Thread by @ErinDMurphy

3 hours until the @iowawingding starts and this is the scene outside. #iacaucus

.@GovernorBullock joining the pre- @iowawingding festivities. #iacaucus

.@CoryBooker rallying the troops pre- @iowawingding. “We are going to unite the country.” #iacaucus

.@BilldeBlasio has arrived to the @iowawingding, seen here chatting with newly minted #ia04 candidate @JDScholten. #iacaucus

The campaigns and some of the candidates are now gathering for a moment of silence in honor of the recent mass shooting victims. This moment was organized by the @BetoORourke campaign. O’Rourke canceled his Iowa appearances this weekend to remain in his native Texas.

Here are the candidates gathered for this moment of silence as #ialegis Rep. @akoabdulsamad speaks. #iacaucus

Just in the interest of fairness/full disclosure, @PeteButtigieg is in that photo (his account doesn’t allow tags) and @marwilliamson came in after I snapped the pic.

Here’s a pano shot just before this moment of silence. #iacaucus

The @iowawingding has started and I can't see the first #iacaucus candidate speaking because @BilldeBlasio is standing in front of me in a backed-up line of people.

Hello, I'm Erin Murphy and I cover #iapolitics.

Woah. Take such an observation FWIW, but @PeteButtigieg was just introduced at the @iowawingding, and he got what was, by far, the most vocal reception of the evening thus far.

Plenty of big-name candidates still to take the stage tonight, but my goodness @PeteButtigieg just rocked this @iowawingding crowd. #iacaucus

A video from @BetoORourke plays. O'Rourke canceled his Iowa events this weekend, including the @iowawingding, to remain in his native Texas in the aftermath of the mass shooting in El Paso. The woman next to me says she has a lot of respect for O'Rourke for doing that. #iacaucus

@BetoORourke @iowawingding .@CoryBooker at the @iowawingding: "This is not a referendum on one guy and one office. This is a referendum on us and who are we going to be to each other. This is one of those moral moments in our nation that’s going to define the character of our country." #iacaucus

.@CoryBooker with a strong, well-received close to his @iowawingding remarks, saying Americans must come together, stand together, work together "and overcome (Trump's) darkness with our light. This is the call of our country and it is time for the USA to rise again." #iacaucus

@CoryBooker @iowawingding I bring to you now the best news of the night: the program is running more than a half-hour ahead of schedule.

@iowawingding #iacaucus

It only takes the intro song "9 to 5" to spark a big ovation for @ewarren before she even takes the @iowawingding stage. #iacaucus

@ewarren @iowawingding I'm sorry, what I meant to tweet was ...

BAH GAWD, THAT'S @ewarren's MUSIC!!!

@ewarren @iowawingding Big cheers for @ewarren's @iowawingding close: "We've had enough of an America where the government works better and better and better for a thinner and thinner slice at the top. 2020 is our chance. We can make this government work for all of America." #iacaucus