Category: IA Gov

Fred Hubbell could not have made a better pick for his running mate. That’s just my opinion, of course, but I think it will become yours as well once you get to know Rita Hart. I first met Rita when I was the field director for the Senate Democrats in 2012. That was her first run for office in Senate District 49, which covers Clinton County and parts of rural Scott County. Though a first-time candidate, many of us were impressed with how sharp a political mind Rita already had. She won her strongly-contested primary by racking up lopsided margins […]

For his running mate pick, Fred Hubbell has looked east to rural Wheatland, Iowa, population 764. State Senator Rita Hart will be officially introduced as Democrats’ Lt. Governor nominee at the state party convention today. The Hubbell campaign announced the choice first thing this morning. Hart’s selection puts one of the party’s most credible rural voices on the ticket, and lifts up a legislator who, though not well-known among the larger activist crowd, was seen by many behind the scenes as a rising star with great potential. Some in Democratic circles see Hart as the party’s answer to Joni Ernst: […]

Fred Hubbell is slated to officially announce his pick for his Lt. Governor running mate at Iowa Democrats’ state convention this Saturday. It’s the last piece of business for the statewide Democratic ticket, and speculation about who Hubbell may choose is running rampant in various political circles. And there may be one clue sitting online as to who could be on a possible short list. As reader Taylor Gipple noticed, several website domains with potential Democratic ticket names were reserved on Monday, June 11. Here’s all the ones that Starting Line found on the ICANN domain registry look-up website: HubbellMathis.com […]

Des Moines businessman Fred Hubbell will be Democrats’ nominee for governor in 2018. News outlets called the race early on in the evening as Hubbell jumped out to a healthy lead, garnering 55% of the vote in early returns and an insurmountable lead in places like Polk and Johnson counties. Cathy Glasson was running in second place at around 20% and John Norris was in the 12% area. Those numbers may fluctuate throughout the night, but Hubbell will end up winning the primary by a significant margin. It capped a nearly year-long primary effort for Hubbell, one in which he […]

If Fred Hubbell emerges Tuesday night as the Democrats’ nominee for governor, it will not simply be because he had the most money. His win won’t only be thanks to 2nd-place candidate Nate Boulton’s exit from the race two weeks out. Nor because the legislative session went late, the negative attacks on him were few or a convention never happened. All of those things certainly helped shape the dynamics of the race. A lot. But what may have gone unnoticed by activists in social media circles, the county party crowd and others is just how extensively Hubbell traveled the state […]

The Democratic candidates for governor gathered in Des Moines last night for their final debate, though this time there were only five people present following Nate Boulton’s withdrawal. It was not the most exciting debate we’ve seen in Iowa politics, nor did it drastically change the dynamics of the race, but there was still some interesting moments. Here’s five quick takeaways from the evening: 1. No one tried to shake up the race. By all intents and purposes, Fred Hubbell is leading the primary with just a couple days to go. In the second debate, multiple candidates aimed their fire at […]

As the Democratic gubernatorial field continues to settle following Nate Boulton’s withdrawal, several former top Boulton supporters are backing Fred Hubbell this morning. Senators Bill Dotzler, Tony Bisignano, Representative Jerry Kearns and former Senator Tom Courtney – all previously with Boulton – announced they’re endorsing Hubbell today. And Senator Jim Lykam, Representatives Wes Breckenridge and Phil Miller also joined Hubbell’s team with them. “As a union leader for more than four decades, I’ve seen firsthand how Republican rollbacks of workers rights have hurt our state’s future,” said Kearns of Lee County. “We need a governor who can restore support for […]