position as a strong moderate candidate and has had challenges in trying to distinguish her policies. Despite remaining in the grey-zone for a lot of the race thus far, Klobuchar has started to reinforce her position after being co-endorsed by the New York Times along with Warren. Nevertheless, as one of two strong female candidates remaining, Klobuchar has a lot of potential and her strong performance during the recent New Hampshire Democratic debate points to future success.

Bloomberg: Long-shot Candidate With A Bigger Chance Than You Might Think

Despite deciding not to participate in early caucuses and primaries, America’s eighth richest man, Michael Bloomberg, continues to have a solid footing in various polls. His policy to focus on primary races further down the line is seen as strategic for his supporters and some critics say that the Iowa disaster actually helped him boost his position. On the other hand, avoiding direct confrontation with other candidates by skipping both primaries and debates is perceived by some as dodging real debate. In the same way, Bloomberg’s ambitious campaign spending for his cause has been characterized by some as his attempt to buy the presidency. Bloomberg’s moderate policies coupled with his economic and international experience may put him ahead of other candidates to eventually face Trump.

It is important to remember that the schism between moderates and liberals within the Democratic Party is stronger than ever. Democrats need to heal their party divisions if they want to win the election, perhaps by bringing moderates and leftists together in a presidency and vice presidency ticket so that they can rally more Trump supporters, independents and undecideds to come to their side.

L'articolo After Iowa Which Democrat Looks Most Likely To Face Trump? proviene da InsideOver.

What had been anticipated after the Iowa Caucus on Monday has now been declared official: Pete Buttigieg has narrowly won the first Democratic presidential election stop and thus leads the 2020 primaries.

Iowa Caucus Results

With a delay of three days, the Democrats have finally concluded a turbulent first caucus in the presidential race in the state of Iowa. After counting all the state’s precincts, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg narrowly won. He remains ahead of the party’s extreme left in the form of Bernie Sanders. In vote percentages, Buttigieg obtained 26.2 percent, Vermont’s Senator Sanders 26.1 percent and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren 18 percent. Accordingly, Buttigieg and Sanders both receive ten delegates, while Warren receives four. Meanwhile, former VP Joe Biden leaves Iowa without a single delegate. His 15.8 percent vote share was insufficient to nab one of the first three spots.

Chaos during the vote count due to a severe technical breakdown delayed the announcement of the results. Buttigieg nevertheless presented himself as the winner in a speech on Tuesday and—despite confirmed results of only two-thirds of the state’s precincts—spoke of an “amazing victory” for his campaign.

Buttigieg’s Big Win

Buttigieg’s delight is justified. Until a year ago, the moderate Indiana state politician was still entirely unknown on the national level. He had no campaign team and no campaign donations. When he entered the presidential race, he was seen as an outsider and chastised by his opponents for his inexperience and lack of political pedigree. Twelve months later, he left all three favorites behind him. Even though nothing has been won overall with the victory in Iowa, Buttigieg will continue the primaries with plenty of momentum.

Iowa’s Role In The Primary Process

Iowa, with a population of three million, sends only a few delegates (24) to the Democratic convention in the summer where the party nominee for president is agreed upon by delegates. In the past, Iowa has nonetheless often been an indicator of a candidate’s success down the stretch. Those who do not end up in the top three in Iowa have traditionally seen their prospects as bleak.

Nonetheless, Buttigieg’s triumph cannot and will not negate the fact that in key states with a disproportionately large number of delegates such as North Carolina (110), Texas (228), and California (415), he remains far behind Biden, Sanders, and Warren in the polls. Thus, Super Tuesday, on March 3—when more than a dozen states are asked to vote—will likely show how far Buttigieg can really get in his ambition to become the nominee and then president.

The decisions for the people of Iowa of whom to vote for was not made at polling stations, but at “caucuses”—many hundreds of party meetings. At these meetings, Democrats used a complicated procedure to vote on whom they consider is the best presidential candidate for their party.

