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A guest post from Bobbi Hancock, a longtime political activist from Council Bluffs. For 25 years, I was a registered Republican. I voted for the GOP candidate in five straight presidential elections. I caucused for Rick Santorum and worked tirelessly for Marco Rubio....
Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley is preparing to chair one of his most consequential committee meetings in recent years as Congress works to combat the soaring cost of prescription drugs in the United States. "The issue of skyrocketing prescription drug prices has been...
It would have been easy for former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to drive into Iowa’s largest bicycle ride, RAGBRAI. Tens of thousands of bikers were gathered in Indianola by late Tuesday afternoon, creating the perfect place for a presidential candidate to meet...
The team behind the political podcast "Pod Save America" has launched a new fundraising effort centered on retaking the U.S. Senate in 2020 and ridding Capitol Hill of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. "Pod Save America," hosted by former President Barack Obama...
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst returned Monday from a trip to the U.S-Mexico border with a message for her constituents: "The humanitarian crisis at our southern border is absolutely real." Ernst, in the midst of her first re-election campaign, discussed the trip on the Simon...
To run a successful statewide campaign, candidates need time, a deep network of contacts, and these days, a lot of money. Incumbents often are at a financial advantage when running for re-election — Republican Joni Ernst raised more than $1.1 million in the second...
Last week, coincidentally timed with AARP/Des Moines Register candidate forums, nearly all of the Democratic presidential candidates rolled out long-term health care plans, as well as plans to strengthen social security and combat rising health care costs. While...
For 13,100 women living in Burlington, Iowa, it keeps getting trickier to access affordable reproductive health care. The town’s Planned Parenthood provider closed in 2017. It forced residents to travel about 80 miles away to Iowa City just for routine checkups and to...
When a presidential candidate known for a stump speech that often exceeds an hour only has 30 minutes to convey his vision for America, what would he say? Sunday afternoon, more than 150 people in Fort Madison heard a condensed version of Sen. Bernie Sanders' vision...
An editorial opinion piece written July 15 by Carol Hunter in the Des Moines Register is the latest warning about the Iowa newspaper’s declining subscription base. Hunter, the Register’s executive editor explains “Why we’re asking you to buy a subscription.” It’s a...
While the non-stop parade of presidential candidates through Iowa dominates state and national news, a group of prominent Iowa Democrats have launched a PAC to refocus attention on a more local matter: retaking the Iowa House. The Better Democracy PAC, formed by Fred...
Giving $1,000 to every American citizen over the age of 18 is the key to bolstering unions, Andrew Yang said while answering questions at the Asian & Latino Coalition in Des Moines last evening. “This becomes a built-in strike fund for every worker,” Yang said of...
Health care discussions have proven to be a major flashpoint for the 2020 Democratic candidates, leading to unsure endorsements on the debate stage, redacting debate answers and nuanced hesitancy on Medicare for All. A majority of the candidates are now offering...
Steve King may be the long-time incumbent in Iowa's 4th Congressional District, but this year, that status has not translated into much support from Republican donors. Instead, well-known Iowa Republicans with deep pockets are turning to state Sen. Randy Feenstra, one...
When Senator Kirsten Gillibrand tried to win over a Republican held congressional district in Upstate New York her opponent repeatedly ran a commercial that showed a picture of her face covered in flames. In the background, a deep voice would say “she’s not who you...
With this week's 2nd quarter campaign finance reports out, we now have a clearer look at where Iowa's federal races stand. Some potential candidates have seen what they'd be up against and decided against a run. Others have added their names to a 2020 primary. Here's...
As the Latino population becomes an increasingly significant portion of the American electorate, candidates for public office are working to boost their turnout in elections from the presidential race to city council contests. But, as Nicholas Salazar points out,...
To combat the partisanship of the Supreme Court, Cory Booker said his main goal is to target one of the root causes for the radicalization: the Senate. In the first event in a series of conversations with the 2020 presidential candidates, hosted earlier this week by...
Years ago, when I was a young pup of a reporter for the Des Moines Register, my assignment was covering state and federal courts. Normally, it amounted to reporting on the dirty laundry of society that gets scrubbed in the courts --- the murders, the robberies, the...
Senator Amy Klobuchar has a new collection of endorsements from the kind of Iowa Caucus activists that get things done. They come ahead of her weekend visit to the state, her tenth since announcing her campaign. The Klobuchar campaign announced six new notable Iowans...
Dozens of women and children packed Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst's office in Des Moines for several hours over the last two days to protest squalid conditions at immigration detention centers along the U.S.-Mexico border. The group arrived Tuesday at the Federal Building...
Late to the race? Low name recognition? Steve Bullock doesn’t care if you’re writing him off; he’s running to fight for the written-off. Bullock’s campaign is in full swing as he prepares for the next round of Democratic primary debates, one that he should be a part...
Oral arguments for the Texas v. United States lawsuit, a suit filed in 2018 by 20 Republicans to challenge the Affordable Care Act, began today in New Orleans, Louisiana. The case is currently in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals after a cherry-picked,...
A new grassroots organization in Iowa launched its first advertisement this morning targeting Republican Sen. Joni Ernst and her mixed voting record on health care. Iowa Voices invested in the six-figure ad buy, airing in media markets across the state, to show Iowans...
Guest post from Julián Castro's first big round of Iowa Caucus endorsers. As Iowans, we understand the responsibility that comes with being the first in the nation to vote. We want to not only hear where the candidates stand on the issues, but to truly understand how...
Three days. Five cities. Lots of Iowans. During this past week around Independence Day, Senator Kamala Harris visited Iowans and journeyed across half of the state, gathering crowds, endorsements and lots of support. Harris connected with Iowans in Central and Western...
One of the most common types of violence in Iowa’s K-12 schools does not involve fistfights or guns. This form of violence often flies under society’s radar, not receiving attention it should from school boards, the governor, the Legislature, and from the news media....
An unexpected endorsement from a black pastor in Waterloo. A man yelling “Sleepy Joe, Sleepy Joe!” from the sidewalk of the Independence Day parade in Independence, Iowa. The Mayor of Marshalltown breaks down on stage because he, too, has lost someone he loves to...
Who are you calling old? Bernie Sanders showed off both his organizational strength and personal stamina during a marathon of parades over the 4th of July holiday in Iowa. While nine other candidates criss-crossed the state this week, the 77-year-old Sanders certainly...
Senator Kamala Harris has told everyone during this 2020 campaign that she’s a fighter. She’s touted her time as the Attorney General of California, prosecuting banks and holding corporations accountable. She’s told the story about being raised by parents who were...
