Category: Democrats

Democrats in Iowa leapt at their first chance to cast a ballot in the 2018 election yesterday, far outpacing the number of Republicans who did the same. The Secretary of State’s office reported this morning that 7,870 votes are already in the bank from the first day and a half of early voting. Of those, 4,421 came from registered Democrats, 2,403 from registered Republicans and 1,008 from registered No Party voters. That’s down some from the first day of early voting in 2014, though Democrats enjoy a better advantage this year. By the end of that year’s first day of early […]

The Brett Kavanaugh hearing was the talk of the afternoon among the Democratic activists who braved the rain for this weekend’s Polk County Democrats Steak Fry. Party volunteers discussed their reactions to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh’s testimony as they intermingled with the Iowa and national politicians who gathered to speak. The Iowa candidates barely mentioned the hearing when they addressed the crowd, preferring to stick to their usual stump speeches that focused on state issues. But the four national speakers who came in – Senator Jeff Merkley, Congressman John Delaney, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and former Obama adviser Alyssa […]

The steaks might have been warm at today’s second annual Polk County Democrats Steak Fry, but not much else was. A steady rain began falling on the field at Des Moines’ Water Works Park shortly into the second speaker’s turn on stage. A crowd of over 500 cold and wet souls had dwindled to about 100 by the time the event ended, but overall the Democratic activists seemed to enjoy a day of meeting the party’s statewide ticket and some national names. Starting Line will do a quick write-up of some of the speeches later today or tomorrow, but for […]

Several minutes into Leonard Boswell’s speech this May at the Polk County Democrats Spring fundraiser, I got a bad feeling in my gut. It was wonderful to see the former congressman up on stage, clearly enjoying himself as he went on a bit past his allotted time, but it very much felt like a final swan song. Boswell spun a few stories from his time in Congress, praised his former leader Nancy Pelosi (who he was introducing) and reflected on his path from farmer and Vietnam veteran to elected official. Unfortunately, my recorder picked up too much background noise, or […]

The Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus says they’ve been marching in the State Fair Veterans Parade for the past ten years, yet were denied participation at the last minute this year from an official in Kim Reynolds’ administration. The group says they were already approved this year to join the parade, but were called on Friday by Chair of the Iowa Veterans Commission Dan Gannon, a Reynolds appointee, and told they could not participate because they were political. They were apparently not given a specific rule as to why the change was made. “We were informed Friday, after we followed the instructions […]

Turning out female voters who typically only vote in presidential races will be key to Democrats’ success in Iowa’s midterm elections, former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards told a packed room in Des Moines of over 250 women on Thursday. Speaking to the Polk County Democrats’ annual Women’s Event fundraiser, Richards congratulated Planned Parenthood of the Heartland for their recent Iowa Supreme Court victory on the 72-hour waiting period for abortion. But she reminded them that the November election could determine just how long-lasting those wins are. “This battle to protect access to women’s healthcare and affordable healthcare in this […]

Democrats in Iowa are feeling good as they head into the 2018 elections, boosted by turnout and registration data from the primary that shows their base energized and involved. The party added over 24,000 new registered Democrats in a month and saw their largest primary turnout in decades. But the numbers weren’t all positive across the state. Certain counties, including those that saw large shifts to Donald Trump and the Republicans in 2016, didn’t enjoy the same kind of improvements in Democratic momentum. While 38% of registered Democrats turned out to vote in Story County, only 17% showed up in […]