The Note: One Night, One Room and Five Democratic Candidates

— -- NOTABLES

--SAME TIME, SAME PLACE: It's been almost eight years since Iowa Democrats have had to choose a presidential candidate and tonight will be the first time they get a chance to see all five of their 2016 hopefuls back to back, ABC's MARYALICE PARKS and JOSH HASKELL note. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Chafee, and Jim Webb will all be in the same room, for the first time, since they each announced their presidential campaigns at a dinner hosted by the Iowa Democratic Party in Cedar Rapids. "I am excited. It will be our first time together," former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley told ABC News. "It's going to be fun."

--WHAT COULD GO WRONG?: All of the 2016 contenders will be sitting in the same hall, having dinner, according to the Iowa Democratic Party. No word yet on whether they might also appear on stage together at some point or whether there will be any kind of presidential candidate family photo. With speeches back to back, it will be also be great opportunity for some of the lesser-known candidates to distinguish themselves. "What we're very good at in Iowa is talking to each of the candidates and not making our mind up too soon," Andy McGuire, chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, said in an interview with ABC News. "I don't think anybody's totally made up their minds yet."

--TODAY IN THE HAWKEYE STATE: Today both Sanders and Clinton will be holding events in Iowa with veterans. (Turns out the events are also in the same building, only an hour and fifteen minutes apart.) O'Malley spent yesterday talking to immigrant leaders in Des Moines about his proposals for comprehensive immigration reform. Republicans are getting in on the action too: In response to tonight's event, representatives from 15 Republican campaigns are holding their own rally, just a few hours earlier, to show they're committed to electing a Republican president.

ALL THE ACTION IN IOWA: Hillary Clinton will hold an organizing meeting at Need Pizza in Cedar Rapids at 2:35 pm ET and a kickoff party at Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids at 4:45 pm ET. Martin O'Malley will hold meet-and-greets at Digger's Rest Coffeehouse in Burlington at 11 am ET and Art Domestique in Washington, Iowa, at 1:30 pm ET. Scott Walker will be in Iowa, where he'll hold events at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport at 12 pm ET, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art at 3 pm ET, and at his state headquarters in Urbandale at 7 pm ET. Marco Rubio will be in Iowa, where he'll hold a lunch event at Uncle Buck's Grill in Council Bluffs at 12 pm ET, a town-hall at McCarthy & Bailey's in Sioux City at 3:45 pm ET, and a meet-and-greet at Decker Truck Line Inc in Fort Dodge at 7:30 pm ET. Ted Cruz will be in Iowa, where he'll visit a location where "Field of Dreams" was filmed in Dyersville at 10:15 am ET and hold a town-hall at his campaign office in Brooklyn, Iowa, at 4 pm ET. Mike Huckabee will be in Iowa, where he'll hold events at McOtto's in Anaosa at 8:30 pm ET, the Muscatine County Fair at 12:30 pm ET, the Hamburg Inn in Iowa City at 4 pm ET, and Pagliani's Pizza in Grinnell at 7 pm ET. Rick Santorum will be in Iowa, where he'll visit Ivy Bake Shoppe and Cafe in West Burlington at 10 am ET, Farmers Elevator Inc in Wapello at 11:30 am ET, and Brownell in Grinnell at 3 pm ET.

--ELSEWHERE ON THE TRAIL: Jeb Bush will be in Nevada, where he'll hold a town-hall at Silver State Charter School in Carson City at 12:15 pm ET and speak at the Maverick PAC 2015 Mavericks Conference at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas at 10:30 pm ET. Donald Trump will speak at the Republican Party of Arkansas's Reagan Rockefeller Dinner at the Hot Springs Convention Center in Hot Springs at 8:45 pm ET. Rand Paul will hold a rally at the Hyatt Regency on Louisiana Street in Houston, Texas, at 3:45 pm ET. Carly Fiorina will attend a Collin County GOP event at Collin County Community College in Plano, Texas, at 1 pm ET; hold an event at the Campbell Centre in Dallas at 5:15 pm ET; and keynote a graduation event hosted by the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas at 6:30 pm ET. Chris Christie will be in New Hampshire, where he's holding a town-hall at Chapanga's Griddle & Grill in Milford at 7 am ET. Later, he'll visit Hope for New Hampshire Recovery in Manchester at 1:15 pm ET and attend a house party in Salem at 5 pm ET.

FIVETHIRTYEIGHT IN THE NOTE:

--TWO GOOD REASONS NOT TO TAKE THE 'TRUMP SURGE' SERIOUSLY. From FiveThirtyEight's HARRY ENTEN: The magnificent Donald Trump has soared, bald-eagle-like, to the top of Republican presidential primary polls. He's now in second place, behind only Jeb Bush, with what The Donald might call "the highest 13 percent ever recorded in human history" in polls conducted since he announced his bid for the presidency last month. So how seriously should we take the Trump "surge"? The take-Trump-seriously logic goes something like this: There's a lot of anger in the far right of the Republican Party, and The Donald is successfully tapping into it. But the polling points to another, less sexy story: First, Republican voters don't rate Trump as all that conservative, and second, he's actually polling about equally well among all sections of the GOP. In Trump speak, this means he is loved universally; in reality, the broad, shallow nature of Trump's support suggests it's due mostly to near-universal name recognition, thanks in part to being in the news more often than the news anchors. http://53eig.ht/1OgRaWp

