A parade of 13 Democratic presidential hopefuls vowed on Friday to oust Republican Donald Trump from the White House in 2020, promising a raucous crowd in Iowa they would lead the fight to fulfill longtime party goals like ending income inequality and providing universal healthcare, reports Trend referring to Reuters.
Standing alone on a podium-free stage in the middle of a basketball arena, the candidates urged more than 12,000 roaring Democrats to think about what kind of candidate they want to lead the party in the November 2020 election.
“Fear and complacency does not win elections. Hope and courage wins elections,” U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren told the Democrats at the party’s newly renamed Liberty and Justice Celebration, touting her ability to deliver on “big structural change.”
The fund-raising dinner, a rite of passage in the state that kicks off the White House race and at times a launching pad for successful candidates, came as Warren moved to the top of some polls in Iowa, passing former Vice President Joe Biden.
Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders are also battling for the top in polls in Iowa, which kicks off the race to find a Democratic challenger to Trump on Feb. 3.
Warren, under fire from critics for failing to explain how she would pay for her government-run Medicare for All plan, unveiled details earlier in the day of a $20.5 trillion plan she said would not require raising middle-class taxes “one penny.”
Biden indirectly cast doubt on that idea, touting his rival proposal to build on President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act with a government-run option. He added pointedly he would do it “without taxing the middle class.”
Buttigieg plugged his “Medicare for All Who Want It” plan, which would make a government-run plan available, and said it would be “your decision” whether to use it.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar said Democrats need to choose a nominee with broad appeal who can “bring in independents, and yes, even a few moderate Republicans.”
Warren, a leader of the party’s progressive wing, criticized candidates who “nibble around the edges” and said they would not be able to win the White House.
“Anyone who comes on this stage and tells you to dream small and give up early is not going to lead our party to victory,” she said.