This afternoon ten of the Democratic Party candidates for President spoke in turn to a crowd of over 1100 individuals gathered at the NewBo City Market (a town square/small business development project) in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Two additional candidates were also scheduled to speak but were not able to appear due to other circumstances (a delayed flight for one, a power outage in his city for another). The event was sponsored by Progress, Iowa.

The venue opened at noon, with the candidate speeches starting at 1:30 p.m. The sky was partly cloudy, with the temperature in the mid 90s. Spots in the shade were at a premium. There were periodic announcements over the sound system reminding everyone to hydrate.

In the period before the speeches candidate’s campaigns and various interest groups had information tents/tables around the venue. The vendors inside the NewBo City Market had a variety of food and drink available for purchase.

Each of the candidates was introduced before their scheduled speaking time slot and was allocated around ten minutes for their remarks. The event did not run over time.

At the press gaggle inside the market, immediately after speaking:

The candidate speeches (more on that later) highlighted each candidate’s messages and experience, and also reinforced the reality that they all agree on issues much more than they disagree. And, of course, they all agree, Donald Trump must not be reelected in 2020.