c-span, your unfiltered view of government. brought to you today by your television provider. evening, in what began as a record democratic field, tonight voters will have their say in the presidential campaign. we are live in west des moines, high school -- westothis is a suburban district representing a real mex of democratic voters. the caucus is getting underway at the top of the hour, 7:00 p.m. local time in iowa. and past indianola, we are in -- caucus the back to milo indian tribes. .e are lies on c-span be awardeds will tonight. through the course of the evening we will take you through the caucuses 8:00 eastern and later tonight, the results. the senators earlier today getting back in iowa and on to new hampshire for tomorrow. brett connolly is joining us from west des moines iowa. thanks for spending a couple of minutes for us. >> not quite sure what the , 327ut is going to be participants in our caucus. .e will get a mixed here the north side is predominately apartment buildings whereas woodland avenue, the south side single-familyly homes, so you will get a mix of young and old here. expect tonight? people, everyone has to be registered. captain has a minute to give us their elevator speech and then we will break into preference groups after we determine how many people are since wecaucusing and have 11 delegates to come out here, our threshold to be soevant is 15% of the whole, they 400 people here, you would be 60 people in your group to be able to keep going and qualify for delegate. if you don't have that, you will be given an opportunity to find relevant.at is the changes this year is that everybody has relevant. got a preference trailso we have a paper for your first and second choices. that is a big change for us this time around. >> in already sounds loud in their. how do you keep organized the midst all the chaos? the high school is kind enough to let us use their pa system. this is a gorgeous school. >> there are 1600 caucuses across the state and this is the first step in the process of awarding delegates that will ramp up until may or june, correct? >> right. delegatest step is 11 that we elect as a whole will go on to county convention and then from there, they go to the district convention and the state convention. that narrows down quite a bit. >> tell us about why you are involved in democratic party politics. >> i have a degree from iowa state university a long time ago and i was still in college when 1972 andunteering in 1974, hean again in ran again in 1974, works full-time on that campaign and when tom won us the election and spent a couple years on his congressional step, got a big head and ran for office. i got in the paper business and did that for 37 years. i have been on an off with local races for quite a while, mainly in iowa. other states i got transferred to and i think this is an important thing to do. >> you are an important person so a lot of people coming up to talk to you. i wonder if you could give our audience a sense of what it has been like in iowa over the last year? a record number of democrats crisscrossing in youth had a front row to all of it. what are your thoughts in general? >> it is cool because the thing , but all theyear candidates came and they went to the state fair, got their pictures taken out there quite a and ifipped to porkchops andare a citizen of i was have not run into two or three presidential candidates, you are living in a cave somewhere. these people have all kinds of access to political candidates. question before we let you go, this is all about organization, so how does the campaign organize in iowa? what is at stake and what is at play? --the organization organizing is an important part , at least theign ones that will be viable, they have a cap -- candidate captain in iowa so it is an amazing amount of organizing and there are people everywhere on this campaign. organizer, you are a busy individual, we will follow you during the course of the evening. thank you for spending a few minutes with us. >> if you are interested in a more rural caucus, you can turn it over to c-span2. havedes moines expected to 500 or 600 people. there are actually two caucuses going on. centerat the community and again, that is live on c-span2. want to share with you this headline from the washington post, the d&c headed to iowa to help protect from digital attacks. we have more on the rapid-response team on the ground. what can you tell us? essentially, this is the biggest challenge that thecratic party space when election was thrown into chaos. with the d&c wants to do is ensure this does not have been again. we don't know harmony many people, probably a couple dozen embedded, looking for any kind disinformation either towards candidates or spreading and they information are looking for any sense that .echnology is being used checking to make sure that nothing goes wrong with that. first ofs really the what we will be seeing in new hampshire and other primaries, so just the beginning. >> a lot of focus on the general election, but it will be a long process here. ors something goes wrong adversaries conserved out, that can have an effect. >> what are the lessons of 2016? what are the mistakes? >> people have not paid a whole lot of attention