After announcing his presidential candidacy April 25, former Vice President Joe Biden hopes to make his mark in Iowa.  

The state is familiar campaigning ground for Biden. Over decades in national politics as a senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009, as vice president from 2009 to 2017, and as a presidential candidate in 1988 and 2008, Biden has made numerous stops in Iowa.

“He has cultivated over the years the loyalty and affection of many rank-and-file Iowa Democrats,” former Iowa political columnist David Yepsen said.

Biden led the Des Moines Register’s first Iowa presidential poll in March, with 27 percent of  responders choosing him as their first choice. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., came in second at 25 percent.

Fame has grown with Biden throughout his nearly 50 years as a U.S. politician. University of Iowa political-science Associate Professor Cary Covington said Biden’s name recognition likely accounts for his early lead in polling.

Yepsen said Biden’s biggest potential downfall in the 2020 race could be the high expectations that correspond with his current role as a front-runner.

“He’s expected to win — he has led in the polls. Anything short of that is considered a defeat,” Yepsen said. “He immediately becomes a target for other Democrats, and the scrutiny on him will be intense. He has shown a propensity to say and do goofy things at times, and some of that is just Joe Biden, but his scrutiny will be quite high.”

Other 2020 Democrats fired off campaign emails with “Biden” in the subject line after Biden announced. The Sanders campaign sent a fundraising email asking supporters to donate $3 after Biden’s campaign raised more money, from fewer donors than had the Sanders campaign. The campaign of Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., wrote, “The truth is [Biden’s candidacy] poses a real challenge for an underdog campaign like ours.”

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., sent similar emails acknowledging Biden’s fundraising.

In a party that aims to beat President Trump, Biden’s age and extensive government experience could also appeal to Democrats who seek maturity in the White House, Yepsen said.

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Former Iowa Democratic Party Chair Sue Dvorsky said she has heard that Biden will soon be ready to announce his Iowa campaign staff.

As a former vice president, she thinks Biden is held in high regard in the Democratic Party. However, he will have to separate himself from the other 19 presidential candidates, she said.

“Biden is a beloved vice president and has done a lot of stuff,” Dvorsky said. “But he’s been around for 50 years, so people have got questions about his record, and he will be asked tough questions just like all the rest of the [candidates].”

Criticism has arisen over Biden’s treatment of Anita Hill’s 1991 testimony about sexual harassment during the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Thomas Clarence. Biden led the Senate Judiciary Committee during the hearings, in which Hill told the New York Times recently that Biden could have called other women to testify as corroborating witnesses during the hearings.

Biden made his first visit to Iowa as a 2020 contender on Tuesday  in Cedar Rapids, where he touted his campaign goals and highlighted working-class issues.

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“We’ve got to reconstruct the backbone of America,” he said in his Cedar Rapids speech Tuesday. “The backbone of America is hard working, middle-class Iowans and Americans. “

Biden will hold a rally today at Big Grove Brewery from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m.

Linn County Democratic Chair Bret Nilles said he suspects Biden’s Iowa rallies will be examined closely.

“I think with his name recognition, he’ll initially start out well,” he said. “We’ll see how many people respond to his message through his first visits to Iowa.”