Iowa congresswoman endorsing Joe Biden's presidential bid

[UncleNoel]

BILL BARROW,Associated Press•January 2, 2020
https://www.yahoo.com/news/iowa-congresswoman-endorsing-joe-bidens-105512906.html

snip//

Joe Biden has landed a high-profile endorsement for his presidential bid as Rep. Abby Finkenauer becomes the first member of the Iowa congressional delegation to take sides in the Democratic nominating contest.

Finkenauer, a first-term House member from a district Donald Trump won in 2016, will campaign with Biden this weekend, with less than four weeks to go before the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses that lead off Democrats' 2020 voting.

The congresswoman said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of Thursday's announcement that the former vice president's experience, his proposals on infrastructure and other economic matters and his appeal to a wide range of voters make him the ideal Democrat to take on Trump.

“We need somebody at the top who can lead from the White House, someone who’s willing to unite not just Democrats but the country,” Finkenauer said. “There are days where I swear Democrats and Republicans are speaking different languages, and there’s no translator. ... (Biden) is the translator.”

More good stuff in the article.

Not everyone sees Biden's broad outreach as disqualifying!

The congresswoman is scheduled to appear alongside Biden in at least eight cities and towns as part of a 10-county, five-day Iowa tour that begins Thursday. It won't be their first pairing; Finkenauer was among the dozens of Democratic House candidates Biden campaigned for ahead of the 2018 midterms.

Her potential influence, even as a freshman, was on display in November, when nine presidential candidates visited her northeastern Iowa district for a forum she co-sponsored with labor groups. That slate included the four candidates — Biden, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont — who polls suggest are the top contenders in Iowa.

Finkenauer did not frame her support for Biden as a rejection of his rivals, saying she's "not going to speak to what’s going to win votes and what’s not.” Yet her explanation aligns with Biden's argument that a center-left approach, coupled with his record as a senator and vice president, makes him Democrats' best option in a general election.

[brooklynite]

1. Yes, but I'm reliably informed that anything from Iowa in unrepresentative...

[UncleNoel]

2. LOL!

Unrepresentative, but important nonetheless.

[MontanaFarmer]

5. Lol. Love this comment.

I've heard from reliable sources that while America as a whole indeed IS the multicultural melting pot we all love, large swaths of it are not. Northeast Iowa represents a slice of America Democrats still need to speak to to win elections. Agriculture, labor, technology, renewable energy. A place Barack Obama certainly didn't ignore when winning Iowa twice.

[samnsara]

3. great news.. thanks for posting.

[Peacetrain]

4. Thank You Abby,.. so proud to have you as my representative!!!

After so many years of having Steve King on the other side of the state.. one of the great upsides of our move was getting Abby. I now live in the great blueberry that floats in the tomato soup of Iowa. And let me tell you folks, having Abby Finkenauer as a endorsement is as good as it gets for me as a liberal Iowan. This is great

[Cha]

9. That's very cool.. your Rep, Abby Finkenauer

is endorsing Joe Biden, Peacetrain!

[DownriverDem]

6. All that matters

is for our candidate to win enough states to beat trump. Maybe if folks focused on that they would support the winner.

[Gothmog]

7. Thanks @RepFinkenauer for standing behind the next POTUS!

Link to tweet

[Cha]

10. Thanks for the tweet of this, Goth!

[oasis]

8. This is huge!

thanks Abby F.

[Skidmore]

11. She's my Rep.

Love her. She replaced Republican jerk who would only meet with his big donors.

[highplainsdem]

12. K&R!

[Hortensis]

13. :) Abby Finkenauer's one of our freshman class of 2019.

She was a House page in 2006, and a Biden volunteer when he ran in 2007. She was 29 when she ran and was elected to congress, flipping a Republican-held seat 50-45%. And now she's a liberal Democratic member of congress herself, working with her colleagues to create legislation that serves the people.

A happy story. The way it's supposed to be.

Link to tweet

[R B Garr]

16. Great info, Hortensis!

Thanks for posting.

[RandySF]

14. Biden was there for her in 2018.

Possibly the only national Dem to show up.

[R B Garr]

15. Nice!

Biden works hard for Democrats and is well liked within the party.

[Gothmog]

17. Rep. @Abby4Iowa introducing @JoeBiden as the "next president of the United States"

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

18. How Biden stopped his Iowa tailspin

Link to tweet

He launched a successful, eight-day bus tour through rural Iowa last month that sparked an uptick in volunteers, precinct captain requests and caucus commitments. He doubled his fundraising in the last quarter, allowing him to flood the state’s airwaves with ads.

This week, Biden’s Iowa fortunes picked up again when he landed perhaps the most influential Iowa endorsement to date — Rep. Abby Finkenauer, the second youngest person ever elected to Congress. That followed on the heels of endorsement from two other influential state Democrats — Tom Vilsack, a former governor and U.S. secretary of Agriculture, and his wife, Christie — and a well-timed cash infusion in TV ads from a pro-Biden superPAC.

Biden’s rebound comes amid a concentrated effort here. From Nov. 30 through this weekend, Biden will have spent 16 days in Iowa. By caucus day, he will have spent $4 million in integrated paid media, including broadcast TV, cable, Hulu, and social media.

The former vice president is on a second extended bus tour now — and the campaign just announced a separate surrogate bus tour next week with former Secretary of State John Kerry, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and various federal and state lawmakers from across the country.