Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Makes Her First Exploratory Trip to Iowa  ... 2 of 4 >
A long line of people wait to get in.  Fortunately the weather was uncharacteristically warm–no gloves required.  Above, Jon Neiderbach, an attorney from Windsor Heights, talks with Nicholas Schrum, who is about to start as a teacher in Iowa City.  Neiderbach is politically active.  He recalled filling up balloons for Mo Udall for Iowa Democrats' JJ Dinner in the 1976 campaign when he was a student at Grinnell.  He served on the Des Moines School Board, was the Democratic nominee for state auditor in 2014, and most recently ran for governor before pulling out in March 2018.  He heard Warren speak at a Progressive Change Campaign Committee training event in Washington, DC in 2015, and was impressed because she is "so knowledgeable, so passionate, and, very honestly, so restrained."  Neiderbach said Warren is "at the top of my short list" of 2020 prospects.  Others on the list include Sen. Cory Booker (NJ) who gave an "amazing" speech at the Iowa Democratic Party's Gala on Oct. 6 ("the best political speech I've every heard...it was music") and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN).  There is "no shortage of great candidates," Neiderbach said.
At the very front of the line (not pictured) was Johnny Khuu who arrived around 1:30 p.m..  Khuu, 23, moved to Iowa from the Bay area in June 2018.  He supports Warren because, "She has the most consistency in terms of her track record on economic issues."  Khuu said he has been following Warren since about 2013 on YouTube videos, and wants to help her win.   He is concerned about "reforming government so they're accountable to regular people's interests."  Khuu is working at a food pantry in Grinnell.  Second in line was Terri, a retired woman now living in Des Moines who said she was "here to learn more about where she [Warren] stands."  In 2016 she was living in Laurens in Northwest Iowa and actively supported Hillary Clinton in the caucuses.  Whichever candidate she supports for 2020, "I want them to be for the people," she said.  "I want the health care issue to be taken care of.  I want the education issue to be taken care of," she said.  And, she said, "I am so upset about this border thing."
Reporters at work in the back of the room.
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (right), talks with The Associated Press' Tom Beaumont.
Casey with daughter Indigo, 9 months, said of Warren that she admires "how strong of a presence and a voice she is."  She said she was attracted to Warren for her position on interest rates and student loan debt, an issue she has personal experience with.
Courtney Guntley sports some fashionable footwear.  She said she is "trying to figure out who I want to support in 2020.  There's a lot of options."  Guntley is a social worker who volunteered on Cindy Axne's congressional campaign.
more >