Jeff Merkley in Iowa. Update on 2020.

He is doing what people do when they are running for president.

Merkley in Medford

Maybe running. Looking at it.

The first step in running for president is exploring a run for president, and it is done in Iowa and New Hampshire and seeing what kind of response one gets.

Oregon's Jeff Merkley is attending events in Iowa. He presents himself not just as the alternative to Trump but as the opposite of Trump.

Jeff Merkely has his niche and he is exploring whether that niche is what the times and circumstances want. Jeff is an unabashed progressive, with political positions generally consistent with the most progressive in the U.S. Senate, alongside Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. 

Merkely's differentiation is primarily one of manner and style. Jeff is blue jeans and a North Face vest. He is the anti-charisma candidate--a style that has its own form of low key appeal, one captured by Frank Capra's Hollywood in the character of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life. Jeff Merkley is soft spoken and earnest--the opposite of Trump.

We have been seeing Merkley on cable news off and on for a couple of years, but more often now. He caught national attention when he was turned away from inspecting a holding facility at the border where children were held separately from their parents.

Merkley's travel to Iowa isn't a secret, but I haven't been reading much about it either. It is visible in Iowa. He has been there 8 times, starting in September, 2017, when he headlined a Progress Iowa Corn Feed in Des Moines.

He was there for three days in June of this year, speaking at fundraisers in Iowa City, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. 

He was back in July for two days, speaking at fundraisers in Des Moines, Fairfield, Cedar Rapids, and Davenport. 

He headlined a Flip It Iowa event in August. 

He was there twice in September helping Iowa candidates and speaking at a Polk County, Iowa Steak Fry.  

John Delaney

He made two trips in October, for a total of four days. He met with
college Democrats, spoke at fundraisers, and helped campaigns.

Jeff Merkely is the most active member of the US senate in Iowa, but three other potential candidates have appeared more often than him.. 

John Delaney, a Maryland congressman has been there 18 times. He has openly announced that he is running for President in 2020. His district represents western Maryland, the outer exurbs of Washington, DC, which had previously been represented by a Republican. He founded two companies, one of which is traded on the NYSE. He is all in, having both announced his run for president and announced he would not run for re-election this year. He has a negligible national reputation.

He has been in Iowa for 35 days, and like Merkley, has spoken at fundraisers, met potential volunteers, done door knocking, in a wide array of locations. His trips there include swings through county after county so in August of this year he completed the "99 County Tour." Appearing in all 99 Iowa counties was a big talking point for Ted Cruz back in 2015. Cruz won the Iowa caucuses.

Eric Swalwell

Eric Swalwell has been there 12 times. Readers who watch cable TV know Swalwell.  He is turning 38 years old, has movie star good looks and his multiple appearances on TV have given him visibility. He is on the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, which has given him opportunity to represent Democratic positions in opposition to Trump. He represents the East Bay area of California--Fremont, Union City, Hayward.  Swalwell's
events have a higher profile than do Delaney's. Swalwell headlines events: a Future Forum, a Wing Ding Dinner, a Summer Sizzler fundraiser.

Martin O'Malley, the former governor of Maryland, has been there 9 times.  This is his second run for president. He was one of five Democrats who I saw speak at a convention of Democrats in New Hampshire in 2015. His campaign then was steamrolled by the Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaigns. His positions were generally progressive left Democratic but they never got noticed. Bernie had his crowds; Hillary had the inertia of four decades of work and network.

O'Malley started very early, having made his first appearance in Iowa in December of 2016, immediately after the 2016 election and before Trump's inauguration. He made appearances in January and March of 2017 campaigning in special elections for Iowa candidates, and he stepped up his appearances this summer.

More: Bernie Sanders has been in Iowa 4 times, as has been Montana Governor Steve Bullock, and Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii Congressperson. Tom Steyer, a billionaire activist, has been there 3 times.

Iowa's caucus system emphasizes the power of political activists. Politicians need to motivate highly motivated people who organize, county by county, meetings of other motivated people who show up physically to be counted. So far Merkley has not developed "star power," that elusive quality that causes people to show up in excited crowds, but Iowa's system is uniquely suited for a candidate whose appeal might show up best in small, one-on-one conversations.  Jimmy Carter in 1975 went from near-invisibility to front-runner by way of the Iowa caucuses. His low key earnest message--I won't lie to you--caught the tenor of the times in the aftermath of Watergate.

We will see if this is Merkley's time. Watch this space.