Pod Save America Lends A Hand For Dems In Iowa Senate Race

The team behind the political podcast “Pod Save America” has launched a new fundraising effort centered on retaking the U.S. Senate in 2020 and ridding Capitol Hill of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“Pod Save America,” hosted by former President Barack Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett and Dan Pfeiffer, is a production of their Crooked Media company, powering the “Get Mitch or Die Trying” fund.

The donation site, run through Democrats’ ActBlue fundraising machine, allows donors to choose which of the 11 targeted Senate funds they want to support, including the “IA-Sen 2020 Democratic Nominee Fund.”

In addition to Sen. Joni Ernst’s seat, the fund also targets Sens. John Cornyn of Texas; David Perdue of Georgia; McConnell of Kentucky; Susan Collins of Maine; Martha McSally of Arizona; Dan Sullivan of Alaska; Thom Tillis of North Carolina; Cory Gardner of Colorado; and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

The fundraising effort also supports Democratic Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, elected in a 2017 special election to replace then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He is up for re-election in 2020.

“Get Mitch or Die Trying” categorized Democrats’ efforts to unseat Ernst, a one-term incumbent, as a “Tier Two” race under the banner of “Come Back Kids.”

“Democrats lost these seats in 2014, but we have got a shot at getting them back in 2020,” the website states. The North Carolina race to unseat Tillis also is in this tier.

The “Crooked” team considers the Arizona, Colorado and Maine races the “most winnable seats” for 2020 Democrats.

Money raised for the individual funds will go to the eventual Democratic nominee in those states.

In order to retake the Senate, Democrats need to win a net three seats next year.

“We have potential — if the candidates are good and the political winds are at our back — in Georgia and Iowa,” said Pfeiffer, a podcast co-host and and Obama’s former communicators director. “It is going to be tough, but it is a doable proposition if we have a strong candidate at the top of the ticket. Because, in almost every case, in order to pick up a Senate seat you need the presidential candidate of your party to win that state.”

Theresa Greenfield, one of three Democrats running to replace Ernst, featured the “Get Mitch or Die Trying” fund on her campaign’s Facebook page.

“Our Iowa Senate race is part of Pod Save America’s ‘Get Mitch or Die Trying ‘ fund! They have us down as one of the ‘Come Back Kids’ and we’re pretty excited about it,” states Greenfield’s Facebook post. “We’ll work our tails off every day to make sure we are the come back kids and turn Iowa [from red to blue].”

Greenfield, a small business owner from Des Moines, so far has raised the most of her primary opponents at $628,080.

By Elizabeth Meyer
Photo by Julie Fleming
Posted 7/24/19