Iowa Democrats set for Friday event in Des Moines

Grant Tetmeyer/Iowa State Daily

Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden answers a question from moderator Kathie Obradovich at the 2020 Presidential Candidate Forum, hosted by AARP Iowa and the Des Moines Register. The event was held on July 15 at the Olmsted Center at Drake University.

Mallory Tope

The Iowa Democratic Party is hosting a “Liberty and Justice Celebration” Friday in Des Moines.

Fourteen of the Democratic presidential candidates will be speaking. This event is the last candidate gathering in Iowa where most will be in attendance for Democrats before the caucus in February.

The speaking order for the featured speakers will be Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Vice President Joe Biden, businessman Andrew Yang, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kamala Harris, businessman Tom Steyer, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Michael Bennet, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, former Sec. of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Cory Booker, former Rep. John Delaney and Gov. Steve Bullock.

The Liberty and Justice Celebration was formerly named the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. The event was named after Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, who are considered the founders of the Democratic Party. The event was initially renamed in 2015.

The Liberty and Justice celebration is the last big event in Iowa that allows so many presidential candidates to directly talk to Iowans and listen to Iowa voters’ concerns before the caucus. 

More than 13,000 people are expected to attend this event, making it one of the biggest presidential events in Iowa.

Troy Price, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, said the event is going to “highlight the tremendous energy in our party.”

“It’s gonna be a hoot and a hat; 13,000 of our closest friends,” Price said.

The latest Iowa State poll of likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers found Warren in the lead with 28 percent support, followed by Buttigieg with 20 percent, Sanders with 18 percent and Biden with 12 percent. No other candidates received more than single digit support.