Indivisible Iowa Responds To Simon Conway’s Bizarre Attack

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Yesterday Simon Conway of I Heart Radio’s WHO AM 1040 irresponsibly posted screenshots from an Indivisible closed Facebook group.  The post contained member names and profile pictures and had to be edited to contain the disclaimer, “UPDATE: Any threats of violence will be removed and the poster banned from the page. Period” after Conway’s supporters posted death threats on the post to members of Indivisible.     Indivisible Iowa and Action Iowa issue the following statement: In the days following the events in Charlottesville, our non-partisan groups began productive discussions on the removal of Confederate memorials in the state of Iowa. […]

Radio Host Simon Conway’s Attempt To Smear Democrats Backfires Immediately

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Conservative WHO Radio host Simon Conway thought he had a big scoop today, “exposing” Iowa Democratic activists’ conversations in a private Facebook group about a Confederate monument in the state. His attempt to demonize Iowa citizens quickly backfired. Calling it a “MUST READ,” Conway posted a story on WHO Radio’s website that predicted that liberal activists were about to cause trouble, calling up visions for his rightwing audience of violent vandals. “It looks like some people want to bring trouble to Iowa,” Conway wrote. “We have very little in the form of Confederate monuments, but the one put up in […]

Todd Prichard Bows Out Of Gubernatorial Race

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State Representative Todd Prichard withdrew from the Democratic primary for Iowa Governor today, his campaign announced. Prichard was one of the first candidates to form an exploratory committee back in March. He will instead run for reelection to his Charles City-based house seat in 2018. “It has been an honor to participate in the Democratic Party’s primary for governor over the last few months,” Prichard said in a press release. “I am humbled by the support I have received across the state. However, my responsibilities to my family, the Army, my constituents, as well as my small business must take […]

Jim Mowrer Looks To Hold Paul Pate Accountable For Uncounted Votes

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Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate never really paid a political price for the 5,842 uncounted votes in Dallas County in the 2016 general election. Jim Mowrer plans to change that. The veteran and past congressional candidate kicked off his bid for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state the other week, focusing his early messaging on criticism of the Dallas County mess. “The Secretary of State, the man in charge of our elections, didn’t count nearly 6,000 votes,” Mowrer told Starting Line recently. “And I have seen first-hand the cost of our freedom and our democracy, and it is […]

Congressional, Sec. of State Dems Make Pitches At Wing Ding

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Democratic activists from across Northern Iowa and beyond gathered in Clear Lake Friday night to hear Democratic candidates and leaders speak… and speak… and speak some more. 22 candidates, elected officials and leaders in all took the stage to address the crowd of about 400 attendees in the historic Surf Ballroom, interspersed with award presentations to local activists and various skits. The event moved along at a decent pace, however – many of the candidates in the crowded primary fields have gotten accustomed to giving short stump speeches. Seven gubernatorial candidates, six congressional contenders and both secretary of state candidates […]

Rising Stars Kander And Swalwell Urge Boldness, Support Medicare-For-All

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The theme of the night for the Democratic Wing Ding Dinner in Clear Lake, Iowa on Friday night was “Rising Stars,” meant for keynote speakers Jason Kander and Congressman Eric Swalwell, both 36, but also for the many young candidates for Iowa office. About half the Democratic candidates there running for governor, secretary of state and Congress were under the age of 40. The dynamic highlighted a growing trend in the party that finds itself out of power: without older, longtime incumbents holding the reins of power in Iowa or nationally anymore, a younger generation has found room to step […]

Leann Jacobsen Kicks Off Campaign To Take On Steve King

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Spencer businesswoman Leann Jacobsen has officially entered the Democratic primary for Iowa’s 4th District in the hopes of going toe-to-toe with Congressman Steve King next November. She had been considering a run for several weeks, and kicked off her candidacy this morning with a campaign website and video: In the video she comments on the strong communities in Northwest Iowa that are still facing serious problems, pointing to rural hospitals in particular (Jacobsen is a board member for Spencer Hospital). She labels King as “just another politician” who doesn’t focus on the real needs of his district. “A politician who […]

GOP And Trump’s Transgender Attacks Backfire In Iowa Special Election

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In the midst of a new national debate on transgender soldiers serving in the military, voters in Southeast Iowa were seeing their TVs inundated with campaign ads about transgender bathrooms. Their target was Phil Miller, the Democratic candidate in the House District 82 special election, who had voted on the school board to keep in place a policy on transgender students using the bathroom of their gender identity. But the local issue took on a national feel following President Donald Trump’s tweets indicating that he would enact a ban on transgender soldiers serving in the military. At the time, Trump’s […]

Iowa Democrats Win Special Election In Trump +22 District

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Iowa Democrats pulled off an impressive and important victory in a Southeast Iowa special election this evening, boosting the party’s hopes that 2018 could be a bounce-back year. Democratic veterinarian Phil Miller of Fairfield comfortably defeated Republican farmer Travis Harris of Davis County, 4,021 to 3,324 (about 55% to 45%), thanks largely to a massive victory in his hometown of Jefferson County. That means Democrats will hold on to a key rural swing district that Donald Trump won in November by 22 points. Miller will fill out the remainder of Curt Hanson’s term in the Iowa House for District 82, […]

Kim Reynolds’ Disastrous First Months As Governor

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For a brief moment this year, everything looked like it was falling perfectly into place for Kim Reynolds. Terry Branstad, her mentor, had ridden off into the sunset to a legacy-securing ambassador post in China. Reynolds’ inauguration went off without a hitch, making history as Iowa’s first female governor. Her campaign team started off strong with endorsements from nearly the entire Republican establishment. The party was united and excited for her governorship, while Democrats nationwide and in Iowa continued to look weak and fractured. And then Reynolds got to the governing part. Things began to quickly fall apart right off the […]