We're nearing the end of the announcement phase for most key races in Iowa for 2018. At this point most of the announced or exploring or "considering it" candidates are known, so I thought it'd be a good time to kick off a series of Starting Line polls. Throughout...
Coach And Businessman Eddie Mauro Joins Democrats’ 3rd District Race
The Democratic field of candidates for the 3rd District grows ever larger today, with Eddie Mauro officially launching an exploratory committee. The baseball coach from the well known Des Moines South Side family had been considering a run for several weeks now, and...
Everyone Is Running For Everything In Iowa In 2018
Just as reliably as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, not a week goes by in Iowa politics without a new candidate running for this or that major office. Iowa Democrats have about 22 declared or strongly-considering candidates for governor and the three...
3rd District Candidate Heather Ryan’s Disturbing Past Comments, Videos
Des Moines political activist Heather Ryan, a candidate running in the Democratic primary for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, wrote a book four years ago in which she used the terms "ungrateful cunt" and "psychotic bitch" to describe individual women she worked...
Cindy Axne’s Path From Community Activism To Congressional Candidate
While raising her two young sons in West Des Moines, Cindy Axne found a problem: the school district claimed there was only enough space for half of local children to attend full-day kindergarten. A lottery system was used to decide who got to get in, which her first...
Can We Start Focusing On The More Winnable Races Now?
Kim Weaver's candidacy has ended, and a follow-up story from the Des Moines Register raised serious questions about her reasoning for doing so. But whatever, it's time to move on. Hopefully, part of moving on for Iowa Democratic activists will be a renewed focus on...
Uh Oh: David Young’s Seat Endangered After AHCA Vote, Ranking Group Says
Republican incumbent David Young's vote in favor of the AHCA bill makes his reelection much more difficult, the country's top congressional ranking website reported this morning. The Cook Political Report moved Young's 3rd District from Likely Republican to Lean...
Payback Time: Iowans Vow Revenge For AHCA Vote
Despite a deluge of phone calls, emails and in-person meetings from concerned Iowans, Iowa Republican Congressmen Rod Blum, David Young and Steve King all voted in favor of the AHCA healthcare bill. The legislation that repealed many provisions of the ACA passed by...
Pete D’Alessandro Launches 3rd District Bid
In what could easily become the most interesting 2018 campaign to watch, Pete D'Alessandro filed papers today to form an exploratory committee for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District. D'Alessandro is a longtime Iowa political operative, with a resume that includes...
Mike Sherzan Bows Out Of 3rd District Race
Democratic candidate Mike Sherzan is shutting down his recently-launched campaign for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District. Sherzan came in second place in Democrats' primary in 2016, and had hoped to use lessons learned from that bid to better-position himself for the...