Top Iowa Democrats say Joe Biden has done everything wrong in the state

Joe Biden is far from inevitable, especially in Iowa.
While other candidates doubled down in the early-caucus state immediately after joining the 2020 race, Biden didn't enter the fray until April, after most top Iowa hires were already picked up. That, along with a host of other mistakes, could cost the former vice president Iowa if he doesn't shape up, 11 top state Democrats tell Bloomberg.
Biden may have hopped into the 2020 competition and immediately claimed first place, but that hasn't held up as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has taken the lead in the state. Top Democrats attribute the fall to Biden's reliance on big-dollar fundraisers. Instead of spending time with voters who "expect to meet candidates face-to-face," Biden is "criss-crossing the country," only spending three days of September in Iowa, Bloomberg writes. It all leaves Biden risking "a humiliating third or fourth-place finish in Iowa early next year," the top Democrats tell Bloomberg.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That's not to say losing Iowa will cost Biden the entire race, seeing as he'll almost certainly win South Carolina not long after. But it would severely damage his frontrunner reputation and "would slice into his chief argument — that he's best suited" to beat President Trump, Bloomberg writes.
In a statement, Biden's team says the former vice president has 70 endorsements and more on the way, and that his wife Jill Biden and other pro-Biden officials are campaigning strongly on his behalf. Read more at Bloomberg.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Why some people remember dreams and others don't
Under The Radar Age, attitude and weather all play a part in dream recall
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Week contest: Hotel seal
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
New FBI Director Kash Patel could profit heavily from foreign interests
The Explainer Patel holds more than $1 million in Chinese fashion company Shein
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Trump seeks to end New York's congestion pricing
Speed Read The MTA quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump officials try to reverse DOGE-led firings
Speed Read Mass firings by Elon Musk's team have included employees working on the H5N1 bird flu epidemic and US nuclear weapons programs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump blames Ukraine for war after US-Russia talks
Speed Read The US and Russia have agreed to work together on ending the Ukraine war — but President Trump has flipped America's approach
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to IRS, Social Security files
Speed Read If cleared, the Department of Government Efficiency would have access to tax returns, bank records and other highly personal information about most Americans
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretary
Speed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffs
Speed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Top US prosecutors resign rather than drop Adams case
speed read The interim US attorney for the Southern District and five senior Justice Department officials quit following an order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms Gabbard as intelligence chief
Speed Read The controversial former Democratic lawmaker, now Trump loyalist, was sworn in as director of national intelligence
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published