2018
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Post-Election Soap Opera Unfolds In Warren County “Hit Piece”
Several Iowa Republicans are facing a serious ethics investigation after a participant in their self-described “hit piece” against Representative Scott Ourth ratted them out to the Iowa Ethics Board. The case revolves around Republican candidate Rebel Snodgrass, his volunteers and former Democratic Representative Dan Kelley’s involvement in a slanderous mailer sent to households in Warren…
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Todd Prichard Elected Leader Of Iowa House Democrats
House Democrats elected Todd Prichard as their new minority leader this afternoon. The Democratic legislators gathered in Des Moines at the Statehouse for their post-election caucus, choosing their new leadership group for the next session after Mark Smith decided to not run for reelection for the party’s top spot in the House. Democrats also elected…
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A Word Of Warning From A Rural Democratic County Chair
A guest post from Brian Bruening, chair of the Clayton County Democrats in Northeast Iowa. It’s easy to get caught up in national Democratic excitement after the November 6th election. We flipped two house districts in Iowa as part of the Democratic wave the crashed over the US House. However, on the state and local levels, November…
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Planning A Run For President? First Protect New Medicare Part D Plan
A guest post from Ro Foege, former state representative and AARP executive council member. The Iowa Caucuses are just around the corner, and presidential candidates will be flocking to the Hawkeye State in droves over the coming months, touting their voting record and stances on the issues, including healthcare. When it comes to prescription drug…
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Even In Loss, Fred Hubbell Raised Awareness Of Key Issues
Fred Hubbell fell short in his campaign to oust Governor Kim Reynolds, but he successfully raised vital issues that will continue to demand action by Iowans. The unsolved problems that Hubbell focused on in his campaign won’t go away; he was absolutely correct to identify them in his criticism of Reynolds’ leadership. Democrats shouldn’t take…
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Iowa Needs More Than Just The Big Regents Schools
Iowa is speeding toward a dangerous crossroads this week, and there has been too little discussion about what might occur and zero discussion about what the state should do. Trustees of Iowa Wesleyan University, the second-oldest college in Iowa, meet on Thursday to decide whether the institution will close next spring. The Mount Pleasant school…
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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…
