Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is considering a 2020 presidential bid, has already headlined several events throughout the fall in Iowa. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 2020 Elections Klobuchar heads to Iowa as she nears 2020 decision

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is heading to Iowa this month, another sign the Minnesota Democrat is closing in on a 2020 launch.

Klobuchar is to headline the Feb. 21 Ankeny Area Democrats Winter Banquet and Fundraiser in the first caucus state and her team is exploring events elsewhere in Iowa that are likely to be added to that itinerary, according to a source with knowledge of the scheduling.


“We’re incredibly excited to have Senator Klobuchar headlining our event,” Mary McAdams, acting chair of the Ankeny Area Democrats said in a prepared statement first obtained by POLITICO. “People really liked what she had to say when she visited to help our local candidates in 2018.”

It's part of several recent moves boosting Klobuchar's public profile. An MSNBC source confirmed to POLITICO that Klobuchar is scheduled to appear on the network Tuesday night during the 10 p.m. hour, following the State of the Union. And the Minneapolis Star Tribune also reported that a former Klobuchar staffer, Jeannette Cleland, applied for a permit for an event on Boom Island Park in Minneapolis on Saturday.

A December poll shows Klobuchar could be well positioned in her neighboring Iowa, where at 10 percent, she placed fourth in a crowded Democratic presidential field. She headlined several events throughout the fall in the state, stumping for Iowa Reps. Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne in the runup to the midterms.

If Klobuchar enters the fray, she would become the first official candidate who hails from the Midwest, a critical battleground region in the 2020 map. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown — who is also considering a presidential run, but hasn’t formally launched — held events throughout Iowa last week, as he kicked off his ‘Dignity of Work’ listening tour.

Klobuchar has frequently said that the eventual 2020 Democratic nominee must focus on Midwestern voters, bringing “an understanding of those voices that weren’t heard in 2016 from the Midwest and really from the middle of the country.”

