Democrats Make Vow, No Matter Who Wins

In Iowa, party candidates call for unity
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 1, 2020 4:30 PM CST
Amid Tensions, Dems Focus on Unity
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., pets her dog Bailey following a campaign event Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020 in Urbandale, Iowa   (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Democratic presidential candidates promised voters in Iowa on Saturday they would unify the party to take on President Trump even as they kept up their criticism of each other and navigated the lingering divides from the 2016 campaign, the AP reports. "I'm confident Americans, Republican voters, Democratic voters and independent voters want us to come together," former Vice President Joe Biden said in North Liberty. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to make progress in the areas that matter most." In Cedar Rapids, Mass., Sen. Elizabeth Warren updated her stump speech to include a more explicit call for unity. "We're down to the final strokes here," she said. "But we understand that, we will and we must come together as a party to beat Donald Trump and I’ve got a plan for that."

And Bernie Sanders insisted he would back the ultimate Democratic nominee even if it's not him. "Let me say this so there’s no misunderstanding," the Vermont senator said in Indianola. "If we do not win, we will support the winner and I know that every other candidate will do the same." On the eve of Monday's Iowa caucuses, the unity pledges marked an early—and urgent—effort to avoid the divides that some Democrats say helped Trump win the presidency in 2016. After a year of campaigning, most polls show a tight race between Biden, Warren, Sanders, and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Those candidates, along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Andrew Yang, crisscrossed Iowa on Saturday seeking a breakout victory in the Democratic race.

(More Election 2020 stories.)

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