--FOUR WAYS TO RUN A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. From FiveThirtyEight's AARON BYCOFFE: In the era of super PACs and nonprofit political groups, the money presidential candidates raise for their own campaigns is often dwarfed by what outside groups raise and spend to support them. But the ability of candidates to raise money from individuals is still an important indication of how much support they have. And the nature of their donors tells us a great deal, too, about their political appeal. Are candidates raising money from many people of modest means, who make small donations, or from a smaller group of wealthier donors, who give the maximum allowed by law? The first big batch of fundraising reports from the 2016 candidates arrived at the Federal Elections Commission this week, giving us an early glimpse at money machines starting to rev up. The campaign is still young, and super PACs have yet to report, but the numbers from the campaigns are starting to reveal some preliminary patterns. http://53eig.ht/1f8xVSF

THE BUZZ

SCOTT WALKER ENDORSES THE HARLEY, BUT IT'S NOT ENDORSING HIM. Scott Walker is clearly passionate about Harley-Davidson motorcycles. During his first week as an official presidential candidate, roughly half of his organized campaign stops have been at Harley shops. And he has exclusively worn motorcycle boots -- his apparent campaign footwear of choice -- a detail he points out in just about every speech, ABC's JORDYN PHELPS notes. But while the Wisconsin governor, 47, is revving up his connections to the Milwaukee-based company on the campaign trail, Harley-Davidson appears to be steering clear of presidential politics. "He is passionate about our brand like the millions of other loyal Harley-Davidson customers around the world," Harley-Davidson spokeswoman Maripat Blankenheim told ABC News in an e-mail message this week. But here's the fine print: Asked for a reaction to Walker's heavy reliance on their brand in his campaign, Blankenheim noted that "there is no official relationship" between the company and Walker. "It's important to note our dealerships are independently owned and operated businesses," Blankenheim wrote. "Harley-Davidson Motor Company does not endorse any candidate and remains neutral in political campaigns." http://abcn.ws/1LcCQ2O

BEYONCE, SPIELBERG, AND STING: 33 INTERESTING PEOPLE WHO WROTE BIG CHECKS TO HILLARY CLINTON. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign may be lagging when it comes to small dollar donations, but she has had no problem collecting cash from big-name celebrities, tech tycoons and business execs, ABC's LIZ KREUTZ reports. The list of prominent backers who cut her hefty checks is long and includes names like director Stephen Spielberg, Univision owner Haim Saban and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg -- all of whom have already thrown their support behind the Democratic presidential candidate and opened their wallet too. http://abcn.ws/1Hxs8A1

NOTED: HERE'S HOW THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ARE SPENDING THEIR MONEY. The first filing reports of the 2016 election cycle were made available by the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, giving the American public an inside look into how much money candidates are making and how much they're spending, ABC's JILL ORNITZ, LOUISE SIMPSON, ALLIE KESSEL and SUMMER FIELDS report. But running for president is about more than giving speeches and attending town halls. Candidates visit local businesses and immerse themselves in the communities they visit. That means eating, drinking and celebrating with locals. Here are some of the most interesting purchases candidates have made in the 2016 cycle so far: http://abcn.ws/1OhPYlC

GOP CANDIDATES REACT TO CONTROVERSIAL VIDEO CLAIMING TO FEATURE PLANNED PARENTHOOD EXEC. Much of the Republican presidential field is stepping up condemnations of Planned Parenthood in response to an undercover video that an anti-abortion group claims to show an executive with the abortion rights organization discussing the sale of tissue from aborted fetuses. Several candidates are citing the video as a reason Planned Parenthood should lose federal funding. ABC's ALANA ABRAMSON rounded up their responses: http://abcn.ws/1f7Vb3h

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

WHAT PRESIDENT OBAMA SAW WHEN HE VISITED A PRISON. President Obama stepped into the doorway and, in the late morning light, took in the nine-by-ten foot prison cell, the cot and the bunk bed, the flip-flops and hanging khaki uniforms, the toilet and sink tucked in the corner and small metal night stand with some magazines, books and a dictionary. Obama stood there for a minute as corrections officer Ronald Warlick and Bureau of Prisons director Charles Samuels pointed and explained -- noting that three men lived in this crammed space. In a presidential first, Obama visited a federal penitentiary Thursday, a medium-security prison in El Reno, Oklahoma. After touring Cell Block B, a two-story brick building that houses the prison's drug abuse prevention unit, the president addressed reporters, offering praise for El Reno, but also calling attention to issues it and other prisons face as well. http://abcn.ws/1HScDzC

WHO'S TWEETING?

@SalenaZitoTrib: #Pittsburgh gets a president and wanna be president 2 days in a row next week neither event open to the public http://bit.ly/1M8PaR5

@MaeveReston: In a kind of twisty, ironic way, @realDonaldTrump is both calling for campaign finance reform and advocating for a plutocracy. Fascinating.

@jonward11: "I'm not sure I want a massage therapist coming to my house." - Jeb Bush https://www.yahoo.com/politics/jeb-bush-hillary-clintons-good-intentions-arent-124288105561.html ...

@GeraldFSeib: Valerie Jarrett has an "open channel of communication" with the Koch brothers' organization on criminal justice. http://on.wsj.com/1e3JIkx

@PeterNicholas3: @sensanders is a skinflint compared to @hillaryclinton when it comes to campaign spending. Pollsters? $0. http://on.wsj.com/1e3DLUA