DES MOINES, Iowa— Pete Buttigieg pushed his supporters to “astonish the political world” at a field office Monday morning. Joe Biden brought boxes of pizza for his volunteers. And Andrew Yang, through bursts of laughter, told his backers to physically drag undecided Democrats to his side.
Meanwhile, three other top Democratic presidential contenders—Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar—were more than 1,000 miles away in Washington, D.C., for impeachment proceedings just hours before Iowans made their final decisions in caucuses that marked the first 2020 nominating contest.
After nearly 60 Democratic presidential-campaign events across the state over the past three days alone—in breweries, high-school gyms, coffee shops and arenas—it was decision time Monday for many still-undecided Democrats. Though the big rallies were over, campaign volunteers were using the last few hours to make the case for their candidates through door knocks, calls and texts.
At a West Des Moines field office for Mr. Buttigieg, organizers were trading advice on how to win over caucus-goers who were still mulling their choices.
Anthony Elarth, a training captain for the 38-year-old former South Bend, Ind., mayor’s campaign, told volunteers to reinforce the need for “a new generation of leadership.”
Mr. Buttigieg urged Mr. Elarth and others in the packed office to imagine “that famous day the sun comes up and Donald Trump is no longer president,” as he frequently tells crowds at his campaign events.
“I’m looking to you and I’m counting on you to put us over the top,” he told his supporters in the office.
Richard Rarick, a retired architect from Des Moines, was one of the undecided Democrats who said he would make his final pick at the caucus site. Mr. Rarick, who stopped by Mr. Buttigieg’s field office Monday, said he liked that the former mayor was “young, enthusiastic and motivated,” but added that he was leaning toward Mr. Sanders.
What to Watch
- The caucuses start at 7 p.m. local time (8 EST). The outcome will depend on many variables, including second choices.
- Candidates that don’t reach a 15% threshold of voters in the first round of balloting will be deemed not viable in that precinct. Their supporters are then free to move to a new candidate in the second and final round.
- The Associated Press will call the race according to the results of the state delegate equivalents based on the second round.
- A winner could be declared by 11 p.m. EST.
Carrying boxes of pizza, Mr. Biden rode his campaign bus to a field office in Des Moines, where a sign posted to the front door declared, “It’s game time! Let’s get Joe elected!”
“I’m feeling good about today,” the former vice president told a group of volunteers and campaign workers, as he thanked them for their work. “We gotta get folks out.”
Inside the office, Mr. Biden, who was joined by his wife, Jill, and some of his grandchildren, wore his trademark aviator sunglasses that have become a logo for his campaign. Paper cutouts of the sunglasses with “2020” in the lenses are often plastered on walls at his events.
Still in the Senate for impeachment proceedings, the senators in the presidential race weren’t expected to return to Iowa until Monday evening. But Ms. Warren, of Massachusetts, hosted a virtual town hall by telephone—also known as a “tele town hall”—from Washington. More than 50,000 callers joined, according to a campaign aide.
Before heading to Washington Sunday night, Ms. Klobuchar, of Minnesota, and Mr. Sanders, of Vermont, stopped by Super Bowl watch parties to motivate their supporters one more time.
Mr. Sanders, who was in an unusually cheerful mood during the final campaigning sprint, joked with supporters, who wore campaign stickers and waved signs. He thanked them for their “hospitality and for the seriousness in which the people of this state accept their responsibility as the first people who will be voting in the 2020 election.”
A few miles away, Ms. Klobuchar told her supporters—some of whom wore circular, bright green earrings with “Amy” on them—to “double down” on her behalf while she is at work in the Senate. Some of her backers sported T-shirts that listed Ms. Klobuchar’s electability argument on the back and carried signs with her campaign slogan, “Win Big.”
“I’m asking you to run for me, just like those guys running down the field,” the senator said at a barbecue restaurant with the football game playing on TV screens in the background.
“I’m asking you to take this over the goal post for me.”
—Sabrina Siddiqui, Ken Thomas, Eliza Collins and Joshua Jamerson contributed to this article.
Write to Tarini Parti at Tarini.Parti@wsj.com
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