Dozens of young people working in Iowa on presidential campaigns were planning a “Friendship 2020” dodgeball tournament Saturday. After the mass shooting in El Paso, the teams representing El Paso native Beto O’Rourke immediately withdrew and all the other teams decided not to play out of respect for the shooting victims.
Amanda Wager, the tournament’s organizer, said this is another example of how important the Iowa Caucus experience can be.
“I think it just instills a sense of community and a lasting friendship,” Wager said.
The dodgeball tournament had been scheduled in Des Moines on a day when nearly all the candidates were at an in the state of Nevada. With a packed campaign calendar over the next few months, Wager said rescheduling the tournament is too difficult.