8 things to watch for at Iowa Dems’ Hall of Fame dinner

1. Friday night’s Hall of Fame Celebration in Iowa will be the first time the cast of five current Democratic presidential hopefuls has shared a stage.

The audience will be most interested in Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, predicted Bret Niles, chairman of the Linn County Democrats.

“The crowd reaction will be a big thing: How are people going to react to Bernie with Hillary there as well?” Niles said.

Niles speculated that ticket holders at the state party fundraiser would be a more monied, moderate crowd that might not be as receptive to Sanders as crowds at his solo events.

A strong performance by Sanders, a Vermont U.S. senator who is calling for a progressive people’s revolution, would go a long way to impress upon politics watchers that he’s not a flash in the pan but a real contender, said Democratic operative Grant Woodard.

2. Who will deliver the best-received anti-Republican line?

The Democratic candidates are unlikely to go after each other explicitly — it would be notable if they did — but will likely hit the Republicans hard.

Political operatives said they expect to see jabs toward: 1. Donald Trump. 2. Ted Cruz. 3. Steve King.

Those three Republicans have given the Democrats plenty of material.

Trump has taken heat since saying in his June 16 presidential announcement speech that Mexico is deliberately sending drug smugglers, rapists and other criminals illegally into the United States.

Cruz, the only presidential candidate to send a news release saying he was “pleased to welcome Donald Trump into the race,” later saluted Trump “for focusing on the need to address illegal immigration.”

And King, an Iowa congressman famous for his own remarks about canteloupe-calved Mexican drug smugglers, told the National Journal this week that Trump is “riding a good wave and right now if the caucus were held today, he’d probably come out on top.”

Trump topped the GOP field in a recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll of national primary voters, but fared the worst against Clinton among seven GOP competitors tested in a survey of adults nationwide last Thursday through Sunday.

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3. Can Clinton’s pre-event rally match the crowd size and energy that Sanders has been seeing?

Sanders has been making headlines nationally for attracting audiences of thousands, including a raucous crowd of 2,500 in Council Bluffs in early July.

The most Clinton has drawn so far was about 700 to her debut Iowa rally, held June 14, the same day as Iowa’s biggest gay pride parade.

For the Hall of Fame dinner, party officials capped the number of tickets each campaign could purchase at 200 to prevent any single camp from dominating the 1,200-seat room.

All the tickets sold out in less than three weeks, which left some activists locked out.

Clinton’s Iowa staff decided to do a free pre-rally, set for 3:45 p.m. Friday in the armory at the nearby Veterans Memorial Building, which can accommodate about 600.

“Hillary Clinton has some great supporters in Cedar Rapids, and we wanted to make sure they all got a chance to see her during Friday’s visit, regardless of whether they were able to buy a ticket to the dinner,” Iowa spokeswoman Lily Adams said.

Expectations are high for Clinton to have a packed house bursting with energy, since she’s the undisputed frontrunner in Iowa and has the largest campaign staff here. She has amassed more than 60 paid staff and a phalanx of volunteers.

4. Will either Jim Webb or newcomer Lincoln Chafee make a dent?

This is the first Iowa visit for Lincoln Chafee, a longtime Republican who served as a Rhode Island U.S. senator, then led the state as an independent-turned-Democratic governor.

Webb, a former U.S. senator from Virginia and secretary of the U.S. Navy under President Ronald Reagan, has done 25 events in Iowa this presidential election cycle, but remains little known.

Iowa Democrats, if they’ve even heard of them, said they’re mystified about why they’re running.

Cedar Rapids Democrat Linda Langston, a county supervisor, said she mentioned during a conference in Washington, D.C., that Iowa would feature all five candidates on one stage.

“People said, ‘Five? Five Democrats? Who else is in?’ And these are people in D.C.,” she said.

Webb, who was a Republican for most of his political career, said on “Fox News Sunday” last weekend that the Democratic party “has moved way far to the left. That’s not my Democratic party in and of itself.” And he made headlines recently for urging thoughtfulness during the emotional debate over Confederate flag symbolism, saying the Civil War had a “complicated history.”

