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The Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines, capital of the U.S. state of Iowa, was packed with hundreds of voters, observers and reporters on Monday night as the Iowa Caucuses kicked off the nomination competition for the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Before voting began at 7 p.m. CT (0100 GMT on Tuesday), supporters for several candidates were still making their last appeals to voters, chanting campaign slogans and distributing stickers and souvenirs bearing the names of candidates.
It was a big night for Democrats across the nation. As the result for the Republican side is totally predictable, all eyes were on the unusually crowded Democratic field -- currently with 11 runners. Though the small, rural Hawkeye state only allocates around 2 percent of the 1,991 national delegates a candidate needs to snatch the Democratic nomination, it's widely seen as a strong indicator for how far a candidate could go down the road ahead.
CONFRONTING TRUMP
Picking the strongest candidate to take on incumbent Republican President Donald Trump in November is the core concern for many Democrat voters. Jim Birkel, a local retiree in Des Moines who has been an independent for two decades, told Xinhua hours before the caucuses that this time he would register as a Democrat to take part in the voting.
"Mr. Trump will, in all probability, have the Republican party (nomination) ... I wanna be involved with getting the best candidate to actually go against him," said Birkel.
The man in his mid-60s had voted for Democrats, Republicans and independents in past elections. "It all depends on what I think the country needs for the particular time period," he added.
Though he supports some of Trump's policies, such as trade and tax cuts, he still saw the president as "divisive for the nation" and the growing polarization in the country as a dangerous sign.
"It's extremely unhealthy for the nation. It would be for any nation, I think. It just continues to get worse and worse. It's almost like a civil war without weapons," he said.
Birkel claimed that he would stand with billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer on Monday night. But if Steyer's supporters fail to meet the 15-percent threshold at his precinct location in the first alignment, he would support former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana Pete Buttigieg, at the final alignment, as stipulated by the caucus rules.
Kyle Schulz, a Democrat from Chicago, Illinois just for observing the Iowa Caucuses, said he believes Buttigieg may have a good chance to win here.
"As a millennial, I think his position in my generation really is a strong appeal to me," said the 32-year-old new dad who brought his eight-month-old baby girl to the "political education tour."
"If you look at how he positions and presents himself in his vision for the future, I think that can carry the day and make him competitive."
Yan Xiaozhe, a Democrat and executive chairman of the Chinese Association of Iowa, told Xinhua that in his eyes, the odds are that former Vice President Joe Biden will replace Trump.
"He is moderate, which could attract more independents in the general election," said Yan. He called Biden a "people person" who really likes to talk to ordinary people.
INTRA-PARTY FRICTION
Many Democrats have demonstrated clear-cut support for moderates or progressives within the party, but some are concerned that a fractured base and growing tensions would lead to undesirable results for both sides.
"I think ideological differences are good. They're healthy for debate," said Schulz from Chicago, adding that the country could only end up with an extremist leader in the future "when they're entrenched and not willing to listen to the other side."
Schulz acknowledged that he favors the moderates like Biden and Buttigieg. "We're a country of moderates ... I think you need to have a centrist who can work both sides and who would be a little more flexible," he said.
Nonetheless, progressive candidates, represented by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have gained strong and loyal bases of their own. Christopher Jamerson, a local, told Xinhua on Monday night that he would vote for either Sanders or Warren.
"I want someone who has the courage to stand up with good ideas that help everybody else," said the 34-year-old who works in the IT industry, adding that the moderates are just claiming that they care about the pains of some people but refuse to really fight for their rights like the progressives have done.
Sanders, as a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, advocates Medicare For All and tuition-free public college education, while Warren has vowed to weaken the power of big corporations and made the proposal of Medicare for All.
"I don't think they're too progressive at all. We've had really progressive presidents before and they became extremely popular and well-known," he said, adding that the Republican Party is now "so far-right that it makes even moderate Democrats look extreme."
NEW FACE, NEW IDEAS
Yan Xiaozhe has been following Andrew Yang's campaign for months. Though he knows the odds are quite slim for the 45-year-old entrepreneur of Chinese descent to be elected this year, he believes it's still a good thing for Yang to make his face and ideas known to more Americans through the process.
An educator in his 50s who moved to the United States from China 28 years ago, Yan also hopes Yang's emergence could encourage more Asian Americans to actively engage in U.S. politics, thus gaining a greater voice for the Asian community in the country's decision-making process.
In Yang's campaign office in Des Moines on Monday afternoon, a 21-year-old who only gave his first name as Steve said he flew in from Virginia the day before to volunteer for the campaign and show his support for Yang.
"Andrew is just like a really great person. He's passionate, he's emotional, he's doing it out of nothing, but purely because he feels he needs to," Steve said. "You don't want a president that wants to be president. You want a president who needs to be president."
On Sunday, Steve knocked on many doors in the neighborhood to promote his favorite candidate, and the responses were varied just as he expected.
Steve believes that Yang is unique not for his racial identity, but the notion of "ideological diversity" he has brought to this year's presidential race. "Whether or not he's Asian, Middle Eastern or European, he's someone that's bringing something new, and that's what I'm there for," he said.
