No sooner had she arrived than a selfie-line formed, winding around the tables where caucus goers waited to sign in. Warren made pinkie promises with young girls — a hallmark of her campaign intended to encourage them to run for office — and posed for photos in front of a poster showing the four shirtless swim captains of the high school: Mason, Gavin, Charlie and Theo.

But Warren’s campaign was going to get a boost from its strongest advocate: The candidate herself.

DES MOINES—Voters streamed into Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines — known for the night as Precinct 41— the moment the doors opened at 6 pm. They passed supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders chanting “Bernie beats Trump,” supporters of Senator Elizabeth Warren with her campaign signs tied to their clothing, and a handful of enthusiastic supporters of former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg hoisting their campaign signs in the air.

Inside the school’s Pomerantz Gymnasium, where an enormous silhouette of the mascot, the Roughriders, hung on the wall, voters quickly grouped themselves into corners for their preferred candidate.


Warren’s group looked largest, with volunteers wearing liberty green t-shirts milled around with campaign signs reading “hope over fear.” Some volunteers for Buttigieg wore blue aprons to hold pens and papers. Biden’s supporters sat in the bleachers; Sanders supporters, one of whom wore pants emblazoned with the words “Medicare for All,” gathered underneath the scoreboard.

That meant Warren had to deliver her pre-caucus speech directly in front of them.

“We need all Democrats united. I’m someone who treats all our Democrats with respect. I reach out, and I run on core Democratic values that we can all support,” she said, as her supporters cheered wildly and Sanders’ supporters looked on largely impassively.

“This moment is our moment in history,” Warren said, laying out the final argument of her stump speech one last time in Iowa. “Our moment to make this the America of our values. Our moment for pinkie promises, our moment to dream big, fight hard, and win.”


Her supporters chanted her name — “Warren! Warren!” — and the Sanders group broke in with its own “Bernie beats Trump chant,” suggesting the party unity Warren was calling for was not quite reality for the 680 voters in the room.

Jess Bidgood can be reached at Jess.Bidgood@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessbidgood.