2016
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A Look At Iowa Candidates’ Messages Before Post-Labor Day Sprint
The Iowa State Fair has come and gone, with another year of political candidate visits in the books. Starting Line attended nearly all the of the Soapbox speeches hosted by the Des Moines Register, but got a little distracted with fair food afterward and I didn’t write them up right away. Instead, let’s do a review…
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Inside The Early Race To Be The Next Iowa Democrats Chair
As soon as the election on November 8 concludes, the next big campaign for the future of the Iowa Democratic Party begins. Andy McGuire does not plan on running for a second term as party chair, likely to launch a run for governor soon after the election instead. That will leave open the state party’s…
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Just How Well Does Everyone Know Patty Judge?
Patty Judge has been involved in statewide politics since 1992 when she was first elected to the State Senate, serving two terms. She was elected as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in 1998 and served 8 years. She was elected as Lieutenant Governor in 2006. But do Iowans really know her and her progressive positions? One…
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Big News: Starting Line Expands With Daily Democrat Merger
I’m excited to announce today that the Iowa Daily Democrat will be merging with Iowa Starting Line to create the largest progressive/Democratic-leaning news site in the state. This is a big step forward for everyone involved and will help us further the cause of spreading the progressive message in Iowa, along with providing unique insight…
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Meet Iowa Democrats’ All-Female Tickets
When voters go to the polls in the Northeast Iowa counties of Allamakee and Clayton this year, this is what they’ll see in the Democratic column of their ballot: President: Hillary Clinton U.S. Senate: Patty Judge Congress: Monica Vernon State Senate: Jan Heikes State House: Patti Ruff Voters in Marion and Dubuque will see similar…
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Retired Justice Calls Grassley Obstruction “An Unpatriotic Act”
Retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson is speaking out and holding Senator Grassley accountable for his obstruction of the Supreme Court hearings. Anderson says Grassley’s refusal to hold hearings is an abdication of a sworn duty to “support and defend” the Constitution. He says Grassley’s obstruction of the President’s nominee is a “dereliction of…
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Mike Pence Does The Full Fair Tour, Sees A Few Protesters Too
Many major candidates doing the mandatory Iowa State Fair visit often just do a quick in-and-out, hitting up the Butter Cow, Pork Tent and maybe one other location before leaving. Not so for Mike Pence. Donald Trump’s running mate spent a little over two hours at the State Fair on Saturday afternoon, hitting up eight…
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Gary Johnson Files Candidacy Papers For Iowa Ballot
Today is the final day for federal candidates to file their paperwork to get on the Iowa ballot. Gary Johnson’s supporters turned in their papers this morning, confirmed the Iowa Secretary of State’s office, the last of the four most well-known candidates to do so. There’s a one-week period for which objections can be filed that…
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Iowa Democrats Offices Point To State Legislative Strategy
The Iowa Democratic Party announced several new field offices around the state this week, bringing their total number of offices to 24 in the state. The party began opening local offices for the 2016 election back in early May. Taking a look through the list, most of the obvious cities are there, whether by size…
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Citizen Kaine: Clinton’s VP Takes His Everyman Persona To State Fair
No trip to Iowa during mid-August is complete without a visit to the Iowa State Fair. So that’s where Virginia Senator Tim Kaine ended up on a hot and sunny Wednesday afternoon. Hillary Clinton’s running mate began the day with a rally in Cedar Rapids, then made the unannounced stop at the State Fair afterward. He’s…