“Webb’s comments regarding the Confederate flag are beyond odd coming from someone that showed so much promise in the party at one time,” Woodard said.

5. Will Martin O’Malley break through?

O’Malley, a former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor, will also have a pre-rally, at 5:15 p.m. at White Star Ale House in Cedar Rapids.

Webb and Chafee are “fringe characters who I don’t think will gain much traction — I just don’t think there’s a lane for them,” said Douglas Burns, an opinion columnist at the Carroll Daily Times Herald who frequently attends Iowa campaign events.

But O’Malley checks all the boxes: He’s viewed as less radical than Sanders, he appeals to populists and progressives, and he has some of Clinton’s establishment appeal, Burns said.

His organizers filled all of their 200 seats, an effort that could signal a foothold, Iowa insiders said.

6. Will the messages motivate Iowa activists worried about boredom?

Iowa activists said Clinton and the other contenders need to show they can overcome frustration with Democratic losses in 2014 and general boredom on the Democratic side in 2016.

“All of the candidates on the same stage? I want to say what’s on my mind and that’s: ‘So what?’” Steven Lynch, chairman of the Chickasaw County Democrats told the Register. “I mean, the caucuses are Feb. 1.”

Lynch said he doesn’t want to hear crowd-pleasing quips from the Democratic contenders; he wants them to reassure him they know how to fix the economy.

“The Republicans clobbered us statewide and nationally in 2014. I’m concerned that we have the right message on the economic growth of our nation,” he said.

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7. Will the party chairwoman make inroads with activists looking for governor candidates?

The presidential candidate appearances will follow introduction of seven Hall of Fame inductees and other speeches, one of them from Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire.

McGuire is considered a possible candidate for governor in 2018, and this will be her first time publicly handling the reins of the party. If activists believe she’s organizing properly for the caucuses, it could boost her stature.

8. How will national and world news outlets showcase post-flood Cedar Rapids?

When the Cedar River swamped 10 square miles of the city in June 2008, it forced 22,000 people from their homes, and walloped about 1,100 businesses and 300 governmental facilities, causing more than $7 billion in damage.

The flooded convention center was replaced with the $76 million Convention Complex, where the Hall of Fame dinner is being staged.

“It’s a monument to coming back from the flood,” said Cedar Rapids Democrat Monica Vernon, who is making her second bid for Congress and is seeing key Democrats coalescing behind her.

A massive infusion of state and federal grants and disaster relief funding also gave Cedar Rapids a new $50 million library, two new fire stations for $35 million, a $36 million public works building, a $44.5 million school district headquarters, a $7.5 million riverside amphitheater and other projects.

Altogether, Iowa was awarded or eligible for more than $4.7 billion in flood recovery money.

Cedar Rapids’ Czech Village and the New Bohemia district, reached by going south on Third Street from the convention center, are areas that tell the post-flood victory story, said state Sen. Rob Hogg, a Cedar Rapids Democrat exploring a bid for U.S. Senate.

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About the event

What: Iowa Democratic Party’s Hall of Fame Celebration

Who: Five Democratic presidential candidates — former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Virginia U.S. Sen. Jim Webb — will speak in that order, alphabetically by last name. Each has been told they get 15 minutes. Iowa Democrats will also induct seven activists into their Hall of Fame.

When: 7 p.m. — 10 p.m. Friday. Party leaders are encouraging guests to arrive as soon as the doors open at 5 p.m. because they’ll need to pass through Secret Service security checkpoints. Clinton, as a former first lady, is the only candidate with this high-level protection at this stage of the race.

Where: Cedar Rapids Convention Center, 350 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids

Tickets: Sold out

News reporters expected: More than 100

Watch it live: Tune in to DesMoinesRegister.com/DemHallofFameLiveor C-SPAN for live coverage starting at 7 p.m.

Find coverage on the free Iowa Caucuses app: Now available on Android and iPhone or learn more.