to the extent which voting technology, which is largely run at the state level is not secure against attacking to the extent that social media was not prepared for massive disinformation campaign and since then, it has been a huge effort by the federal government to put a lot of money into this, upgrade haveg technology and a now sensors on election systems in and theirle county working with a social media .ompany this is one of the first real test of how this is working. >> what outside forces, whether it is countries or outside organizations, what you hearing? the 2015 was behind operations for intelligence agencies say they are likely to try something again, but they also warned that some of the other digital adversaries, people a possibility of who just want to sow chaos and with thisbecause information, it is not take a infrastructure that you don't actually change votes, but sometimes it is just as good. >> they essentially, the d&c has a war room of sorts? essentially. they're betting on the democratic party which is responsible for a lot of it. they are going to keep doing all the primaries and caucuses, social media companies in the sopaign and what the party, those are some of the main operations happening. >> protecting from digital attacks, joseph marx is available online at washington post.com. more and what to expect again. we are at valley high school south of des moines on c-span two. you can see a much smaller group . this is a moxie at its best and over 1600 locations across iowa. the washington post put together this brief video on how a caucus works. it explains what to look for tonight. >> after months of debate, it is time for voters to take part in the 2020 primary season. first up, the iowa caucuses. the results help candidates know where to stand. caucusing in a midwestern state is a lot more complicated than a primary. first, the candidates or representatives make their case to everyone present. let's say there are 30 people, aucus-goers moved to candidates physical designated space and they have the option to remove to the uncommitted space. 15%ndidate must amount to of the participant totals to be viable. some have higher thresholds, but none are less than 15%. unviable groups may join, per attempt to persuade folks in order to reach the threshold towards an uncommitted group porches to sit out. then, one more count. nine finally, the iowa democratic party accounts for all the delegate equivalents for all occasions. democratices who the nominee is and that person is considered the winner. a new, i will make the totals available. things can get confusing about who can be the winner. a caucus allows for open discourse on the candidate. viable inurse can be a state like iowa. according to a poll, only 40% said their mind is made up. does not always translate to winning a party nomination. but because the state is home to the first true vote in 2020, the -- the top candidates in momentum for the long route ahead. >> that from the washington post and you can see democratic party in dests began gathering moines iowa. it is scheduled to get underway 7:00 local time, 8:00 here on the east. pulp county, a population of over 40,000. back in 2016, it went for hillary clinton with just over 52% of the vote. donald trump in warren county where my luck is located. we are going to get you inside the room to give you a sense of what is happening. we will be back in just a moment. [inaudible] >> our goal was to get this thing started at 7:00 and tried to run as smoothly as possible. however, anyone that is in line to register or to sign in, they are eligible. we have to wait to start the program. >> you will be hearing a lot from brian connolly. he is the caucus chair. in case you are wondering, c-span collectivist this because it is a competitive caucus location. admixture of suburban and city residents. out that also point there are caucuses outside of iowa, including one in washington and caucuses across europe. the second caucus we chose to give you a sense of how a more rural part of the state plays out, you can see the crowd is beginning to increase. this is just south, a little less than an hour from downtown des moines where agriculture is a big issue. areacounty, that is the where hillary clinton one. coming up in just a couple minutes, a chance for you to watch the caucus here on c-span and c-span2. we will have the candidate speeches later in the evening. >> if there is anyone here that is caucusing that does not have the presidential reference card, please come up to the front and get it. it is pretty important if you want to have your course -- your voice heard. >> [chanting] " i am a war and democrat -- warren democrat" [applause] >> as the campuses get ready for the caucuses, we want to spend a moment to talk to judy downes. a simple question, we see these results coming in. explain why there will be two sets of numbers tonight? more give them transparency on what happens inside the room caucus night. how many people stood up to whoort each candidate and their candidate will be. >> some people wondering if it will be confusing. how do you does all that? >> i would say it is not confusing. it gives a clear picture on what happens inside the caucus. the raw numbers