November 2018
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House Democrats Get It
According to a report in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Todd Prichard is on track to be the next leader for the Iowa House Democrats. That’s a very good thing. Democrats in Iowa face a lot of challenges as they head into another two years of all-Republican control of state government. The party made important gains…
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Ep71: Statehouse Election Recaps
Iowa Starting Line Podcast host Pat Rynard and former legislator Nate Willems recap all the races for the Iowa House and Iowa Senate, and look ahead to see where Democrats go from here to regain the majority.
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Iowa Exit Poll Has Warning Signs For GOP Legislation
The recent 2018 election failed to end the Republicans trifecta lock on Iowa government. Democrats picked up several house seats, but remaining in the minority makes it extremely difficult to pass any progressive legislation in the next two years. Republicans will continue to control the legislative agenda. However, a 2018 exit poll suggests there are…
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Who Will Run Against Joni Ernst In 2020?
The postmortems of the 2018 election are still being written, but that’s not stopping anyone from speculating and planning for Iowa’s 2020 Senate race. That’s actually typically what happens immediately after any election – winners plot out their next longterm moves and losers consider if they still have the fire in them to make another…
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Mark Smith Won’t Seek Reelection As House Dem Leader
Representative Mark Smith will not seek another term as House Minority Leader, Starting Line has learned from multiple Democratic sources. He announced his decision yesterday in an email to fellow Democratic House members. It’s an unexpected changing of the guard after Democrats picked up a net gain of five or six seats on Tuesday, one…
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Ep70: Post-Election Reactions And Analysis
Iowa Starting Line Podcast host Pat Rynard walks you through the good, bad and depressing from Iowa’s election night on Tuesday. We cover the statewide and congressional races, looking at what it means long-term for Iowa politics.
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Smear Campaign Backfires On Anna Bergman
The House District 44 candidate forum on October 11th between candidates Democrat Kenan Judge and Republican Anna Bergman was a policy-based discussion that was civil and informative. Before the forum, the Bergman and Judge campaigns talked policy. But the second the forum was over, Anna Bergman posted an attack ad against her opponent on social…
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How Rob Sand Won
A guest post from Andrew Turner, campaign manager for Rob Sand’s State Auditor race. Sand was the only Democrat to defeat a statewide Republican incumbent in Iowa this year. November 6, 2018 will forever be a bittersweet night for many of us. There were great victories and great losses we will remember and learn from. I…
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In Iowa, The Trump Era Realignment Intensifies
Two waves hit Iowa on Tuesday. Unfortunately for Democrats, the red one was just a little bit stronger and in just the right places for Republicans to win statewide and in specific state legislative seats. The election results continued the trend of intensifying polarization in Iowa and national politics, exacerbating both parties’ weaknesses and strengths…
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The Most Shocking Number From Iowa’s Election Night
Democrats were feeling good early on last night. Cindy Axne and Abby Finkenauer had both made history in their congressional victories. J.D. Scholten was actually leading Steve King. Democrats swept a series of Iowa House races in the Des Moines suburbs. Fred Hubbell jumped out to a big lead when Polk County came in fast.…
