With One Day Until Iowa Caucuses, Democrats Jockey for an Edge Our reporters traveled across Iowa with the Democratic presidential candidates on the last day before the first nominating contest of the 2020 race. Image A crowd listened to Pete Buttigieg at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday. Credit... Todd Heisler/The New York Times The top Democratic presidential candidates delivered their final pitches to voters on the last full day of campaigning in Iowa.

With polls showing a highly competitive race, the leading contenders debated who could best unite the party and who is best positioned to defeat President Trump. Stay up to date on primaries and caucuses. Subscribe to “On Politics,” and we’ll send you a link to the live results. Sign up for our politics newsletter

Feb. 2, 2020, 7:25 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 7:25 p.m. ET By The last day before winners and losers. Image Support staff remove a poster in the shape of Iowa after former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. held a rally in Dubuque on Sunday. Credit... Mark Makela for The New York Times DES MOINES — Another day down. One more to go. At 7 p.m. Central Time tomorrow, Iowans will gather to do what they do best: sort and re-sort themselves in a bunch of rooms while the rest of the country watches breathlessly. Early caucus results should start trickling in after about 30 minutes, though we won’t know the full picture until much later in the night. We will, once more, bring you live coverage from across the state. We’ll have reporters at various caucus sites, both Democratic and Republican (yes, Republicans are caucusing too!), and at the candidates’ watch parties. Get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day. Read more

Feb. 2, 2020, 7:13 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 7:13 p.m. ET By How’s Elizabeth Warren feeling? ‘Good.’ “This is what democracy is all about,” Elizabeth Warren says as she departs what could be her last Iowa event before the caucuses.



I asked if she was nervous.



“Good,” she replied with a wave. pic.twitter.com/G4ZItxdjhM — Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) February 2, 2020

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Feb. 2, 2020, 6:37 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 6:37 p.m. ET By Joe Biden aims for surrogate show of force. DES MOINES — A host of prominent surrogates spoke at the start of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s final event of the day, pitching him as an experienced and empathetic leader who could defeat President Trump and aid Democrats running in competitive down-ballot races. Those who took the stage at a crowded, warm gym here included Mr. Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens; Harold Schaitberger, the head of the International Association of Firefighters; Representative Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, his campaign co-chairman; Representatives Cindy Axne and Abby Finkenauer, both Democrats of Iowa who represent tough districts; and Tom and Christie Vilsack, Iowa’s former governor and first lady. Ms. Axne and Ms. Finkenauer made forceful cases for Mr. Biden, arguing that having his name at the top of the ticket would help them get re-elected. And Mr. Vilsack, who has been one of Mr. Biden’s most prolific and powerful surrogates, emphasized both Mr. Biden’s background in international relations, and his polling in states that would be critical for Democrats to win in the general election. Mr. Biden was introduced by his wife, Jill Biden, who has played a central role in his Iowa campaign. As he began his remarks, Mr. Biden made a point to thank John Kerry, a top surrogate and the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee. Mr. Biden noted that Mr. Kerry, who was in attendance, had given up considerable time to aid the Biden campaign and described him as a man who should have been president. Earlier on Sunday, Mr. Kerry denied a report from NBC News that he was contemplating a late entry into the 2020 race. Read more

Feb. 2, 2020, 5:49 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 5:49 p.m. ET By Amy Klobuchar thinks she can help Democrats take back the Senate. Image Senator Amy Klobuchar at a campaign event in Mason City, Iowa, on Sunday. Credit... Jonathan Ernst/Reuters MASON CITY — Senator Amy Klobuchar did not expect this, a late-night flight back to Washington just one day before Iowans begin to caucus. “I didn’t think this would be my last big speech here,” Ms. Klobuchar told the crowd, adding that she would be “hopefully making it back for the caucuses” after the impeachment trial concluded for the day on Monday. The senator has been portraying herself as a moderate choice who can appeal to independents and Republicans to win back Midwestern states, and therefore the White House. But in her final pitch here, delivered to a crowd packed into the historic Music Man Square, Ms. Klobuchar expanded the argument to taking back the Senate. “So when you ask me, why am I always talking about building a coalition? When we’re going into a Democratic caucus, why am I reaching out to Republicans and making sure we build that coalition,” Ms. Klobuchar said, after a lengthy retelling of the battle for gun control in the Senate following school shootings in Newtown, Conn., and Parkland, Fla. With Ms. Klobuchar atop the ticket, she said, “we can send Mitch McConnell packing.” Ms. Klobuchar was backed by her home state’s two top elected officials, Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, but the buzziest introduction came from Mindi Abair, a local saxophonist who ripped through rock and blues staples for half an hour before Ms. Klobuchar arrived. After crowd-pleasing covers of songs like Stephen Stills’s “Love the One You’re With,” Ms. Abair offered up an original song as she introduced Ms. Klobuchar: “Where There’s a Woman, There’s a Way.” Read more

