Joe Biden’s campaign said Iowa is not a must-win state on the former vice president’s path to the Democratic presidential nomination and signaled that the campaign is already “ramping up” its Super Tuesday efforts, Politico reports.

Said the adviser: “Do I think we have to win Iowa? No… We think we’re going to win. We think it’s going to be a dogfight…. But we think there are several candidates in this field, there’s probably three or four, that are going to go awhile.”

NBC News: “First, it was Kamala Harris. Then, Joe Biden. Now, Pete Buttigieg.”

“All three are suddenly running ads on the air in Iowa, signaling both a new, quicker pace in the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and what Democratic insiders say is a need to check the formidable ground game of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.”

A new Iowa Starting Line-Change Research poll shows Elizabeth Warren opening up a commanding lead in the Iowa Caucus with 28%, followed by Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders at 17% each.

They are followed by Pete Buttigieg at 13%, Kamala Harris at 8%, Cory Booker at 3% and Beto O’Rourke at 3%.

“The horserace numbers reflect a shake-up that those of us on the ground in Iowa have been seeing for a while.”

A new Monmouth poll in Iowa finds Joe Biden leading the Democratic field with 28%, followed by Elizabeth Warren at 19%, Kamala Harris at 11%, Bernie Sanders at 9% and Pete Buttigieg at 8%.

Other candidates who register at least 2% in the poll include Amy Klobuchar at 3%, Tom Steyer at 3%, Kirsten Gillibrand at 2% and Andrew Yang at 2%.  The remaining 15 candidates included in the poll each earn 1% or less.

Of particular note, Beto O’Rourke, who had 6% support in April, registers less than 1% in the current poll.

Bloomberg: “An elected Democratic official in the state, speaking on condition of anonymity, complained that if Biden has a campaign in Iowa, he doesn’t know who’s working on it or how many.”

“In contrast, Elizabeth Warren, who jumped into the race four months before the former vice president, has built one of the most robust operations in the state, positioning her to capitalize on her surging national poll numbers and her steady rise in Iowa, Democratic operatives say.”

“The presidential candidate speed dating here in the state that will start balloting for the nomination in less than eight months showcased the challenges of managing the vast Democratic field,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The Iowa Democratic Party’s Hall of Fame fundraiser, which on Sunday attracted 19 of the 23 Democrats competing to challenge President Trump, offered a preview of the first candidate debates in Miami over two nights later this month. The challenges were clear: limited time to make pitches and the struggle to stand out in a crowd.”

Said Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH): “It’s been a pleasure speed dating with you tonight.”

“Marianne Williamson, author, lecturer and a Democrat running for president, grew up in Houston and has lived in Los Angeles and New York, but now she lives in Iowa,” the Gazette reports.

“Brent Roske, Williamson’s state director, said his boss signed a lease on a Des Moines condo and moved ‘her stuff’ there earlier this spring.”

Politico: “They’re shutting down the conspiracy theorists at local meetings who continue to insist the 2016 caucus outcome was rigged for Clinton. They’re holding back on candidate endorsements in the hopes of avoiding conflict. They’re even encouraging the individual candidates to save the aggression for the general election, while going so far as to hold social events to help rival Democratic campaign staffers build a rapport.”

“By exerting subtle but persistent pressure on the campaigns to remain respectful to each other, Iowa officials are aiming to keep Democrats focused on the prize — defeating Donald Trump — rather than risk a repeat of a destructive cycle three years ago that ultimately hobbled the party as it moved toward November.”

The Des Moines Register looked at the questions asked of Democratic presidential candidates at events across Iowa last month.

“Health care, climate change and education were asked about most and accounted for roughly a quarter of all questions asked in April.”

“Cable news staple topics, like Russia and presidential impeachment, rarely were brought up — just a couple of times.”

“The tradition-bound Iowa caucuses are set to allow some online voting next year and among the likely beneficiaries are older voters, who’ll press candidates to focus on issues such as prescription drug prices, Social Security and Medicare,” Bloomberg reports.

“Boosted participation by those 65 and older — a demographic that already accounts for more than a quarter of the Democratic turnout in the caucuses — could provide even more incentive for presidential hopefuls to pitch to voters who otherwise might not venture out on a winter night to attend in person.”

A new Monmouth poll in Iowa finds Joe Biden leads the Democratic presidential race with 27%, followed by Bernie Sanders at 16%, Pete Buttigieg at 9%, Elizabeth Warren at 7%, Kamala Harris at 7%, Beto O’Rourke at 6%, Amy Klobuchar at 4%, Cory Booker at 3% and Julián Castro at 2%.

Key findings: “Biden does especially well among voters age 65 and older (44%), those earning less than $50,000 a year (38%), and those without a college degree (34%). On the ideological spectrum, Biden’s support comes more from self-described moderates and conservatives (35%) than from liberals (20%), but the same is true for Sanders although to a lesser degree (20% non-liberals, 13% liberals).”

Said pollster Patrick Murray: “If Biden does get into this race, he’ll start out as a clear front-runner in Iowa. Not only does he garner support from crucial demographic groups but he is almost universally well-liked among all Democratic voters.”

A new Emerson poll in Iowa finds Joe Biden narrowly leads the Democratic field with 25%, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders at 24%, Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 11%, Sen. Kamala Harris at 10%, Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 9%, Sen. Cory Booker at 6% and Beto O’Rourke at 5%.

“The Iowa Democratic Party laid out a proposal Monday that would add a major change to its presidential caucuses, allowing for absentee voting by phone on six different days through virtual caucuses,” Politico reports.

“The proposed change… would allow Democrats to phone in absentee votes, rating their presidential preferences in a ranked choice style. Previously, only those who physically attended the Iowa caucuses could register their votes.”

Bloomberg: “Iowa’s well-established political infrastructure is at least partly frozen in place, awaiting clearer signals from a group one party veteran calls the ‘triumvirate’ — former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders and former Representative Beto O’Rourke, who gained a national attention with his ultimately unsuccessful bid last year to unseat Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.”

Walter Shapiro: “In prior years, the problem with handicapping the Iowa caucuses has been predicting who would show up in person to vote on a cold mid-winter Monday night. The assumption has always been that — unlike a primary — Iowa measures the enthusiasm of activists.”

“But party rules will now allow for absentee balloting at the caucuses. Does that argue that the participation will be even greater than the 240,000 Iowa Democrats who powered insurgent Barack Obama to victory in 2008? Does that mean that the caucus electorate will not tilt as far left (Bernie Sanders almost beat Hillary Clinton in 2016) as in prior years?”

Another change: “Until now, due to a quirk in caucus procedures, a Democratic candidate needed 15-percent support in any precinct to have his or her votes tallied at all. But in 2020, Iowa caucus votes will be counted just like they are in primaries. As a result, it is easy to envision a cluttered Iowa result with, say, a half-dozen candidates clustered around 8 percent.”