First in the Nation
I moved to Des Moines in the spring of 2019, a serendipitous foray into one of my then-lesser areas of interest: American politics. Ahead of me, at its peak, was a charged, sprawling race of nearly 30 candidates vying for the Democratic nomination.
Attempts to 'capture' every public gesture of the candidates — a diverse group of activists, newcomers, and veteran senators — proved to be its own trial. Candidates' efforts to sway votes were relentless as they seized to mobilize every fervent constituent of Iowa’s democratic base.
In the remaining 72 hours before the coveted Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3, 2020, I met numerous out-of-state organizers who'd driven for days just to canvass neighborhoods in a final toil. They sprinted across frozen lawns, knocking on doors and flooding landlines to win over the last of the undecided voters.
Amid the spectacle of campus rallies, barbecue block parties, the famous Iowa State Fair stump speeches — at the heart of the race was always the grit of performance and integrity in the prize to unseat Donald Trump. This compilation offers but a glimpse of nine months of caucus season through its tumultuous end.
