Nineteen presidents-in-waiting will get five minutes apiece to address Iowa Democrats from a single stage on Sunday, seizing the chance to stand out from a pack of two dozen who want their party's nomination.
The front-runner is marching to his own cadence, however: Former Vice President Joe Biden doesn't plan to be in the eastern Iowa town of Cedar Rapids to lock horns with the other polling leaders.
Sunday's event, what political insiders describe as a 'cattle call,' is the first official one of its kind in the 2020 campaign season.
The high-profile audition comes as Democratic White House hopefuls are jockeying for position on abortion rights, economic inequality, global warming, health care, gun control and foreign policy, and hoping to catch a gust of populist wind in their sails.
They all agree that President Donald Trump can't be allowed to have a second term in office.
'I'm running for president because we can't take four more years of Donald Trump!' said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
Nineteen of the 24 declared Democratic presidential candidates descended on Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Sunday for the opportunity to speak to Iowa Democratic Party insiders for five minutes apiece
Former Vice Presidnet Joe Biden's absence was felt Sunday; he's trying to avoid sharing his front-runner status with his rivals by appearing with them
Dueling masses of humanity like this group of Kamala Harris supporters yelled slogans and beat tambourines outside the Cedar Rapids, Iowa convention center on Sunday
President Donald Trump awaits a challenger and has said he doesn't care who he faces in 2020, but Democrats are eager to make sure he doesn't get a second term in office
Trump, said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, is 'the most dangerous President of the United States in American history.' But he acknowledged the dynamic presence that has allowed Trump to monopolize the nation's attention on nearly every issue.
'We will not defeat Donald Trump unless we bring excitement and energy into this campaign,' he warned.
Pushing the bounds of his allotted five minutes, Sanders found himself in the role of a long-winded Oscar winner fighting 'play-off' music as he thanked the third tier of his helpmates.
His final plea to 'finally put an end to sexism, racism, homophpobia and religious bigotry' went largely unheard as music covered him.
California Sen. Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor, claimed Trump has committee a series of 'frauds,' including the 'identity fraud' of claiming to be the best president in a generation – when that distinction belongs to Barack Obama.
Trump 'has defrauded the American people,' she claimed, and 'we need to prosecute the case.'
'There's a rap sheet full of evidence,' Harris said.
Pete Buttigieg, the South Bend, Indiana mayor who hopes to be America's first openly gay president, spoke derisively of Trump's ability to maintain a grip on the nation's political attention.
'The
