Biden marks Iowa rise from caucus collapse to fall contender

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — When Joe Biden was last in Iowa, his presidential campaign was on the verge of collapse and he was soundly trounced in the caucuses by a former Indiana mayor nearly 40 years his junior. He returns Friday as the Democratic nominee, believing he's just days away from becoming president-elect.

Biden's trip reflects the growing confidence among Democrats in the closing days of the campaign. Iowa, which Donald Trump won by 9 points in 2016, is among the clutch of GOP-leaning states that Biden is trying to bring back into the Democratic column. He'll also swing through Wisconsin on Friday while his running mate, Kamala Harris, courts voters in Texas, a longtime GOP bastion that Democrats insist is in play this year.

Trump, meanwhile, is playing defense in Michigan and Wisconsin, states he won four years ago. Trump and Biden will both be in Minnesota, a longtime Democratic state that the Republican president is trying to flip.

The arc of Biden's rise is eclipsed only by the challenges faced by Trump — whose confidence in his reelection was dealt a devastating blow by the coronavirus pandemic this spring, with the public health and economic crises still rearing their heads in the days leading up to the close of polling.

With four days until the election and more than 80 million votes already cast, time is running out for Trump and Biden to change the shape of the race. Biden is leading most national polls and has a narrow advantage in the critical battlegrounds that could decide the race.

That's why both men zeroed in on Florida on Thursday. While Biden has a path to victory without the critical battleground state, Trump's reelection bid would almost certainly be blocked if he loses there.

“If Florida goes blue, it’s over,” Biden told...