Biden Campaign On Iowa Brouhaha: ‘Significant Shortcomings’

Meanwhile, the party blamed a programming error in an app to broadcast the election results for the chaos. The presidential hopefuls reacted with expected frustration. Biden’s team even raised doubts regarding the results and complained about “significant shortcomings” in the counting process.

Democratic party leader Tom Perez called for the results to be reviewed because of the chaotic election. “Enough is enough,” Perez wrote Thursday on Twitter. Given the problems with transferring the results and restoring public confidence, he urged the Democratic Party in Iowa to begin an “immediate” review. It was not immediately clear whether this meant a complete recount of the votes.

In the next primary state of New Hampshire, Sanders (24 percent) is ahead of the Democratic presidential candidates, according to surveys. He is a distinct distance ahead of Biden who sits at an estimated 17 percent. The primaries run until June, after which the Democrats then elect their presidential nominee in Milwaukee in July at the convention.

L'articolo At Last, Iowa Declares Pete Buttigieg As Caucus Winner proviene da InsideOver.

The Trump impeachment trial has begun, and senators from both sides of the aisle are making their arguments in favor or versus the president’s removal. It will be an intense exchange of arguments, facts, and spins over these next weeks during a pivotal time for some of the senators. With the Iowa caucus on the horizon, they will be prevented from conducting their respective campaigns in the Hawkeye State.

The reason: all senators, who perform the role of the jury during the trial, are subject to attendance. It is not yet conceivable to predict how long the entire process will take. While the majority of Republicans are inclined to conclude the trial sooner rather than later, the Democrats seek a detailed process with witness testimony and subpoenas – despite the detriment it might pose on Democratic presidential candidates and their prospects during the first votes in states such as Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.

In just two weeks, Iowa will once again initiate the Democratic race for the presidency. The caucus has traditionally been a reliable indicator for success, even though there are comparatively few delegates votes to obtain in the sparsely populated state. Ordinarily, it would be even more critical to increase campaign appearances. However, Warren, Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, and Michael Benett, the affected senators in the race, are hindered by the impeachment, which could make any appearances before election day inconceivable.

Sanders is particularly irritated by the idea of ​​being stuck in Washington in the next few weeks. “I would rather be in Iowa, I would rather be in New Hampshire, Nevada, and so on,” Sanders said in an interview. Nonetheless, the decision to impeach Trump and to conduct the trial at this stage was not only critical but necessary, the Democratic senators continue to assure these days.

The timing alone is a problem for them. Some Warren or Sanders supporters even sense a conspiracy, which suggests that Speaker Pelosi deliberately waited to submit the articles of impeachment to the Senate to put the extreme left in her party at a disadvantage during this particularly important campaign phase and thus strengthen establishment favorite, Joe Biden.

While the latter appears preposterous at first sight, the instant effect of the trial is apparent: Biden and Pete Buttigieg, who is also a moderate, will have free rein in Iowa. Biden just concluded a two-day swing across the state. However, a significant advantage for Biden is unlikely. Due to the nature of the charges against Trump, the impeachment does not only affect the senators, but Biden also, who, via his son, Hunter, will be brought up frequently during the trial this week.

Biden’s campaign efforts in the middle of the trial might thus be semi-marginalized in the upcoming weeks; however, his name, most importantly, will remain a national focal point. Meanwhile, Buttigieg, who is not linked to the impeachment, could fall off the radar in Iowa and nationally.

However, Sanders, Warren, Bennett, and Klobuchar are not inevitably at a disadvantage due to their presence on Capitol Hill, either. They all have the opportunity to shine while performing their constitutional obligations in the Senate and can exhibit themselves as powerful and dedicated adversaries of Trump – live and every day on all the major networks. Moreover, while they will not be able to appear in Iowa for now physically, their surrogates, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Sanders, will deliver their message and campaign for him in Iowa instead. Klobuchar, Warren, and Bennett have made similar arrangements with their respective surrogates.