Feb. 2, 2020, 4:56 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 4:56 p.m. ET By John Kerry denies report that he is contemplating running for president. Image John Kerry at a rally for former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. rally in North Liberty, Iowa, on Saturday. Credit... Jordan Gale for The New York Times DES MOINES — John Kerry, the former secretary of state and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, made the rookie mistake on Sunday of conducting a private phone call in the lobby of a Des Moines hotel on the day before the Iowa caucuses. The result: An NBC News analyst overheard him fretting about “the possibility of Bernie Sanders taking down the Democratic Party — down whole.” According to the NBC report, Mr. Kerry also floated the idea of entering the presidential race himself and described the steps he would have to take in order to do so. Mr. Kerry, who is in Iowa campaigning for former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., told NBC he was “absolutely not” considering entering the race, and reiterated it on Twitter. (An earlier version of the tweet, containing a profanity, was swiftly deleted.) “I’ve been proud to campaign with my good friend Joe Biden, who is going to win the nomination, beat Trump, and make an outstanding president,” he wrote. As I told the reporter, I am absolutely not running for President. Any report otherwise is categorically false. I’ve been proud to campaign with my good friend Joe Biden, who is going to win the nomination, beat Trump, and make an outstanding president. — John Kerry (@JohnKerry) February 2, 2020 Whether Mr. Kerry actually wants to run is somewhat beside the point. Even putting aside the logistics of campaigning and fund-raising, it’s too late to get on the ballot in more than 30 states. The true significance of the overheard conversation is how vividly it spoke to the concern among establishment Democratic figures over the real possibility that Mr. Sanders could win the nomination. That concern has been on display for a long time now, and Mr. Biden himself hinted at it when he was asked last week about how he differed from Mr. Sanders and replied, “I’m a Democrat.” Read more

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Feb. 2, 2020, 4:41 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 4:41 p.m. ET By Elizabeth Warren goes back to basics: running against corruption. Image A crowd listens to Senator Elizabeth Warren at a rally in Ames, Iowa, on Sunday. Credit... Ruth Fremson/The New York Times AMES — In a pair of appearances on college campuses on her final full day of campaigning before the Iowa caucuses, Senator Elizabeth Warren remained laser-focused on a central theme of her candidacy: combating corruption. Her closing message was a parade of some of her best hits of the campaign. “When you see a government that works great for those with money, and not great for everybody else, that’s corruption, pure and simple,” she told a crowd at Iowa State University. She mocked billionaires. “Some have gone on TV and cried. So sad,” Ms. Warren said, adding that some — without naming Michael R. Bloomberg — had decided to run for president because they “thought it would be cheaper than paying a wealth tax.” She hit Amazon for not paying taxes, criticized the “tilted think tanks” in Washington, and called out the fossil fuel industry for blocking efforts to address climate change. And she said her sweeping agenda was the answer. “Big, structural change,” she said with a fist pump. Then she was off to a Super Bowl party. Read more

Feb. 2, 2020, 4:35 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 4:35 p.m. ET By Pete Buttigieg says he’s ‘one day away from victory.’ Image Mayor Pete Buttigieg at a rally at Lincoln High School in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday. Credit... Todd Heisler/The New York Times DES MOINES — During his final rally of the Iowa campaign, Pete Buttigieg kinda sorta declared he’ll win the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses on Monday. “We are now just one day away from victory in the Iowa caucuses,” Mr. Buttigieg said Sunday afternoon. The event served as a capstone to Mr. Buttigieg’s unlikely presidential campaign, packing 2,000 people into the gymnasium at Lincoln High School on the heavily Democratic south side of Des Moines. His Iowa campaign began, he said, with a coffee shop event in Ankeny a year ago that concluded with his campaign manager mopping the floor so as to avoid alienating his host. Now, his final event in the state occurred before more than 300 credentialed members of the press, including network television anchors and senior news executives in town from New York and Washington. Yet while Mr. Buttigieg promised a victory, in remarks to reporters earlier in the day in Coralville he declined to articulate what sort of Iowa finish he would consider a success. “Let’s face it, we need a very strong finish here,” he said. “This is our chance to show vs. tell that we’re building the organization that can turn people out and go on to defeat Donald Trump.” Read more

