Notable Quote of the Day

“Enter the biggest winner of this week. Not Trump, who seems incapable of just leaving a good news cycle well enough alone. And not Joe Biden, even though he got to skip giving a pep talk to sad-faced Iowa campaign workers and declare, ‘On to New Hampshire!’ And certainly not Mayor Pete, who may or may not have won the caucuses Monday night, but will never have the chance to come barreling out of the once-important state with a win under his belt and history in the books.

The real winner this week is former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has been lying in the tall grass of the later states, seeding each with money, TV and staff, waiting for the day Democrats take a look at their options and say, ‘Is this the best we can do?’ That day seems to be coming faster than anyone anticipated.”

– Patricia Murphy, Roll Call

Iowa Caucus Results

The Iowa Democratic Party released its first results from the caucuses in two batches on Tuesday following quality control issues. With 71 percent of precincts reporting, Pete Buttigieg

leads in state delegate equivalents and Bernie Sanders tops the final raw vote.

Democrats

• Michael Bennet, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren will be in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for the final vote in the impeachment trial.
• Bennet, Pete Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Deval Patrick, Andrew Yang, and Tom Steyer are speaking at the Youth Climate and Clean Energy Town Hall in New Hampshire on Wednesday.
• Arkansas House Minority Leader Fredrick Love endorsed Joe Biden on Tuesday. Unite the Country, a super PAC backing Biden, announced on Tuesday that it is launching a $900,000 television and digital ad campaign in New Hampshire.
• Michael Bloomberg began airing a new ad called “The Real State of the Union” on Tuesday ahead of the president’s address. It will run nationally on MSNBC, FOX, CNN, and other platforms. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo endorsed Bloomberg on Wednesday.
• Tulsi Gabbard is holding a protest in New Hampshire on Wednesday outside of the venue where a series of eight CNN town halls will be recorded. Gabbard said she did not receive an explanation for why she was not invited to the event.

Republicans

• In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, Donald Trump discussed the USMCA trade agreement, economy, Democratic Party, and assasination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
• In a series of tweets, Joe Walsh said on Tuesday that he did not believe Trump could be defeated in the Republican primary and that a new political party or movement needed to form for conservatives.
• Bill Weld will attend the Youth Climate and Clean Energy Town Hall in New Hampshire on Wednesday.

What We’re Reading

• National Review: Making Sense of the Iowa Debacle
• The New York Times: State of the Union Updates: Trump Adds Reality Show Flourishes to Address
• Roll Call: Trump State of the Union guests highlight reelection messaging

Flashback: February 5, 2016

Former NAACP President Ben Jealous endorsed Bernie Sanders.