Close your eyes and picture the cornfields of Iowa. We are now 16 months into Donald Trump’s presidency — and two years away from the 2020 Democratic convention. But don’t let the timeline fool you. On June 23, the Iowa Democratic party will host its annual Hall of Fame dinner in the Des Moines suburb of Altoona, ramping up a Democratic primary where as many as a dozen different candidates are expected to fight for the privilege of taking on Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

In July 2015, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley, the third Democratic presidential candidate, were the featured speakers. At this year’s supper, it will be Democratic governor Jay Inslee. Never heard of him? Fantastic. That’s exactly how some Democrats want it.

As 2020 approaches, the Washington governor is one of several lesser-known Democrats who are quietly, or not so quietly, putting themselves in the running for president, with Iowa as the testing ground.