Feb. 2, 2020, 4:23 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 4:23 p.m. ET By President Trump recycles insults aimed at Democratic candidates. The Super Bowl pregame show on Sunday afternoon included what has become a traditional feature for the broadcast: an interview with the president of the United States. This time, it afforded President Trump the opportunity to criticize Democrats vying to be his general election opponent — and offered a preview of what some of his insults might look like in a general election. The Fox News commentator Sean Hannity, who often provides a friendly forum for Mr. Trump, conducted the interview on Saturday night and asked the president for his thoughts on several of the candidates. Joseph R. Biden Jr.? “I just think of sleepy,” Mr. Trump said. “I just watch him, he’s sleepy, Sleepy Joe.” Bernie Sanders? “I think he’s a communist.” But, Mr. Trump added, “at least he’s true to what he believes.” He contrasted that with Elizabeth Warren. “I call her a fairy tale, because everything’s a fairy tale, that’s how Pocahontas got started,” Mr. Trump said. “This woman can’t tell the truth.” He also poked fun at Michael R. Bloomberg’s height: “You know, now he wants a box for the debates, to stand on.” Mr. Trump would not answer whether he had a preferred opponent. “I just have to sit back and watch,” he said. But he said the impeachment trial had been a “very, very unfair process” and that the news media’s coverage had hurt his political standing. Given the strength of the economy, he said, “I should be up by 25 points.” Read more

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Feb. 2, 2020, 4:22 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 4:22 p.m. ET By Sanders leads 2020 rivals in donors from Iowa. Image A crowd cheers for Senator Bernie Sanders at a campaign event he held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sunday. Credit... Hilary Swift for The New York Times DES MOINES — More than 12,600 people in Iowa donated to Senator Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign through the end of 2019, giving him the largest number of donors in the state among the Democratic candidates, according to an analysis of fund-raising records filed with the Federal Election Commission. Mr. Sanders, of Vermont, was followed by former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., who had an estimated 9,600 donors in Iowa, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who had roughly 7,300 donors in the state. Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was next with more than 3,800 donors. The donor counts are estimates based on fund-raising records analyzed by The New York Times. Over all, Mr. Sanders had an estimated 1.4 million donors nationwide through the end of last year, far more than any of his rivals for the Democratic nomination. Mr. Sanders also had the largest number of donors in New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, the next states to hold nominating contests following the Iowa caucuses on Monday. Read more

Feb. 2, 2020, 3:46 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 3:46 p.m. ET By Elsewhere, wealthy New Yorkers are feuding. DES MOINES — While most of the Democratic presidential candidates and a platoon of Trump surrogates were on the ground in Iowa Sunday, a very different clash was unfolding on the air and online — between President Trump and Michael R. Bloomberg. In a spectacle oddly detached from the rest of the campaign, the two men exchanged harsh personal insults on television and online. Mr. Trump posted a string of tweets overnight accusing Mr. Bloomberg of “getting the D.N.C. to rig the election against Crazy Bernie,” and mocked Mr. Bloomberg’s modest height in an interview with Sean Hannity taped for broadcast during the Super Bowl. He accused Mr. Bloomberg of being “part of the Fake News” because of restrictions he has placed on how his media company, Bloomberg News, can cover the election. Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign responded in a biting fashion throughout the day, starting with a statement from his spokeswoman, Julie Wood, that ridiculed Mr. Trump’s physical appearance. “The president is lying,” Ms. Wood said. “He is a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity and his spray-on tan.” In Los Angeles, Mr. Bloomberg brandished Mr. Trump’s attacks as a sign of his own rise: “I think Donald Trump knows that I can beat him and that’s why he comes back with those kinds of comments,” he said, according to a video posted by his campaign. If the exchange was less than entirely dignified, it reflected deliberate political maneuvering by both men. Mr. Trump has expressed frustration with Mr. Bloomberg’s barrage of campaign advertising, and he has sought repeatedly throughout the Democratic race to stoke divisions on the left by describing Mr. Sanders as a victim of various plots by the Democratic establishment. Mr. Bloomberg, meanwhile, has been eager to trigger Mr. Trump’s sensitive temper and draw out presidential eruptions that would have the effect of elevating his own candidacy. Indeed, days before Mr. Trump’s anti-Bloomberg tweetstorm, Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign began airing a 15-second ad on Fox News that included several photos of Mr. Trump wearing golf attire, in a variety of physically unflattering poses. Read more