from canada site amy klobuchar and andrew yang paints a really clear picture. >> finally, if you could explain the 50% threshold. the threshold,et what does that mean for the campaigns? >> they have two options. one, they can line up with a viable the threshold, what does that mean for the campaigns? candidate -- 15% threshold. >> they have two options. they can line up with a viable candidate for come together and create a strong alliance. next a very busy evening for you. thank you for that explanation. we appreciate it. >> we will take it now to valley high school as the last-minute registration continues. the campaigns trying to make sure their supporters are ready to go. >> chanting "u-s-a" [inaudible] [inaudible] --[chanting in discernibly indiscernible] [inaudible] [inaudible] >> can i get your attention? we are going to get the caucus started. everyone is signed in, ready to go. did you guys find a chair? -- could you guys find a chair? everyone who is caucusing have a presidential preference card? don't ride on it until we tell you. if you don't, come up and get one. first off, i want to thank all the volunteers who helped sign u.n. -- you in. we did not valley high school -- we did not know valley high school would let us use their sound system. luckily -- donated a couple of hundred pages that should be passed around, so like to thank those people. as your temporary caucus chair, calling this caucus to order. , i first order of business am the temporary chair and stephanie is the secretary. we need to find the chairman of the caucus. since i am the temporary one, i am automatically nominated and to do that, we had to go through caucus training and get certified by the iowa democratic party, so i'm going to open it up for nominations. are there any nominations for permanent caucus chair? you. >> [laughter] it was fun last time. there is one caucus chair and that would be me. all in favor continuing for me to do this, say i? . stephanie, same thing applies. --phanie is our temporary anyone else want to the secretary? i do not think so. >> all in favor of having stephanie has permanent -- permanent caucus secretary, say i. done, we have, it if everyone has a card, there are 329 people that are caucusing with us tonight. thank god we have a better space than we did four years ago three that was a nightmare. they were standing for five deep. or five deep. the first thing we are going to do is great -- break into preference groups. we have 330. to be viable, you would need 15 members of your group. have alreadygroups staked out their area. let's let up and -- wait a minute, i have not given you got the chance. is an indianus term that means gather and discuss. i would like to give each candidate's representative one minute to give us their elevator speech and tell us why their guy or gal is the best one and i think the best way to do that is to go alphabetical order. do i have anyone here for then it, who wants to speak for bennett? how about bloomberg? do we have a spokesperson for biden? >> good evening, thank you so much. i am the captain here for jill biden. the election is about character. has greatn the room character and that means all of our candidates tonight have great character. the character problem is in the white house. that is the character problem. a presidential candidate that can win back the white house, when back the 50 states and it is not just the 50 states when it comes to electing a democratic president, it is protecttates we need to in the rest of the planet. it is the 50 states for ever body in this united states to think about who is in the white house and who can take back the white house for us. character is it huge issue. it is also about the soul of america and joe biden's campaign is about the soul of america and it is to find the deep ones that we have. they are incredibly important for our country to come together and to be a country where he respect each other and talk to each other and really get back on track. joe biden is going to get us back on track and the third reason is that he is going to be donald trump -- beats donald trump like a drum. if he is your candidate and if you want to help us be donald trump,-- beats donald then vote tonight for joe biden. it is not just about past, it is about obamacare, the recovery act, the violence against women act and assault weapons act -- assault weapons ban. >> thanks for coming out. >> do we have someone for mayor pete? >> as you walked in, we handed out pieces of candy terrific going to tell you about my favorite rule. [inaudible] not quite sure he would be able to -- [indiscernible] his response to the strategies, he wrote a letter, a paragraph -- i wishetter states to tell you not only that you are loved, but that you are also needed. you helped to demonstrate the value and desires we all have. you are exercising your right. this has led me to believe through this work, i think he is the person to lead us into a new error. >> anybody for gabbard? >> amy klobuchar? i am chris and i am representing amy klobuchar's campaign. we all want to defeat donald trump in november. i firmly believe that amy klobuchar is the only candidate in the race who can actually do it. she has a proven track record of beating republicans. she has won the senate the multiple times. in the last election, see clips 42 counties that donald trump one in 2016. she knows how to work across the aisle, knows how to bring people with her, how to bring americans together and the only way we are going to bring democrats into the white house is if we win the midwest. she can win in minnesota, when in wisconsin and weight in michigan and when in ohio and iowa.ven thank you. [applause] >> who we have iowa. next -- could we have next -- who do we have next? .