Potential Scenarios For Tonight’s Iowa Elections

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It’s here. It’s finally, finally here. Iowans are headed to the polls this morning, and there’s already reports of long lines and enthusiastic new voters registering at their voting place. After high-profile campaigns that have lasted an intense 16 months or more, most candidates, volunteers, staffers and rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans are just eager for it to be done – and to see who wins. Democrats have become cautiously optimistic in the past week, though memories of devastating election nights in 2016, 2014 and 2010 weigh heavy on their minds. But there are very legitimate reasons to feel good about […]

Kamala Harris Helps Take Deidre DeJear To The Finish Line

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California Senator Kamala Harris made her big Iowa debut this week, barnstorming Central and Eastern Iowa over two days to boost Democratic candidates up and down the ticket. Among those candidates getting some help were Cindy Axne, Amber Gustafson and Heather Matson, but one Iowa Democrat got a lot of extra attention: Deidre DeJear. Democrats’ Secretary of State nominee was the first Iowa candidate that Harris endorsed back in August. DeJear has started to gain national attention for her historic bid (she would be Iowa’s first black statewide elected official if successful), but Harris and DeJear actually first met much […]

Barack Obama Announces Endorsements In Iowa Races

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Former President Barack Obama is getting involved in the midterm races for Democrats in key races around the country. This morning he released a round of endorsements for candidates in 14 states, including Iowa. On his Iowa list was secretary of state candidate Deidre DeJear, secretary of agriculture candidate Tim Gannon and four candidates for the Iowa House. DeJear worked on Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012 as his African American outreach director in Iowa and worked as an organizer in 2008. Her campaign has gotten increasing attention from national Democratic leaders and organizations as she’s one of just four statewide African […]

Statewide Democratic Candidates Smash Republicans’ Fundraising Totals

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It may be time for Iowa Republicans to sound the alarm bells. Fundraising totals just posted today for Iowa’s latest reporting period show Democrats destroying their GOP counterparts in every single competitive statewide race. All told, Democrats’ statewide candidates raised a combined $2,866,382 to Republicans’ $1,250,516. However, largely thanks to Governor Kim Reynolds’ war chest, Republicans still have a combined cash-on-hand advantage in those same races: $4,015,141 to Democrats’ $2,700,608. This latest report covered the six weeks after the June 5 primary. Fred Hubbell led the way with an eye-popping $2.6 million raised. Unlike in some past finance reports, all […]

Deidre DeJear Wins Primary, Could Be First Black Statewide Official

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Secretary of State candidate Deidre DeJear narrowly defeated Jim Mowrer in the Democratic primary today, propelling her to a matchup with incumbent Republican Paul Pate. Were DeJear to win in November, she would become Iowa’s first black statewide elected official. DeJear’s candidacy for the top elections official post will be a deeply personal effort for the 32-year-old business owner. Born in Mississippi, her father didn’t have the chance to vote for much of his life in the Deep South state. “When my dad was born, he didn’t have the opportunity to vote,” DeJear told Starting Line for an earlier story. […]

Weekly Round-Up: New Gov Race Opportunities, Fundraising And Endorsements

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So, there was a bit of news that happened in Iowa politics this week. The Des Moines Register story on Nate Boulton and his subsequent withdrawal from the race dominated headlines for most of the week. It shook up a still-fluid primary with less than two weeks to go until the election. And it also overshadowed a key anniversary: Kim Reynolds celebrated her one-year mark as governor on Thursday. Let’s take a look at some of the other storylines that didn’t get full stories from Starting Line this week. Norris Sees New Opportunity To Break Out Starting Line caught up […]

Paul Pate Hides Weakness With Loan Trickery; Tom Miller In Good Spot

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Secretary of State Paul Pate has been using a shell game to hide how little money he’s raised for his reelection, and it’s not clear if he’ll even use the money he has in the bank. Pate reported that his 2017 fundraising numbers ended with $238,791 cash-on-hand. But he also had $283,500 in outstanding loans. He raised just under $26,000 last year. Oddly, his report showed both a loan of $200,000 and a loan repayment of $200,000. That’s where Pate gets into some intentional fudging of his numbers. Pate loaned his campaign $200,000 back on December 29, 2016. He loaned another $20,000 […]

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

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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 […]

Starting Line Poll: Jim Mowrer Starts With Wide Lead In Sec. Of State Primary

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In the Democratic primary for next year’s secretary of state nomination, Army veteran and former congressional candidate Jim Mowrer begins the race with a large lead. In the poll that Starting Line commissioned with 20/20 Insight, 27% of likely Democratic primary-goers picked Mowrer in the race, compared to 9% for Des Moines small businesswoman Deidre DeJear. When voters were asked if they were leaning toward a candidate, the result was 30% for Mowrer and 12% for DeJear. This is Iowa Democrats’ first primary for the secretary of state office since 1998, when Chet Culver defeated Ned Miller for the nomination. […]