Feb. 2, 2020, 3:22 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 3:22 p.m. ET Warren takes questions in Indianola. Image An audience member asks Senator Elizabeth Warren a question during her rally in Indianola, Iowa, on Sunday. Credit... Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

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Feb. 2, 2020, 3:14 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 3:14 p.m. ET By Sanders acknowledges criticism, while saying his wife ‘would make a great first lady.’ Image Jane Sanders and Senator Bernie Sanders greeted a crowd at a Newton Field Office on Sunday. Credit... Hilary Swift for The New York Times IOWA CITY — Bernie Sanders’s closest adviser is his wife, Jane Sanders. In the last several days, she’s been his most visible stand-in, too. When Mr. Sanders was stuck in Washington for the impeachment trial, Ms. Sanders campaigned for her husband across the state, relaying his message at coffee shops and colleges. But at stops this weekend, the two campaigned together, with Ms. Sanders often offering brief words about Mr. Sanders before introducing him to the stage. “As someone who’s known him for all this time, I can tell you he is as honest as the day is long and as consistent as the sun rising,” she said at one stop in Indianola. It is not uncommon for spouses to campaign for their significant other. In presidential campaigns that can be brutal, they can bring a note of softness, humanizing their husbands or wives in a way that no one else can. Ms. Sanders herself played this role during Mr. Sanders’s campaign in 2016. On Sunday, she arrived late to a Sanders event in Iowa City, then found a seat to watch Mr. Sanders from the front row. As Mr. Sanders wound toward his conclusion, she got up to stand by his side. Mr. Sanders saw an opportunity. “Some of you are unhappy with me and some of you think I might not be a great president,” he said. “Understand, she will be a great first lady!” The crowd delighted in the remarks and began to chant — not for him but for her. Jane! Jane! Jane! Read more

Feb. 2, 2020, 2:48 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 2:48 p.m. ET By Buttigieg says Iowa could persuade black voters to support him. Image Mayor Pete Buttigieg is introduced by Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. Credit... Todd Heisler/The New York Times DES MOINES — Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., argued this morning that a strong performance in the Iowa caucuses would persuade black voters to support him. Mr. Buttigieg’s lack of support among black voters, an essential Democratic constituency, is arguably his campaign’s biggest weakness. Even in Iowa, which is mostly white, some Democrats who want to caucus for him have said they are worried about choosing someone who might not be viable in more racially diverse states. On “Meet the Press” today, Chuck Todd asked Mr. Buttigieg if he was worried that his struggles among black voters might hurt him in the caucuses. “I actually think it’s all the more reason why we need to demonstrate strength here in Iowa,” Mr. Buttigieg responded. “Because a lot of the voters, especially black voters in the South that I’m talking to, they appreciate what’s in my plans, but they also just want to know that they’re supporting a candidate who can win.” His comments alluded to a popular but inaccurate narrative dating to 2008: that Barack Obama’s victory among white voters in Iowa gave black voters in other states permission, essentially, to support him. In truth, while Iowa does broadly affect voters’ perceptions of who is electable, it has no special effect on black voters. “The persistence of the narrative that Iowa made Mr. Obama has long irritated some of his advisers, who said that this recollection from 2008 had led campaigns astray since then, discounted the agency of black voters and minimized the robust grass-roots strategy that Mr. Obama’s team undertook in the South,” the Times reporter Astead W. Herndon wrote in an article last week. You can read it here: Read more