> bernie sanders >> hello and welcome to the political revolution. i see so many people in front of my eyes and we are all encouraging and all willing to defeat donald trump and we are all here today. what i'm telling you here today the one man to do that is bernie sanders. he has the progressive grassroots movement to bring the country up through the progressive society to make the american dream possible. a recently read article read that the prime minister of norway said the american dream is more people in nordic countries and i think we can that everybody should have their fight, equal pay for their future will be allowed. we have people fighting corporate billionaires fighting against us and we need to have a grassroots campaign to bring back the senate and stop donald trump from perverting our democracy. stier -- tom steyer? elizabeth warren? are we ready to make history? elizabeth warren has a plan to fight corruption, make big structural change and saturday last ceiling once and for all. universalget childcare, universal pre-k, spencer -- cancel student loan debt, provide free college tuition and to end gerrymandering, in citizens united once and for all. our democracy should not be for sale or anybody else and elizabeth warren has the phrase and energy to fight and win. we welcome you all to join elizabeth warren tonight. >> the last to be heard from is andrew yang. >> i'm here with the yang campaign. for theeen volunteering better half of the last year for discoveredgn and i yang in a contest and a longtime nobody knew who he was. i'm hoping by now all of you have a lease heard from whom he has and how he wants to put pocketn every americans at the age of 18. -- i havenk it is a been fighting for this from the very first day i heard it and i was not a democrat in the last are not thele and only one. i have met so many others like me that have been here knocking doors, volunteering. i have heard everyone say something about beating donald trump. as far as i can see, people across the aisles support yang and they have been doing that all across the whole state and have been doing it across the country. we have the liberal side of the party and we have the more traditional side of the party, but it is all about getting more money in the working-class and average people and getting more money in our pockets so we have the power. i hope you consider andrew yang tonight. >> before we go into preference groups, a couple of other things. primaries and general elections are paid for by county and the government. caucuses are paid for by the parties -- the county parties and the iowa democratic party's have to pay the expense to put the caucuses on and they have sent me envelopes to get you guys up for donation. i will send around the paul county democrat donations. i will go first and then we will deal with the iowa democratic party's. while we are doing these, i have a couple things i am supposed to read to the caucus as a whole and we will do that next. along.o pass these this is to be read with all of our groups. all public meetings and levels shall be open to all members of the democratic party regardless of race, sex, color, national , sexualidentity orientation, gender, economic status or disability. in order that the democratic party at all levels, which includes rather than a loose people from precipitation -- participation. discrimination on the basis of i wouldn the conduct of democratic party's is prohibited. also, as you wander out there, there are candidates need to and sign their petition mike franken running for u.s. a coupled there are others, so if you would like, petitionheir & the papers. this is a letter from roy price. dear i would democrats, welcome and thank you for attending your 2020 precinct caucus. tonight, we are joining solar democrats all across the state to organize and mobilize. as you gather tonight, i hope you take time to celebrate with each other the growing strength of our party and continue to make our party even better. there's no doubt we have our work cut out for us this year. that is why the work you are doing tonight is so important. this is the first step of building a strong grassroots organization that take our state and country into a new direction , but to do that, we must be united are you may have entered as one of our outstanding presidential candidate, but regardless of the outcome, we must all be united ready to fight for our values because together we can take back the iowa legislature. together, we can sweep all for congressional districts and put a democrat back in the senate. turn iowa bluen and take back the white house. the i would democratic party stands shoulder to shoulder with together,s fight and we will be able to