DES MOINES, Iowa — It was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
An attentive, note-taking crowd of about two-dozen undecided Democrats barely made a peep, of approval or disgust, as 10 presidential contenders made a pitch for their vote on Night One of the first round of Democratic debates.
Juxtaposed against the hoots and hollers from the audience in Miami that punctuated nearly every answer from the candidates on stage, this virtual silence underscored just how unsure many caucusgoers are about whom to support in the party’s 2020 primary.
“Everyone’s really interested in hearing what they have to say. We’re still trying to make our choices,” said Lu Ann Pedrick, a middle-aged data analyst for a healthcare company. “We’re interested in these debates to see if somebody’s going to break out or if they’re going to say something strange.”
The Democratic Party of Polk County, an urban and suburban liberal stronghold and a major population center, hosted its inaugural debate watch party for undecided voters, reflecting the unusually deep indecisiveness of potential caucusgoers as they try to sift through the nearly two dozen candidates seeking their party’s presidential nomination.
They filled a conference room in a nondescript office building, with voters remaining in their seats until the whistle blew ending the proceedings. Little was resolved, with many voters expressing the same dilemma they had at the starting bell: Whether completely undecided or leaning toward a few in the field, questions about which contender to back persisted still.
“I like all of them, but you know, it’s hard,” Jeannie McCrea, 62, said, as the debate was drawing to a close. Like most in the room, McCrea was hard-pressed to pick a winner or loser.
The room occasionally nodded in approval, although not in a way that suggested a particular candidate either elevated or tanked their prospects in Iowa, host of the first nominating contest on the 2020 calendar. Still, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts earned some kudos for her command of the first half of the debate.
“She’s as good as any of them. She’s answered the questions pretty well in my mind,” Bob Raker, 65, said, adding that he’s formed a “short list” of about half-dozen candidates comprised of the U.S. senators and governors in the race.
Sean Bagniewski, the Polk County Democratic chairman, said it’s unusual, even at this early stage of the campaign, for Iowa Democrats to be as undecided as they are about their presidential field. But he said voters are struggling with who they believe is in the best position to oust President Trump.
Strategically, they’re playing a game of political chess, trying to figure out not just who they believe can beat Trump, but who among the contenders is most likely to motivate robust turnout among their fellow Democrats and assemble the sort of broad coalition needed to defeat the president in the heartland and Florida, where the 2020 contest is likely to be decided.
“They have their own favorites,” Bagniewski said. “But you’re seeing it where people are actually talking about who they think their peers in the Democratic Party like.”
