Author: Jake Bullington

Senator Amy Klobuchar has so far seen a lower national profile in the 2020 race than some Midwestern Democrats may have hoped. But Iowa is her home field advantage. As more than a few candidates for president have already said – mostly in defense of their own lackluster standings in polls – that this race is a marathon, not a sprint. For Klobuchar, this could actually be the case. Regional Appeal She’s Iowa’s neighbor, and is well prepared to tackle heartland issues on the campaign trail after 12 years in the U.S. Senate representing Minnesota. Recently, Klobuchar released a proposal […]

Hawaiian Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard made her fourth visit to Iowa this weekend, focusing her remarks at a Des Moines town hall primarily on veterans’ issues and the cost of war. Gabbard, who served two tours in the Middle East, has a personal perspective on the topic. “I can tell you as a veteran … I’ve seen the cost of war first-hand,” Gabbard said. “I served in a medical unit that first deployed to Iraq in 2005, where every day I was confronted with that high human cost of war. It takes a toll on my brothers and sisters in uniform. […]

Rallies and Q&A sessions with 2020 hopefuls, depending on the candidate, typically tend to skew like the Iowa electorate does: older. But with former Congressman Beto O’Rourke choosing Iowa State University as his first stop on his second swing through the state, there were more backpacks than canes in the crowd. O’Rourke addressed the at-capacity audience, while keeping with his habit of wearing thematic baseball hats. He tackled some of the biggest issues students and young people care about: climate change and health care access, adding in his positions on immigration too. Relative to President Donald Trump’s age, O’Rourke is […]

Former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper was back in Iowa, and now it’s official – he’s a candidate for president. He joins 11 others who have filed, including other moderate candidates like Senator Amy Klobuchar and former Representative John Delaney. Dividing and conquering is Trump’s schtick, and Hickenlooper is hoping Iowans come away from his visits viewing him as the antithesis to that method of governing. “Well, my top priority is to get people to work together,” Hickenlooper said in Des Moines on Friday to a crowd of about 100. “I don’t think we’re going to get any of these […]

Voters might find themselves Googling his name, or they may recognize him from a recent viral video of a blistering Senate floor speech against colleague Ted Cruz. Colorado’s Senator Michael Bennet dropped into Iowa this past weekend to meet with and listen to Iowa voters as he considers joining a crowded Democratic field. Stopping at house parties in Waukee, Johnston and Winterset, Startling Line estimates Bennet had face time with over 200 Iowans across those three events. The former superintendent of Denver’s public schools, Bennet got frequent questions on education at his Waukee stop. The father of three daughters, part […]

Entrepreneur and Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang joined the Johnston Area Democrats for breakfast Saturday, his eighth visit to the state. It was part of a three-day tour around Iowa. Yang spent a lot of time emphasizing that, from his experience and career as an entrepreneur, he sees his unique campaign platform to provide each and every American adult $1,000 per month as a critical next step for the country. Universal basic income (UBI) is Yang’s flagship policy proposal. Yang says this policy idea, which he calls the “Freedom Dividend,” has resonated with voters more because of the mentality behind […]

Former Colorado Governor and craft beer aficionado John Hickenlooper made the most of his stop at Court Avenue Brewing Co. on Sunday. He kissed a baby, poured a craft beer for a voter (and then himself) and got to introductions. Inevitably, one of the first questions Hickenlooper received from a voter was regarding how the state, under his watch, rolled out one of the nation’s first recreational marijuana policies. Polling in recent years shows increasing support in Iowa for both recreational and medical marijuana. This topic strayed from the standard 2020 campaign issues Democrats have addressed on their stops in […]