The impeachment is thus not necessarily a significant obstacle for the senators. Joe Biden, however, is the only candidate who might be able to benefit from both: obtaining an edge in Iowa, while also staying in the national news through the impeachment. One should thus not be startled if Biden managed to solidify his lead in Iowa before the first votes being cast.

L'articolo Who of the Democratic Candidates Benefits off the Impeachment? proviene da InsideOver.

It was only a matter of time before the favorites Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders would break their truce. A memo has surfaced a few weeks before the already critical Iowa caucus that officially starts the 2020 presidential nominee contest. In it, the Sanders’ volunteers were asked to criticize Warren during their door to door duties in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Warren countered and has officially opened the fight for the hard left.

It is an inevitable development, despite the close “friendship” the two presented to the public during the 2019 trail. After all, both Warren and Sanders are targeting the same group of voters. How deep this friendship goes will be seen for the first time tonight during the Democratic debate. Up to this point, both had focused their attacks on Pete Buttigieg and co-favorite Joe Biden by forming a united front. Mutual attacks? Nonexistent.

The reason for the internal struggle? A script has surfaced in which Sanders’ team lists its volunteer workers’ arguments to utilize against Sanders’ opponent. In addition to Warren, the script also lists arguments against other democratic candidates, such as the aforementioned Biden or Buttigieg. It could all be summed up as political campaigning if only there had not been the previous non-aggression pact by Warren and Sanders, which now appears to be officially broken.

“I like Elizabeth Warren,” the script states. “In fact, she is my second choice. But here is my concern about her: people who support her are highly-educated, more affluent people who are going to show up and vote Democratic no matter what”. Warren was thus “not bringing new bases into the Democratic Party,” the script continues.

Warren‘s response did not take long. She was “disappointed to hear that Bernie is sending his volunteers out to trash me,” Warren told reporters in Iowa. “Bernie knows me and has known me for a long time. He knows who I am, where I come from, what I have worked on and fought for, and the coalition and grassroots movement we are trying to build.”

It is uncertain whether the order to “trash” Warren actually came from Sanders himself and was not based on one of his campaign worker’s ideas. However, to make sure, Sanders stressed on Sunday that he had never expressed a negative opinion about his inner-party rival. Instead, he attempted to shift the blame onto the campaign team.

However, Warren went one step further and promptly accused Sanders of something he supposedly said in 2018, namely that a woman could not beat Donald Trump. The latter was, of course, contested by Sanders and dismissed as absolutely preposterous.

Nonetheless, Warren’s campaign manager Roger Lau uttered his displeasure and warned that the Democrats should not repeat the mistake of fighting amongst each other as in 2016 when it cost the party the presidency.

These development display that the Democrats face an intriguing conflict, in which the gloves are about to come off. After all, Warren has accused Sanders of something that could undoubtedly be interpreted as demeaning towards women in the current climate and thus detrimental regarding women voters. However, Warren has little choice. In a recent poll for Iowa, Warren is at 15% not only three points behind Sanders, but nine points behind Biden, who leads the entire field.

Warren, as well as Sanders, are cognizant that one of them has to win and beat Biden in Iowa, as a Biden win here, will make it already hard for the rest of the field to catch him, according to forecasts.

How much despair and pressure Warren and Sanders are willing to apply to counteract this, will be seen on stage this evening – though one should not expect any low blows.

Nonetheless, Biden will enjoy the socialist bidding war that is about to transpire between the two, as it will likely deter the last remaining moderates willing to vote for either Sanders or Warren. The first shot was taken by Warren earlier today when she pledged to wipe out federal student debt loans – if necessary, without Congress. One can thus expect Sanders to up the ante reasonably soon.

L'articolo Warren And Sanders Have Ceased Their Truce proviene da InsideOver.