Feb. 2, 2020, 2:42 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 2:42 p.m. ET By Amy Klobuchar casts herself as the underdog. Image Senator Amy Klobuchar at a campaign event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sunday. Credit... John Locher/Associated Press CEDAR RAPIDS — Senator Amy Klobuchar cast herself as the underdog in the Democratic primary race, imploring supporters to “have her back” in one of her last appearances in Iowa before Monday’s caucuses. With the Senate impeachment trial expected to restart on Monday, Ms. Klobuchar will fly back to Washington for caucus day and plans to return for the actual voting that night. “I wish I could be here at the very last moment, but I can’t,” she told a crowd gathered at an events center in Cedar Rapids. “I want you to have my back.” While she’s risen in the polls, Ms. Klobuchar has failed to break the 15 percent threshold necessary to win delegates out of Iowa. Her aides expect her to be viable in some — though not all — of the individual caucuses. To her supporters, Ms. Klobuchar spoke of her progress in the race, describing her bid as a “grass-roots” effort that took her from long-shot candidate to “one of the top five” contenders. “You’re not going to see one of my ads in the Super Bowl,” she said, referring to a spot set to air tonight from Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York. “Maybe if the Vikings were playing.” Read more

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Feb. 2, 2020, 2:26 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 2:26 p.m. ET By Joe Biden: ‘Why don’t you let Joni Ernst know just how smart you are?’ Image Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. took a selfie with audience members at a rally in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday. Credit... Jordan Gale for The New York Times DUBUQUE — In the final week before the caucuses, Joseph R. Biden Jr., the former vice president, has highlighted two foils for his campaign: President Trump as well as Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, who had appeared to imply that the impeachment proceedings that put Mr. Biden’s family in the spotlight could damage him in the caucuses. “I was just pointing out that Iowa has very smart voters, very educated caucusgoers,” Ms. Ernst said on CNN, suggesting that meant they had been following the developments in Washington. Mr. Biden seized on those remarks later Sunday, urging attendees here, “Why don’t you let Joni Ernst know just how smart you are and caucus for me?” He received a standing ovation. Mr. Biden also said that the president had received a “sham trial” in the Senate — but that “the people of Iowa tomorrow, tomorrow night, when they caucus, can hold Trump accountable” by uttering “the words Trump fears the most: ‘We’re going to caucus for Joe Biden.’” Read more

Feb. 2, 2020, 2:11 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 2:11 p.m. ET By Warren, Sanders and Klobuchar will return to the Capitol on Iowa caucus day. INDIANOLA — Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar will return to Washington on Monday for the Senate’s continuing impeachment trial of President Trump, taking them off the campaign trail in Iowa in the final hours before the caucuses. The trial has robbed the three senators of precious days on the campaign trail in the final weeks ahead of the caucuses, while rivals like former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg have continued to campaign in Iowa. Ms. Warren plans to fly back to Iowa for a campaign event on Monday night as the results roll in before heading to New Hampshire.

Feb. 2, 2020, 1:57 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 1:57 p.m. ET The ‘Yang Gang’ recruits its newest member. Image Supporters of all sizes attended a lunch at Andrew Yang’s campaign office in Ames, where the candidate appeared. Credit... Pete Marovich for The New York Times

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Feb. 2, 2020, 1:49 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 1:49 p.m. ET By Biden plays the experience card. Image Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. at a town hall event in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday. Credit... Jordan Gale for The New York Times DUBUQUE — Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Sunday stressed the urgency of electing a president with experience on the world stage, emphasizing a core contrast he is making with his rivals on the eve of the Iowa caucuses. “With all due respect, there’s going to be no time for on-the-job training,” he said, noting that some of his opponents say that the country needs “somebody brand-new.” “The reason I’m running is because I have experience,” he said. Mr. Biden’s allies have hoped that the turmoil abroad over the last month would reinforce, in the minds of Iowa voters, the need to have a steady and seasoned Democrat as commander in chief, and he leaned into that idea at his first event of the day here. “Uniquely right now, you don’t have time to figure out what your foreign policy is,” said Mr. Biden, the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “You don’t have time to build relationships. You’ve got to have them, immediately, with world leaders.” Read more

Feb. 2, 2020, 1:14 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2020, 1:14 p.m. ET By Confused about the four sets of Iowa results? We got you. DES MOINES — Yesterday, we gave you a quick overview of how news outlets and campaigns will report and interpret the caucus results Monday night now that the Iowa Democratic Party is releasing more than one metric. Today, our colleague Nate Cohn broke it down in more detail. He explains what the metrics are, what they mean, why each of them could end up showing a different candidate ahead, and why The New York Times — like most other news organizations — will identify the winner based on state delegate numbers.