January 2018
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GOP Legislators Seem To Learn Lesson On Bizarre Bills
Republican legislative leaders were none too happy with Senators Brad Zaun and Mark Chelgren at the beginning of the 2017 session. Both of them had filed a handful of particularly odd or politically volatile bills at the beginning of the session, from ideas like women being able to sue a doctor that performs their abortion…
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Key Community Leaders Endorse Cindy Axne In IA-03 Race
As the Democratic primary for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District heats up, more candidates are rolling out new lists of endorsements in the seven-way field. Cindy Axne, a small business owner and community activist, announced this week the backing of over 40 community leaders in her bid to take on Republican incumbent David Young in the…
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Rob Sand Posts Record-Breaking $200,000 Haul For State Auditor Run
It looks like Iowans will see a hotly-contested race for State Auditor this year. Democratic candidate Rob Sand informed Starting Line that he has raised an eye-popping $200,854 in his bid for the oft-overlooked state office. Sand announced back in early November, so this fundraising haul for the 2017 report was accomplished in just seven…
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Republicans Basically Admit Kim Reynolds Broke The Law
If Governor Kim Reynolds’ new years resolution for 2018 was to not get sued, she failed that goal after just two days. If her new plan is for that lawsuit to be unsuccessful, she probably didn’t like what she heard from fellow Republicans this week. State Representative Chris Hall of Sioux City filed a lawsuit…
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GOP Running Scared In Sioux City Special, Place Big TV Ad Buy
Iowa Republicans seem rattled heading into a special election for a usually reliably-Republican Iowa House seat in Sioux City this month. Starting Line has learned they’ve placed a $35,520 TV ad buy to run from January 4 to January 9, and will likely spend even more for the final week of the January 16 election.…
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Iowa Republicans Need To Intervene With Unstable President Trump
Senator Grassley, Senator Ernst and Representatives Blum, King and Young took the constitutional oath, “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Only these elected Republican office holders and their GOP colleagues can stop President Trump if he is a threat to our democracy. Democrats can…
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AFSCME Endorses Greenfield, Healthcare Workers Back McGuire
New year, new endorsements. Both Theresa Greenfield and Andy McGuire added some support to their respective campaigns for the 3rd Congressional District and governor today. Both Democrats face seven-way primaries to gain the party’s nomination on June 5. AFSCME Council 61, the Iowa public sector workers union, announced their endorsement of Greenfield in the Democratic…
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Abby Finkenauer Raises $300,000+ In Q4 For Top-Targeted IA-01 Race
In one of Democrats’ best hopes for flipping a Midwestern Republican congressional district, a leading Democratic challenger for Iowa’s 1st District has raised over $300,000 in the 4th quarter reporting period. State Representative Abby Finkenauer’s campaign informed Starting Line today that they should be posting a total of around $302,000 or $303,000 for the final…
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Boulton To Dems, Labor: Voices Must Be “Louder Than Ever” In 2018 Session
State Senator Nate Boulton rallied a crowd of labor members, Democratic activists and students at a pre-session event last night in Des Moines. Speaking at an IBEW union hall, the gubernatorial candidate who gained statewide prominence for his leadership on last year’s collective bargaining bill warned what may be in store for the 2018 legislative…
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What The Iowa Senate Map Looks Like In 2018
The following is a memo written up last year by Nick Conway of the Austin Frerick (IA-3) campaign. It’s an interesting look at how the Iowa Senate map is set up for the 2018 elections, and which districts will be the most competitive. This was written in mid-2017, so there’s obviously been a lot of…
