The Iowa Photo: Campaign cycles

“2028 may be more than two and a half years away, but former Biden administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s town hall in Cedar Rapids definitely looked and felt like the beginning of the presidential campaign season,” observed Gazette photojournalist Nick Rohlman, who photographed the event. “Campaign coverage, like many things in life, can be described as ‘hurry up and wait.’ I took this photo while waiting for the doors to open to town hall attendees, partially to check the brightness and color of the light at various locations in the venue and partially to kill time. It shows the meticulous stage managing and event design that goes into campaign events, but the empty chairs are a reminder that in spite of the spectacle, the democratic process cannot begin before the arrival of the people.

“In 2018, I photographed a similar event in the exact same room at the Veteran’s Memorial Building. Then-former Vice President Joe Biden headlined an event featuring various candidates for Iowa state offices in that year’s midterm elections. That event marked the beginning of a season of campaign coverage for me that would eventually would end with Biden in the White House. Buttigieg may not be officially running for anything, at least not yet, and I have learned that political prognostication is an easy way to make a fool of yourself. But Tuesday had that same feeling of the beginning.”