Notable Quote of the Day

“Obama’s ground game in the 2008 Iowa caucuses was particularly comprehensive — he opened local offices in small towns and rural counties across the state, in addition to the bigger cities — and essential to his eventual victory. Field offices can be crucial in the caucuses: They act as points of coordination for get-out-the-vote activities such as door-knocking and phone calls, which are proven ways to turn out voters.

But the 2020 campaigns, despite some robust field organizations, are not following Obama’s lead in Iowa. Their field office footprint is much smaller: Warren and Biden currently have 24 offices each, the most of any campaign, according to my data. And there are 10 counties in which Obama had an office, but the four front-runners in Iowa — Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren — do not. Based purely on the number and location of field offices, there is little daylight between the top four candidates, and none appear to have a distinctive field strategy.”

– Joshua Darr, FiveThirtyEight

Democrats

• Michael Bennet and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) proposed creating a new child tax credit of $2,500 that would be fully refundable, regardless of income, up to the first $1,500.

• The Delaware congressional delegation is hosting a fundraiser for Joe Biden on Tuesday.

• Michael Bloomberg is planning to keep campaign staff on the ground in battleground states for the general election, regardless if he wins the Democratic nomination.

• Cory Booker introduced the Farm System Reform Act of 2019 on Monday, which would place a moratorium on new and expanding large concentrated animal feeding operations.

• Pete Buttigieg is attending fundraisers in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood on Tuesday. Along with Amy Klobuchar, Buttigieg is also attending a Democratic National Committee gala.

• John Delaney posted his LGBT policy plan, which includes passing the Equality Act and prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations.

• Tulsi Gabbard and Deval Patrick spoke at the Unite for Mental Health town hall in New Hampshire on Monday.

• Bernie Sanders tweeted a list of companies that paid no federal income tax in 2018.

• Tom Steyer is hosting a youth virtual town hall in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

• Elizabeth Warren campaigned in Iowa on Monday, where she discussed her plan for Medicare.

• Marianne Williamson discussed arts advocacy in a podcast with Ben Folds.

• Andrew Yang issued his healthcare plan on Monday, which would increase access to telehealth services, lower pharmaceutical costs, and reduce the influence of lobbyists on healthcare policy.

Republicans

• Donald Trump raised more than $10 million since last week, according to campaign manager Brad Parscale. 

• Republicans critical of Trump—Steve Schmidt, John Weaver, Jennifer Horn, Rick Wilson, and George Conway—have launched a new super PAC called the Lincoln Project to convince conservative voters to reject Trump. 

• Joe Walsh and Bill Weld spoke at the Unite for Mental Health town hall in New Hampshire on Monday.

Flashback: December 17, 2015

FiveThirtyEight reported on Marco Rubio’s campaign strategy in Iowa, including establishing only one office in the state in a Des Moines suburb.