It's a time-honored tradition for Iowans to hear from the men or women for whom they'll caucus in February.
Friday's events began with Julian Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and Obama cabinet member.
.@JulianCastro “I’m convinced our nation is destined to be the smartest, healthiest, fairest, most prosperous on Earth.” #abc13eyewitness pic.twitter.com/GRKPIeNwbe
— Tom Abrahams (@TomAbrahams13) August 9, 2019
"If I'm elected president, then I will keep my eye on the ball and I will work hard every single day," said Castro.
Castro is a more traditional candidate. Andrew Yang is not.
“I was an unhappy attorney for five months. I know you could automate that job”—@AndrewYang on the threat of automation taking away good paying jobs. #abc13eyewitness pic.twitter.com/sGfywf8zZv
— Tom Abrahams (@TomAbrahams13) August 9, 2019
"There's an Asian man running for president who wants to give everyone $1,000 a month, right?" said Yang.
The entrepreneur with no political experience is calling for a freedom dividend, which would pay every American citizen $1,000 a month.
He just qualified for the Houston debate, only the 9th among two dozen candidates.
Democrat presidential candidate @AndrewYang on the Soapbox at the @IowaStateFair pic.twitter.com/YC9Gkkdpno
— Tom Abrahams (@TomAbrahams13) August 9, 2019
"We raised over a million dollars in the days after the last debate and that was with less airtime than other candidates," said Yang. "So, if you do the math, if we get twice as much airtime, we're going to raise twice as much money."
Houston native and New York Times best-selling author Marianne Williamson isn't a politician either. She wants to create what she calls disruptive change in Washington.
.@marwilliamson “Democracy is radical. We need a disruptive force to change corrupt systems.” pic.twitter.com/mYJx0F18vU
— Tom Abrahams (@TomAbrahams13) August 9, 2019
"I believe our politics itself is not the conduit for the energies we need to be expressing in order to move to the next phase of our history," said Williamson.
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