Cedar Rapids’ Political Clout On The Rise

On By Pat Rynard

Two weekends ago, Cedar Rapids held its second major multi-presidential candidate in as many months. The national press swarmed the streets of Iowa’s second-largest city, over a thousand Democratic caucus-goers braved the overwhelming heat and candidates themselves tried out the vibrant NewBo culinary scene. That day, 11 candidates seeking the White House attended. A month prior, 19 Democratic contenders packed the Double Tree Hotel downtown for a state party fundraiser. In the time between, Democrats have lined up to talk climate change solutions in Cedar Rapids with State Senator Rob Hogg. It’s all been scenes from a city on the […]

Cory Booker ‘Ready for Anything’ From Biden In Upcoming Debate

On By Josh Cook

Sen. Cory Booker’s campaign seems primed for a breakout. He was the most-googled candidate during night one of the first debates, after which he saw a big jump in fundraising. He’s also secured a ton of endorsements from Iowa legislators and activists across the state. And most Iowa politics watchers praise his campaign’s ground game as one of the best. Yet, as August approaches, he’s still hanging out below the top tier of candidates in the polls. On Friday, Booker and his team made a swing through Iowa, starting the day with a stop in Council Bluffs and ending with […]

Gillibrand Blasts Fellow Democrats Over Sexual Assault, Harassment Issues

On By Paige Godden

Several days after a New Yorker story revisited Al Franken’s departure from the Senate, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand ripped into the Democratic Party at large in Iowa over its handling of sexual assault and harassment. Gillibrand told a group of women gathered for a week-long conference of female union members in Iowa City Thursday night she’s sick of her fellow Democrats turning a blind eye to sexual assault and sexual harassment. “I’ve got to tell you, I’m really sick of it. I’m so freaking sick of it. I can’t tell you how angry I am that Democrats, Democrats turn a blind […]

Delaney Ties American Fitness To Health Care During RAGBRAI

On By Josh Cook

Rep. John Delaney jumped in on the RAGBRAI action today, taking off this morning from Indianola. After he concludes today’s ride, he’ll head to Indianapolis to speak at the National Urban League conference. Delaney is riding a rented Trek-bike today as he and his team make the ride. Because of time constraints, they won’t be going all the way from Indianola to Centerville. “In general, I think physical fitness is incredibly important,” Delaney said. “A lot of our health care costs are driven by people who are not doing the type of preventative care they should be.” But Delaney explained […]

Poll: Iowans Want Medicare Negotiation; Grassley Opposes

On By Josh Cook

A new poll from Public Policy Polling shows that 86% of Iowans, including 83% of Iowa Republicans and 81% of Iowans who voted for President Trump, would support legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription prices with drug companies. This poll is being released ahead of a Senate Finance Committee hearing, where Chairman Chuck Grassley is leading a bill to reduce pharmaceutical costs. However, Grassley has gone on the record this year to oppose Medicare negotiations, instead looking for other ways to reduce costs. In January, Grassley told The Hill that he doesn’t want to “mess with the government […]

5 Character-Defining Moments From AARP Candidate Forums

On By Josh Cook

Watching eight hours of forums is a lot to process. Unless you’re going to sit down and watch all of them, like I did, it’s hard to get a feel for how the candidates truly feel about some of these issues. Even then, it can all get sort of jumbled into one big discussion. If you’re relying on news coverage, which we recommend, that will provide adequate analysis, but it can still fall short of providing the full picture of the candidates’ character. Throughout the week, there was a handful of moments where this shined through. So, while these are […]

I Watched 8 Hours Of 2020 AARP Forums. Here’s What I Learned.

On By Josh Cook

Last week, coincidentally timed with AARP/Des Moines Register candidate forums, nearly all of the Democratic presidential candidates rolled out long-term health care plans, as well as plans to strengthen social security and combat rising health care costs. While rising costs have been a major topic of discussion in Iowa during the summer, most of the conversation up to this point has been acknowledging problems. After watching every single candidate’s AARP forum, one thing is incredibly clear: the candidates know what the health care problems are. From the cap on taxable income, to pay-for-delay, loopholes in the tax code, unregulated pricing […]

What Steve Bullock Gets About The Rural Vote

On By Josh Cook

Late to the race? Low name recognition? Steve Bullock doesn’t care if you’re writing him off; he’s running to fight for the written-off. Bullock’s campaign is in full swing as he prepares for the next round of Democratic primary debates, one that he should be a part of and which will be his first crack at the national stage. To establish a presence in Iowa, Bullock was on his sixth trip since announcing to the lead-off state, taking a tour of POET, an ethanol production facility in Gowrie, and stopping at a grain co-op in Rippey, Iowa on Tuesday. He […]

27,110 Steps With Bernie Sanders In Iowa

On By Josh Cook

Who are you calling old? Bernie Sanders showed off both his organizational strength and personal stamina during a marathon of parades over the 4th of July holiday in Iowa. While nine other candidates criss-crossed the state this week, the 77-year-old Sanders certainly had them beat on distance traveled – by foot, that is. Sanders spent three days in Iowa this week, hosting an immigration roundtable discussion, opening three new campaign offices and walking in five parades – four of them on the 4th of July alone. The immigration roundtable saw a max-capacity crowd, and Sanders’ crew at each of the […]

New Iowa Poll: Warren Leads, Harris And Biden Close Behind, Sanders Falls To 4th

On By Pat Rynard

We have a shakeup in Iowa. Elizabeth Warren leads the pack in the Iowa Caucus, according to a new poll out this morning from David Binder Research, currently earning the support of 20% of likely Democratic caucus-goers. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are both within the margin of error with Warren for first place, but they trail just slightly at 18% for Harris and 17% for Biden. Bernie Sanders has fallen to fourth place in the polling, sitting at 12%, while Pete Buttigieg has 10% in the survey. Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker round out the the field with 4% […]