celebrate in november, the brighter, progressive future that stands ahead of us. thank you for being part of this authority night in being a member of the iowa democratic party. thank you. you might figure out who is putting most of the bill. the county gave us three envelopes and we get one for the state. you want to pass this around if you can. as soon as we get these envelopes back, let's get to our preference groups. the heck with that, let's get into preference groups while these things are going around. it looks like from what i can tell, everybody has carved out their own area and i would like to have the captain of each candidate count the number in their group once you determine who is in your group and then i would like to have them come up it --ported best report it toport its -- report me and it better equal the number of people who are here. [laughter] >> are there any undecided people here? find each other and see if you have 50. [inaudible] >> we need to hear from the captains. first off, you need 50 people in your group to be viable. if you don't have that, i would look for your second choice right now. again?y do you have [inaudible] [indiscernible] [chatter] >> 62. did you get that? [applause] >> how many? you counted me, right? ok. ok, people. this is the time when you should fill in your side one of your preference card before we do a realignment. [chatter] >> if anybody needs extra pens, we've got them up here at the table at the front. [chatter] >> ok. cut this off. what? >> [inaudible] >> yes, go ahead. you added this up? anymore what? >> [inaudible] >> try that. ok. encountering up the totals for the people who have reported, looks like there are seven people out there that have not joined a group. [chanting] usa! usa! [chatter] ok, as it stands now, there are three groups that are viable. bernie sanders has 92 -- you have to have 50 people in your group to be viable. bernie sanders has 92. what? ok. ok. mayor pete has -- what did they say? 58. elizabeth has 66. [cheers and applause] >> this is the time for the second realignment. yang has 23. biden, 42. klobuchar, 44. you guys can figure out which way to go. toyou are not going to get 50 and you want to join a group that is, that is closest to what you are thinking, this is the it. to do this is the realignment time and we will do this in about 15 minutes and then take a recount. thank you. >> [inaudible chanting] >> [chanting] house. white warren, white house. >> [inaudible chanting] indiscernible chanting] [cheers] [indiscernible] >> it is the other people that can realign the ones for biden, klobuchar, or yang. >> also, we are still looking for one of the county blue envelopes for locations and we are looking for the state envelope. 22, 23, 24, 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 33, 30 4, 35. 36, 37, 38. 39. 40, 41, 42, 43. 46. [indiscernible] >> to more! more! >> one more! one more! >> i got you. >> 49? >> i don't think you got me counted. [chatter] >> [counting] 23, 20 four. did you raise your hand? 25, 26. 27. 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50. [cheers and applause] [chatter] go --don't want to don't leave yet. >> i'm not leaving. may i have my card? >> i just had a young man bring up his preference card. he has been given two instead of one. that changes the math on viability. 49 to bees from 50 to viable. [chatter] >> need to get the cards back to your attendees. if you're not going to be viable, you need to have a card when you go to the next stop. corrected, the viability is still 50. >> are we supposed to take our cards back? [indiscernible] >> 34? no, i don't have them all back. [inaudible] >> biden and klobuchar. as to where they are standing right now count was. -- count-wise. yes, 50. >> ok. are we not going to be viable? [inaudible] tell them that you don't have to switch. >> but you have to get your card back. >> you don't have to switch to a second preference. you can keep the same one. calm down. >> get out of here. >> hey, calm down. you should say that. i think people think they have to switch. he says you are taking them before he makes a decision. that's the problem. that's why they didn't make it clear. >> so is biden gone now? >> i don't know. >> people like me took the card and left. [chatter] >> ok, so there are 11 delegates. if we get about 15 more, we will get a third delegate. [inaudible] [cheers and applause] >> hey. if you guys don't want to realign, turn your card in right now. thiss why we are doing presidential preference card, to have a paper trail. other than that, i need an update as to the viable groups, who is viable and how many are in it to determine how many delegates they get to the county convention. stephanie? mathll need to do a little appear. -- up here. >> 96 for bernie right now. >> ok. i have to account for every one of these. you might want to call for her again, stephanie. stephanie? it is time to figure out the delegates. -- also ok. here are the cards here. are you taking off? >> no. >> he left. yes. ok. as the captains figure out how many are in their groups -- the numbers, and see how the delegates are going to shake out will move along. we will also be electing as a whole one member of the polk county platform committee and