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The annual Hall of Fame dinner will be the largest event ever held in a state that has already seen the titanic field of 23 hopefuls hold hundreds of rallies, town halls and house parties. He intervenes only a few weeks before the first round of debate and, with each of the 19 candidates present having only a few minutes to express themselves, will offer them something rare: the undivided attention of the most dedicated Democrats from Iowa.
But he misses a big name on the menu this weekend and, especially, Sunday afternoon: Biden, whose campaign told CNN that he was organizing a major family event, previously scheduled, that will keep him away. At a DNC gala in Atlanta on Thursday night, Biden announced that he was heading to graduation from his granddaughter.
Biden will be in Iowa Tuesday, the same day as President Donald Trump, and Wednesday. A contrast to his campaign, which sought to keep him above or away from the Democratic primary scrum, will certainly be welcome.
"These are Iowans who will have a very strong propensity to caucus," said Matt Paul, director of Hillary Clinton's state in Iowa 2016, about the audience at the dinner at the Hall of fame. "On a busy summer weekend, people who go to Cedar Rapids on a Sunday afternoon to attend 19 speeches are people who absolutely go to caucus."
For the candidates, he added, there will also be an element of luck that, in such a long program, could help to make or break their weekends.
"You want to either close it, or close it with a whip and knock it off the park," said Paul. "Or do you want to start and be the speaker to whom everyone is comparing."
"As you all know, there is a debate between the presidential candidates who have spoken to you here in this room and those who have chosen, for whatever reason, not to be in this room, about the best way forward, "said Sanders, without naming the former vice president. "So let me be as clear as possible: in my opinion, we will not beat Donald Trump unless we bring enthusiasm and energy to the campaign."
Warren also pulled his side, even indirectly, on the man who was not there, along with other more cautious rivals.
"Some Democrats in Washington believe that the only changes we can get are tweaks and pings – they dream, they dream small," Warren said. "Some say that if we all wanted to calm down, the Republicans would return to their senses, but our country is in crisis, the time for small ideas is over."
Even though mass hearing at Cedar Rapids will offer some of the lesser-known candidates a platform to make themselves known, the campaigns will also use their time in the state – a weekend that will have the effect to bring up as many potential voters – – establish contacts and engage in dialogue with supporters and volunteers.
Pete of Alessandro, coordinator of Sanders' 2016 campaign in Iowa and senior consultant in Iowa this time, said the Hall of Fame event would be the " base "of a weekend of organization, a bit like four years ago.
"There could be campaigns that say," Yes, we have to make waves here, "then there are other campaigns – and I think that's where we were last time – where you always want to do well and you "I hope some things will resonate, but we were in such a way of organizing the field building" at this stage of the last cycle.
Californian Senator Kamala Harris, whose campaign recently announced the expansion of its operations in Iowa by hiring 65 new employees here on July 1 in the midst of a project back in the US. State three times over the next five weeks will be among the ongoing activities here the campaign is heating up in the coming months.
Deidre DeJear, president of Harris for Iowa, said the campaign considered the Sunday event as a stepping stone for an organizing summer and that Harris's speech would be an invitation to very committed activists present in the room.
"I think that she wants to let the crowd remember her, and remember her in a way that did not say that she was not just talking, or that she was not talking to her." She was just present, but that she had engaged them, that she had connected with them and that she had invited them to part of our team. invited to be part of this caucus process. "
To that end, Harris will be hosting a pre-Hall of Fame gathering in the same location as the big event so participants can hear more than his five-minute speech.
For Biden, there is "certainly a risk" not to participate in the weekend whirlwind, said Paul, veteran of the Clinton campaign. But he also noted that then-Sen. Barack Obama missed the event in 2007, a decision that certainly "worked" for the future two-term president.
"I can understand the decision to organize your own event, you will probably see people in the room several times before caucuses," said Paul. "But that would have been a good opportunity for him to demonstrate the support he has in this state, which is significant."
Arlette Saenz and Daniella Diaz from CNN contributed to this report.
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