Steve King Posts Photo Of A Nazi On Hitler’s Birthday

On By prynard

Congressman Steve King’s social media team is at it again. The official Facebook page of Iowa’s 4th District member of Congress has long been a pit of childish and bizarre right-wing memes and petty insults against liberals. But today King had a particularly foolish Facebook post up with what looks to be a photo of a Nazi soldier. And, of course, it just happens to be Adolf Hitler’s birthday. King’s staff shared a version of a popular meme that makes fun of young people, as seen below: Former 4th District candidate Kim Weaver and her PAC for POWER organization noticed […]

4th District Dem Leann Jacobsen Calls For Boycott Of Sinclair Stations

On By prynard

The fallout for Sinclair Broadcasting stations continue after a viral video showed them all reading from the same script about “fake news.” Leann Jacobsen, one of the Democratic candidates looking to take on Steve King in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, is calling for a boycott of all the Sinclair stations that cover the Western Iowa seat. She’s also pledging to not run campaign TV ads on any of them and is encouraging her two Democratic primary opponents to do the same. “The behavior and actions taken by Sinclair Broadcast Group hit at the very core of a free and independent […]

Corbett, Caligiuri Booted From Ballot, Greenfield Still Going

On By prynard

The state’s three-person elections commission met this afternoon in a lengthy hearing to consider eight objections to various candidates’ ballot petitions. It was the most challenges anyone could remember there being in a single year, and it included several major candidates like Kim Reynolds, David Young and Steve King. They also addressed the major situations with Ron Corbett, Ginny Caligiuri and Theresa Greenfield. The election commission is made up of Secretary of State Paul Pate, Attorney General Tom Miller and State Auditor Mary Mosiman. Their decisions caused major shake-ups in Iowa politics, knocking off Kim Reynolds’ only primary challenger – […]

How Congressional Primaries Stack Up With New Fundraising Numbers

On By prynard

Federal candidates’ campaign finance reports for 2017’s 4th quarter were due this past week, and they once again give us a sense of where the money aspect of Iowa’s congressional races stand. The dynamics of the 1st District primary largely stays the same, while the numbers cast a slightly new light on the 3rd and 4th District contests. Starting Line will take a brief look at each district. 1st Congressional District Abby Finkenauer’s $302,000 haul didn’t just surpass all the Democratic candidates in her race and the other districts – she out-raised every single incumbent member of Congress in Iowa, […]

With Zach Wahls And More, Iowa Dems’ Future Is On The Ballot In 2018

On By prynard

Few elections have ever held more longterm consequences for a state than the upcoming 2018 races in Iowa. A few of the issues at stake: the survival of public unions and Planned Parenthood, the existence of mental healthcare services, and the state’s own political identity as a purple or red state. Iowa could soon become the next Kansas for decades to come, or a Democratic wave could return balance to the Statehouse. But for the Democratic Party here, 2018 presents one more opportunity that could outlive all of those outcomes: the chance to vote into office a raft of young […]

Dr. John Paschen Seeks Right Prescription To Defeat Steve King In 2018

On By prynard

John Paschen, one of the Democratic candidates vying for the uphill fight against Congressman Steve King in 2018, already knows a good deal about overcoming skepticism. Born in the suburbs of Chicago, he moved with his family to Iowa as a teenager, settling down on a farm outside of Camanche in Clinton County. Looking to embrace life in the rural community, Paschen got involved in 4-H, but the local instructors weren’t sure what they could task a city boy with. “What could this kid from Chicago raise?” Paschen told Starting Line his 4-H instructor had wondered at the time. “Chickens […]

Steve King Says His Christmas Will Be Ruined Without Looser Gun Laws

On By rick-smith

Here’s a great Christmas gift idea from the GOP and Iowa’s nutty Republican Congressman Steve King. This week the House Judiciary Committee debated and passed a massive gun expansion bill, “The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017.” The Republicans want to give gun owners a huge gift by expanding their ability to use their concealed-carry permits in all states. The GOP wants to force those states where it’s currently illegal to accept gun owners carrying their guns in from other states. Congressman King, always swinging for the outrageous, complained that restricting guns will “ruin the King Christmas.” During the conceal-carry debate […]

State Of The Race In Iowa’s 4th District (October 2017)

On By prynard

Starting Line finishes its analysis of Iowa’s four congressional races today by looking west to Steve King country (you can read our previous district posts here: 1st District, 2nd District, 3rd District). There’s no one Democrats would like to see go away more than King, but his reliably Republican district has always made that a near-impossible task. That hasn’t stopped people from trying, nor Democrats from getting excited about each race, and there’s always some slim reason for hope in Iowa’s 4th District. The finance reports are in, so let’s take a look at where the 4th District Democratic primary […]

An Iowa Politics Primer Guide For Students

On By prynard

School has been back in session across Iowa for college and high school students for a few weeks now. While Donald Trump is certainly a constant topic of discussion, important Iowa campaigns are well underway for governor, Congress, the Iowa Legislature and other statewide offices. Starting Line thought it’d be helpful to put together a simple primer guide all in one place for those races and the overall dynamics of Iowa politics to help students who want to get a good baseline knowledge of what’s happening. Many politically-engaged students will already know this information. But perhaps they have out-of-state friends […]

Leann Jacobsen Kicks Off Campaign To Take On Steve King

On By prynard

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 […]