Forum to feature four presidential candidates Saturday

Caitlin Yamada/ Iowa State Daily

Pete Buttigieg during his stop in Carroll, Iowa, on the Fourth of July.

Jake Webester
September 19, 2019

Presidential candidates will barnstorm the state of Iowa from now until caucus night, with a litany of multi-candidate events scheduled in the coming weeks and months.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, D-Ind., and former Sec. of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro will take part in a “People’s Presidential Forum” scheduled to start at noon Saturday at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines. The forum is organized by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action.

The four candidates last shared a stage in September’s Democratic presidential debate.

The organizers said they sent questions to all the candidates, and “all the top candidates” except former Vice President Joe Biden responded to their questionnaire.

The group’s website notes Warren, Sanders and Castro support free college and/or student loan forgiveness, while Buttigieg does not. All of the presidential candidates attending the forum indicated their support for so-called Green New Deal legislation.

Leaflets advertising the event say, “No stump speeches allowed! Real issues. Real people. Real stories.”

Farmers, students, caregivers and workers will ask about “Medicare for All,” clean water and factory farms, racial profiling and other issues in addition to the free college and Green New Deal legislation questions, according to the pamphlet the group distributed.

“If you’re not attending #ThePeoplesForum in person, you can share questions and chat live with others watching,” the organizers said in a tweet.

The forum Saturday comes as caucus season begins to really heat up. All of the candidates attending the forum have multiple events scheduled in the days before and after the forum in Des Moines.

A recent Iowa State poll of likely Democratic caucusgoers conducted by Civiqs found Warren leading in the state, with 24 percent of the vote. Sanders was the top choice of 16 percent, Buttigieg 13 percent and Castro 0 percent.