At 7:00 p.m. on Monday, February 3, the chairman of the Democratic caucus organized in the lobby of the high school in the small town of Adel, headquarters in rural Dallas, Iowa, blows into his microphone. Voting will start, no late arrivals will be accepted. He reminds us of the procedure to follow while envelopes circulate to collect donations for the local chapter of the Democratic Party.
Earlier, Becky Steinfledt, "captain" for the youngest in the race, Pete Buttigieg, showed his confidence. "He talks about values long confiscated by the Republican Party, this is what pushed me to commit myself behind him", she had assured, while her rival for Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, Jennifer, hoped above all a strong participation which would translate the mobilization of the democrats.
Then the first gatherings are formed and they are cruel for four candidates. The group of supporters of New York businessman Andrew Yang is thin. Those of the Californian billionaire Tom Steyer and the senator Amy Klobuchar hardly more provided. The group of supporters of Bernie Sanders freezes when the fateful threshold to be considered "viable" is announced. Given the presence of 95 voters, it is indeed necessary to attract at least 16 when they are only 14. This is their group eliminated, just like those of the senator and the two outsiders.
Fateful Threshold
The first round turned to the advantage of supporters of former vice-president Joe Biden, who led with 21 votes, just ahead of those of Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren, who each shared 20 votes. The chairman announces the opening of the second round. The failed ones have ten minutes to find a new adoption group, or to withdraw.
The first movements are outlined among those present, commented live by a reporter for the KCCI chain, a CBS subsidiary. The rallies are punctuated with applause. "In states other than Iowa, it would end in a fight", slips the journalist, a native of Washington state. Craig and his wife Susan, "not aligned" in the first round separate. He joined Joe Biden's group, made up mostly of retirees, while she resolutely headed towards that of Pete Buttigieg. She finds there Neil Aldrich, who came to support Tom Steyer, but who did not have too many illusions about the outcome of the evening. "I know he is not necessarily strong here, but we have to score before more favorable states rule", he estimated before the first votes.
