While Martin O’Malley runs a traditional caucus campaign, frontrunners Clinton and Bernie Sanders seem more focused on fighting the Republicans first

With Hillary Clinton maintaining a strong lead in the polls in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, her campaign is increasingly looking like a “post-caucus” operation, focused on the general election.



Hillary Clinton delivers fiery speech at Democratic party hall of fame dinner Read more

At the Iowa Democratic party’s Hall of Fame dinner in Cedar Rapids on Friday night, the first time all five declared Democratic candidates for the White House were together on one stage, Clinton gave a fiery speech which almost seemed more appropriate for a general election rally than an attempt to rally the base.

The former secretary of state seemed to ignore not just her Democratic opponents but the host of issues raising debate on the left, from student loans to a $15 minimum wage. Instead, Clinton attacked three Republican presidential candidates – Donald Trump, Scott Walker and Jeb Bush – by name while also criticizing unnamed people who dismissed her emphasis on women’s issues.

In contrast, her chief Democratic rivals, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, both hit a list of progressive hobby horses, including minimum wage and immigration reform.

Sanders got a rapturous reception from fans who started cheering before his name was mentioned, continued through his call for “a political revolution” in the US and all the way through the time he sat down. Both mentioned conservatives – Trump in O’Malley’s case and the Koch Brothers for Sanders – but they presented them simply as symbols of what they found morally abhorrent, rather than as potential electoral opponents.

The “general election” approach was nothing new for Clinton. In a rally before the event, held in a steamy basement underneath the Veterans Memorial building, she delivered a fiery speech to a crowd of more than 300, attacking Republican economic plans by stating “we’ve trickled on enough” and warning of the dire consequences of a GOP president in 2016.

“It was awesome,” said local state representative Art Staed. The room had a pep rally feel as a number of Clinton organizers took the stage to fire up the crowd and pass the time until the former secretary of state arrived. While the campaign provided free pizza, they charged for water, soda and even alcoholic beverages. In the rather warm room, water quickly sold out.

The crowd featured a mix of Clinton loyalists and those curious to see the Democratic candidate in the flesh on a relatively rare public appearance in Iowa. Vlora Ajeti came from Illinois. A Kosovan American, she said she would be forever grateful to the Clinton family for what Bill Clinton did for Kosovo.

In contrast, Linda Early of Cedar Rapids said of Clinton: “She’s as good as the others.”

Early seemed supportive but not exactly converted to the cause.

In Iowa, Clinton has mostly used roundtables or private gatherings with invited guests. With the exception of one fundraiser in the fall of 2014, she did not set foot in the state between her 2008 loss in the Iowa caucuses and the April announcement of her candidacy for 2016. She did not campaign on behalf of local Democrats or show up at party events. However, her campaign has been organizing in the state, putting together a massive footprint.

The room at the Hall of Fame dinner felt that Clinton influence. Reporters were penned off, either because mixing press and attendees presented security issues – according to the secret service – or to “allow the event to move along”, according to a spokesman for the Iowa Democratic Party. This represented a major shift, according to one Iowa Democratic insider, from past practice at party events.

This did not mean that there were no old-fashioned politics at the event. On the street outside, a sign war was waged between supporters of Clinton and O’Malley in the nearly 100F heat. Staffers from both campaigns waved signs and shouted cheers. Unsurprisingly, Clinton had more people – O’Malley supporters, divided between those affiliated with his campaign and his Super Pac, struggled mightily to stay competitive.

The Sanders campaign did not have any such presence. Instead, 37 supporters stayed in the air conditioning and got to meet the candidate.

Sanders has built a devoted fanbase, similar in some ways to that of the libertarian Ron Paul in 2008 and 2012. Sanders supporters showed up the dinner covered in paraphernalia. Clinton or O’Malley supporters might be happy with a sticker – Sanders fans were wearing T-shirts.

The Vermont senator, who held a veterans’ event earlier on Friday, has built a following so devoted that at least one attendee had flown halfway across the country to see him. Claire Harrison had flown in from California. She told the Guardian “I wanted to hear him” and said she had combined the trip with a visit with a friend in Omaha.

Sanders has built a robust state operation around Pete D’Alessandro, a veteran Iowa operative. While he has not quite run a traditional Democratic caucus campaign, Sanders has still been a frequent visitor who has been showing up in the state for more than a year. Like Barack Obama, he is building a passionate following composed of traditional lefties and first-time caucus goers.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Lincoln Chafee stand on stage during the Iowa Democratic Party’s Hall of Fame Dinner. Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP

Bernie Sanders calls for 'political revolution' at Democratic fundraiser Read more

Jay Lion of Spencer, Iowa, told the Guardian he had specifically changed his registration from Independent to Democratic in order to caucus for Sanders. A former factory worker currently on disability while getting dialysis treatment, he said he had been waiting to support Sanders for president since he first saw the Vermonter on C-Span in 2002.

O’Malley has long been running a traditional caucus effort in Iowa. He has repeatedly visited the state, dispatching staffers to work on various Democratic campaigns in 2014 there and doling out money to local Democrats.

At an event held on Thursday night in Ottumwa, the Marylander spoke to a crowd of about 40 who gathered in a hotel ballroom. He emphasized his progressive bona fides, telling attendees: “I think we should raise the minimum wage to $15 wherever we can – however we can.” The evening felt far more like a traditional Iowa caucus event, in which candidates go out of their way to court local Democrats. O’Malley walked into the room with a birthday cake for the local county chair – his campaign left with a signed supporter card from her.

At the Ottumwa event, Joe Judge, the chair of the local Democratic party in rural Monroe County who was leaning towards O’Malley, told the Guardian he thought O’Malley was the only Democratic candidate who could win a general election in his area. A loyal Obama supporter who had met all three candidates, he said he simply thought after due consideration that Clinton and Sanders would lose the rural, heavily Irish area to a Republican in November 2016 – but that O’Malley could win.

At the Hall of Fame diner on Friday, the crowd cheered all three candidates – each of the three campaigns had purchased 200 tickets for supporters. The question, though, remained: which candidate will Iowa Democrats support in February?

Given changes in the way candidates are campaigning, the vote could determine not only the future of the nation, but the future of the Iowa caucus as well.