SIOUX CITY -- Three Democratic presidential candidates attended the Woodbury County Democrats' fourth annual Harry Hopkins fundraiser event Saturday evening, and each offered a warning.

John Delaney warned that America's growing political divide is a national ailment and that the trade war is threatening farmers and the environment; Andrew Yang forecast a gloomy future for workers whose jobs are threatened by automation; and Joe Sestak said America needs to bring together other countries to tackle climate change.

The three presidential hopefuls were among roughly 20 speakers at the fundraiser dinner held at Sioux City's Abu Bekr Shrine.

Most of the higher-profile Democratic presidential candidates sent surrogates to speak on their behalf: Iowa State Rep. Heather Matson spoke for Sen. Cory Booker; Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha spoke for Sen. Amy Klobuchar; Minnesota Attorney General Maura Healey spoke for Sen. Elizabeth Warren; Iowa State Rep. Chris Hall spoke for Beto O'Rourke; Navy Pilot Ken Harbaugh spoke for South Bend (Indiana) Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and Sen. Tom Carper spoke for former Vice President Joe Biden.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller had planned to act as a surrogate for Montana Gov. Steve Bullock but could not make the event.

Four Democratic candidates vying for Joni Ernst's U.S. Senate seat -- Michael Franken, Kimberly Graham, Theresa Greenfield and Eddie Mauro -- also spoke at the event, as did Pulitzer Prize winner and Storm Lake Times editor Art Cullen.

Former congressman and admiral Sestak said he was acting as a "surrogate" for Harry Hopkins, the event's namesake, who served as an adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt (Hopkins died in 1946). Sestak said he greatly admires the late Hopkins for his ability to bring America's allies together during the 1930s and 1940s.





"America's greatest power is not its military, it's not its economy, it's our ability to convene, to bring together the world and peoples of this world for common cause," he said. "And that is exactly what Harry Hopkins laid fourth."

Delaney, a former congressman who announced his presidential bid two years ago, described President Trump as a "lawless and reckless president," and said the House impeachment inquiry against him will be rancorous.