January 2018
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After Big Spending, GOP’s Jacob Bossman Wins Sioux City Special Election
It took over $117,000 in spending for Republican Jacob Bossman to hold a house district that Donald Trump won by 30 points, but the Chuck Grassley staffer prevailed for his party by defeating Democrat Rita DeJong 55% to 44%. Still, Democrats improved by 19 points over their 2016 margin, giving hope that a 2018 blue…
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Kim Reynolds Gets $1.3 Million From Republican Governors Assocation
Governor Kim Reynolds starts off her 2018 campaign with a hefty investment from national Republicans. The Republican Governor’s Association has contributed just under $1.3 million to Reynolds’ campaign, according to finance reports of out-of-state PACs. The RGA’s Right Direction PAC donated $1.25 million to Reynolds on December 7 of 2017, which added to two smaller…
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SEIU Unions Give $1.8 Million To Cathy Glasson’s Gubernatorial Campaign
The Service Employees International Union, which represents healthcare workers, is back in Iowa politics in a big way for 2018. A review of campaign finance reports show SEIU has already directed over $1.8 million to Cathy Glasson, their local president of SEIU 199, who is running for governor in the Democratic primary. When Glasson initially…
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Ep3: Special Elections, Sioux City Edition with the Iowa Starting Line Podcast
Pat Rynard brings episode #3 on the road for a Perkins-inspired edition of the Iowa Starting Line Podcast to cover the special election for Iowa House District 6 and Democratic challenger Rita DeJong.
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A Must Read For Iowa Democrats: How To Talk To Rural Voters
The 2016 election losses in rural America were a shocking wakeup call to Democrats. It demonstrated that winning in urban areas alone isn’t sufficient to regain majority control in statehouses and Congress. Democrats must find an effective message that will resonate with rural and working class voters. Following President Donald Trump’s overwhelming wins in rural…
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Joni Ernst On Donald Trump: “I Don’t Think He’s A Racist”
Senator Joni Ernst expressed her frustration at Donald Trump’s latest incendiary comments about not wanting immigration from certain “shithole countries,” but defended the President against accusations of racism today. The exchange came at one of her town hall forums held in Boone at the local high school this afternoon, with a crowd of just under…
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Kim Reynolds: Democrats “Want The State To Fail”
Governor Kim Reynolds is back to her needlessly divisive ways. In a little-noticed event in Mason City this past week after her Condition of the State address, the Republican governor accused Democrats of rooting for Iowa to fail as a state. “They want the state to fail, I don’t,” Radio Iowa contributor KRIB reported Reynolds…
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Republicans Pour $117,000+ Into Sioux City Special Election
Republicans are taking absolutely no chances in preventing a potentially demoralizing upset loss in this Tuesday’s special election in Sioux City. Newly released financial reports show that the Republican Party of Iowa has now pumped just over $117,000 in all into Chuck Grassley staffer Jacob Bossman’s campaign to replace Jim Carlin in the open House…
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How A GOP Legislator Distracts, Inflames In A Year Of Facebook Posts
A guest post from Matt Chapman, an activist from Dallas County, with an in-depth look at one Iowa Republican senator’s Facebook posts. It’s a long but interesting consideration of how legislators use their social media during the legislative session. Some politicians are embracing Facebook to reach out to constituents and some are not. Some home…
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Republican Trade Policies Damaging Iowa Farm Economy, State Budget
Governor Reynolds’ growing budget crisis is a direct result of the Trump administration’s war on our agricultural trading partners. Trump campaigned on a promise to renegotiate our trade agreements, not destroy them. He bragged that he would bring his art-of-the-deal persuasion to the trade negotiating table. He boasted that he would save American jobs and…