two alternatives. the platform committee meets february 8, 10:00 at the downtown library of 1000 grand. we will also be selecting one committee of the committee, and one member of the committee of the committees, and two alternates. also, the polk county central committee will have two central committee members and up to four alternates. the central committee meets the fourth monday of every month. , february 24 ig think is what i read. as soon as we get the counts will figureed, we out how many delegates you all can elect. whether you are viable or not, i need all the cards with your first choice on it, if you want to stick with your first choice. if you realign with your second choice, all the cards have to be accounted for. what are we doing here? ok. thank you. [chatter] >> anybody who came for yang, feel free to take all the murch -- merch you want. >> i had an extra. >> carry another one. thank you for all your work on the ground. appreciate it. >> what's that? [inaudible] [applause] >> they don't want to realign, they don't want to support anybody else. >> can you tell me your name and what you do? >> [indiscernible] i am a precinct captain. i am a volunteer here but i will move on to another state. >> where are you going? >> to nevada. >> thank you so much. >> we got updates from every viable candidate. what? >> we are still counting. 57?hat did you guys say was ok. you -- i can't hear you. i have a 96 now. ok.u let's figure out this math. >> one of my paychecks goes totally to daycare. >> so we can work another job. >> no, that is how it is. [indiscernible] group gets to elect how many delegates. the next portion of this would be when we would open it up to aople who want to propose plank to the county platform. time, i think that anybody who wrote up a proposed plank to the platform, that should be heard. i would like to suggest that anybody that wants to do that, to our platform, we will send them all to the county and let the county platform committee decide whether they want to do it. instead of having a back-and-forth discussion here. if that is ok with you guys? [applause] >> so moved. the question came up about these petition nomination forms. the nomination forms. i was asked, aren't they already on the ballot? didn't this happen to greenfield last time around, or something like that? you need so many signatures from across the state, in different counties, to actually be put on the ballot. it is important for you guys to sign these. we have a delegate count here now. mayor pete buttigieg is three delegates. what? >> he was not on there. >> ok. ok. elizabeth warren also gets three. [cheers and applause] sanders gives three with amy klobuchar getting to delegates. all. these delegates -- next level. these delegates are decided by the groups. elizabeth warren's group would figure out who their delegates are going to be. you have three of them? so, we need to get that done pretty quick and get those names up here. then we will move along. yeah, oh, i am sorry. i was asked if i could get the final counts by candidate. was 99. elizabeth warren came up with 76. [cheers and applause] buttigieg, 73. and amy klobuchar, 57. [moderate clapping] yeah, i need the cards. [chanting usa] we -- what are what's? i need to account for every one of those. 3, 4, yeah. we have to split it up somehow. for,re not going to get you are going to get three. the same with these guys. they have to go somewhere. that is how that works. no, no, no. >> i need the campaign cap vince to get with me what the names of their delegates. that has to be turned into the county. >> know because erin, maggie will see you on tv. >> peter and everyone is saying you are on fox. ing with me. >> who is? >> > peter redman. oops. >> what. >> yeah. >> we have alternates, but i encourage you to join if you would like. for thedo it march 23 county conventions. awesome. let's get moved up over there. we need to talk to the precinct chairman and get you guys some information. >> do i need to bring anything? >> one other thing. we need to bring the delegates to the county convention. number two, we need to at, as a as our platform committee member men. committee on the committee member. and our central committee members. does anybody want to do any of that? i am working on getting my delegates. >> i need them on this. good. i bet you get elected. >> [indiscernible] >> o god. yes? >> that can work. i got both. >> ok. you would know that, when into? -- that, wouldn't you? >> i was super aggravated last time. it was a chaotic nightmare. however, i did enjoy the [indiscernible] persuading. i think that is kind of the energy. >> it did seem a little more chaotic, but in an energizing way. that's what i was saying. that's it. ultimately [indiscernible] >> what? >> and you don't have to be on any committee. >> i guess we have all the stuff we need for this caucus. it's officially over. you got two of them? >> that is how a caucus works. this is in west des moines, iowa , valley high school. withifferent precincts upwards of 500 at each precinct. one in the auditorium and the other in a cafeteria, which is where we were this evening. we will continue to watch inside the cafeteria as they gather up and prepared to leave. those are the warren