With Elizabeth Warren Visit, Iowans Get the First Taste of 2020: 'I'm Ready to Be Convinced'

Ben Miller, a 21-year-old student at Iowa State University, said he wants to vote for an economic populist, and if Sen. Bernie Sanders runs again it will be a “tough choice” between him and Warren. Charles Miller, Ben’s father, said he expects to vote for Warren but is also intrigued by a Democrat who could be described as her ideological opposite: Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.

“As Democrats, we haven’t seen a big field like this in a long time,” said the elder Miller, a 47-year-old resident of Ankeny, Iowa. “And as long as they keep it positive, as long as there’s no personal attacks and they just share their views, it’s going to be a good thing.”

“I’m ready to be convinced.”

Such is the mood of Iowa Democrats, who are currently feeling somewhat spoiled after a visit by Warren over the weekend — more than a year before a single vote is cast in the state’s caucuses — unofficially kicked off the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. The party’s 2016 primary was defined by rigid and bitter lanes of Hillary Clinton and Sanders, but as the 2020 nomination process begins, the state’s voters are giddy at the prospect of a crowded field that could feature more than a dozen candidates across the ideological spectrum.

Angry at Wall Street? There’s Warren, the longtime critic of unrestrained markets and big corporations, but also Sanders or Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who are both mulling presidential runs. Those eager for a female candidate may be able to choose between Sen. Kamala Harris of California, who is expected to announce a presidential campaign this month, and other potential candidates, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Warren of Massachusetts. At least five of the expected major candidates will support liberal wish-list policies such as Medicare for All.

“There’s no magic formula,” said Kipp, 39, who brought her daughter to a rally for Warren in Des Moines on Saturday. “You can’t know what Trump will do or say. We need to find someone that inspires” Democrats.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.