Warren Outshines Biden in Race to Build Iowa 2020 Ground Game

[left-of-center2012]

July 20, 2019, 2:00 AM MDT

An elected Democratic official in the state, speaking on condition of anonymity, complained that if Biden has a campaign in Iowa, he doesn’t know who’s working on it or how many. Boxes of printers and office supplies lay scattered on the ground. Campaign staff sat on the floor in mostly unfurnished offices as they were just starting to occupy Joe Biden’s Iowa headquarters in Des Moines after weeks of working remotely in coffee shops around the city.

The delayed headquarters opening is just one of the many ways Biden is playing catch-up in the crucial first-caucus state where voters prize retail politics and sustained engagement. The Biden campaign said it has other "fully operational offices" throughout the state, and it plans to announce additional details about its field operation in the near future.

In contrast, Elizabeth Warren, who jumped into the race four months before the former vice president, has built one of the most robust operations in the state, positioning her to capitalize on her surging national poll numbers and her steady rise in Iowa, Democratic operatives say.

A strong operation there could propel her nationally, those Democrats say, while many expressed surprise that the former vice president had a slow start building a strong operation in the Hawkeye State. Warren’s campaign has nine offices across the state, and her Iowa headquarters in West Des Moines has been in operation since March. The Massachusetts senator has made nine trips to the state and has 65 employees there.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-20/warren-outshines-biden-in-race-to-build-iowa-2020-ground-game

[marylandblue]

1. It's why Warren is well-poised to win and Biden isn't.

You'd think someone with 45 years experience and on his third rodeo would know the importance of a strong start in Iowa, while a woman who only enter politics around age 60 would not. But resumes do not win elections, candidates do.

[Blue_true]

7. Stuff like this should be a litmus test for their ability to lead the nation.

My guess is that a week or so after Warren announced, she had an Iowa operation up and running and has added to it since.

[Autumn]

2. Yes she is. Biden's advantage in name recognition and voters' familiarity with him will pass

once he's campaigning daily and the voters separate him from Obama.

[List left]

3. Another example of her competence.

She will lead and care for our country and its people with the same clarity and enthusiasm.

[Peacetrain]

4. Not sweating it.. Warren announced on Dec 31, 2018 and was here the first week in Jan

I am pretty sure.. and Biden announced on April 25, and he was here the next week after that I think..close to that..so they are in the middle of the debates now and running all over the country.. it will be set up pretty before the end of summer and off we go to the caucuses in Feb 2020.. Its all good.. If it took her till March to get her offices set up in Des Moines then probably looking at late August first of Sept to get Bidens offices to get up..

Its all good for us who live in Iowa.. maybe a little heartburn for the unknown Democratic operative.. but glad to see everyone is shaking the tree.. to make sure we are a go for the fall run here.. that is when all things go crazy in Iowa..past the State Fair..

[qazplm135]

5. Biden just isn't good at this stuff

he's certainly good at being "likeable." He was very good as Obama's VP as he used that "likeability" to great effect to support and buttress Obama during tough periods. Obviously he has a long career as a legislator and someone who has a long history (some good, some not so good) of negotiating with the other side and reaching deals (some good, some not so good).

But the details? The management of a complicated presidential campaign? Picking the right people to run a vast operation?
I'm not convinced he has those particular skills.

[Skya Rhen]

6. This point, if true, proves that character and favorability counts for an awful lot, as evidenced

by each and every single poll...