Strong Organization in Iowa by 2016 Democrats Creates Challenge for a Joe Biden Run

Strong Organization in Iowa by 2016 Democrats creates a challenge for Joe Biden.

ByABC News
October 21, 2015, 10:43 AM
Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. speaks at a campaign rally, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008, at Fox high school in Arnold, Mo.
Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. speaks at a campaign rally, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008, at Fox high school in Arnold, Mo.
AP Photo

— -- Michael Beasley has spent the last two months volunteering seven days a week in southeastern Iowa for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The 23-year-old is one of over 7,000 volunteers the Sanders campaign says is working throughout the state to reach out to potential caucus-goers leading up to the Feb. 1 caucus.

"I really just do whatever I can. I have my degree in art so I make a lot of signs. I make a lot of phone calls. I do data entry from our events. We just have a lot of fun," Beasley told ABC News.

The Sanders and Clinton campaigns currently have 17 Iowa field offices. Martin O'Malley's ground game is also statewide, with three field offices and more in the works. These campaigns have been organizing in Iowa for months, if not years. So, with the looming prospect of a Joe Biden presidential run, it's no surprise his advisers are reaching out to their Iowa supporters to see how viable a victory would be announcing 100 days out.

“Most people in the country haven’t been seeing ads for four months already. That’s not the case in Iowa where the ship may have sailed for a late addition to the race," said a close friend of the Biden family who requested he remain anonymous.

This Iowa politico told ABC News he recently spoke to the Biden family and laid out the difficulties of winning. He told them he's been impressed by the operations of the Clinton, Sanders and O'Malley campaigns and their growing staff of organizers and volunteers.

"They’ve been in every community from Sioux City to Council Bluffs to Cedar Rapids to Davenport to Des Moines," said Clinton's Iowa Communications Director Lily Adams, speaking about the campaigns supporters. "They’ve been there building those relationships we know are critical to winning on caucus night.”

The Democrats running for president have also locked up many of the major endorsements in Iowa in addition to hiring the top staff in-state.

"The governor has been here more than any other candidate," Kristin Sosanie with the O'Malley campaign told ABC News. "We’re focused on small events, getting to as many counties as possible, and having those one-on-one events with folks. This weekend will be his 15th trip the state and we’ve been to 40 counties.”

The Sanders campaign has shown you don't need a lot of time to build a successful Iowa campaign. In four and a half months, their candidate has pulled even with Hillary Clinton in some Iowa polls.

“We feel good not only with what we’ve built, but we feel good about the quality of people we have out there," said Pete D'Alessandro, the Iowa Campaign Coordinator for Sanders.

Grant Woodard, a veteran of Democratic politics in Iowa, said while it would be difficult for Biden to win the Iowa Caucus, it wouldn't be impossible because he has the benefit of being the vice president. But the logistics of putting together a staff takes time.

“If he magically decided to get in today and you do have your top-level staff, you’re still looking at a good month and a half minimum to try and put together a field program with people on the ground and I haven’t heard anything that that’s occurring," Woodard said.

Iowan's tend to make their decisions late, according to Woodard, so there may be a large number of Democrats still "shopping" for a candidate. But time is not on the VP's side, especially with the Iowa Democratic Party's Jefferson Jackson Dinner occurring this Saturday night in Des Moines. Six thousand Democrats from across the state are set to fill Hy-Vee Hall and will hear speeches from the four Democrats currently in the race for president.

Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley and Lincoln Chafee will address the crowd for roughly 20 minutes each. Chafee is the only Democrat in the race without an Iowa office and his campaign could not be reached for comment regarding their Iowa organization.

For the current national Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who will have President Clinton in the audience cheering her on, the Jefferson Jackson Dinner is an opportunity to convince those still on the fence.

“We made Iowa a priority from day one. We’ve competed very hard here and we’ll continue to do the work that we know Iowans expect. There are no shortcuts," Adams said.

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