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The candidates are on the ballot, the TV ads have been running for half a year and the final two months of the Democratic primary approaches. One major outstanding question remains: will anyone choose a lieutenant governor running mate before the June 5 primary? And...
Guest post from Matt Chapman Caucus night in Dallas County was windy and the snow felt like being hit by a sandblaster. Almost six inches fell on Super Bowl Sunday the night before, but Democrats in Waukee still showed up for the caucus and we did our party business....
Republicans made a pledge in their massive 2013 commercial and corporate property tax cuts that they would protect cities, counties and schools that lost revenue. They promised these local governments that they would replace or “backfill” the 10 percent lost property...
You might say that weather conditions for tonight's Iowa precinct caucuses were less than ideal, but precinct caucus rooms were still packed with enthusiastic Democrats across the state. As of 11:30 p.m., with 80% of their precincts reporting, the Iowa Democratic...
Should Iowa public school students have social study elective courses for Bible literacy? Northwest Iowa Representative Skyler Wheeler hopes so, and his bill to require local school boards to consider offering it passed a subcommittee today of the Iowa House. House...
The gubernatorial fundraising totals drew the big headlines from the January 19 fundraising deadline, but there was plenty of other interesting news in some of the legislative filings. Today, we'll just look at the people challenging incumbents or running for open...
A guest post from Matt Chapman, an activist from Dallas County, with an in-depth look at one Iowa Republican senator's Facebook posts. It's a long but interesting consideration of how legislators use their social media during the legislative session. Some politicians...
Des Moines businessman Fred Hubbell has jumped out to an early lead in Iowa Democrats' gubernatorial primary, according to a poll of likely Democratic primary-goers Starting Line commissioned with 20/20 Insight this past week. The June 5 primary next year is still a...
Assistant Attorney General Rob Sand has investigated and prosecuted cases of corruption, fraud and abuse for the past seven years for Iowa. Now he looks to use that experience to turn the State Auditor's office into a more aggressive watchdog agency that keeps a check...
When the ballots were being counted to determine whether or not University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics healthcare workers would unionize, Cathy Glasson – the person who had led the effort for months – wasn’t in the room. Glasson was instead working a 12-hour shift in...
Around the Des Moines metro, over tallboys at Carl’s and coffee mugs at Scenic Route, in the hallways of East Village consulting firms and in nonprofit board rooms, the Democratic gubernatorial race is the talk of the town. Outside of there? Eh, not so much. It’s been...
Under a hot September sun, progressive activists, Democrats and issue advocates gathered this weekend for the third annual Progress Iowa Corn Feed. Three prominent out-of-state leaders keynoted the event: Center For American Progress president Neera Tanden, South Bend...
What does the future leaders of the Democratic Party and issue advocacy look like? Iowans will get several chances in the coming weeks to get a glimpse of a few possibilities. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigeg will headline...
Back in the old days of Iowa Democratic politics (when the party won a lot more often), political power was typically concentrated among a few statewide elected officials. Party chairs were usually hand-picked by Tom Vilsack, Chet Culver or Tom Harkin, and the type of...
It's been a busy couple of days for Iowa campaigns. Here's a quick look at many of the new developments. Tyler Olson Is Back On The Ballot Former state representative and 2014 gubernatorial candidate Tyler Olson is running for an at-large Cedar Rapids City Council...
State Representative Todd Prichard withdrew from the Democratic primary for Iowa Governor today, his campaign announced. Prichard was one of the first candidates to form an exploratory committee back in March. He will instead run for reelection to his Charles...
The Republicans’ latest Senate bill to repeal Obamacare would cut $800 billion dollars from Medicaid, devastating the program that covers 69 million Americans. A great deal of the debate on repealing and replacing Obamacare has focused on people losing coverage on the...
Democrats haven’t been nearly aggressive enough in promoting immigration. It’s another one of those progressive messages that Democrats have been too timid to embrace. Yes, they have forcefully condemned the anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from President Trump and...
Democrats have another contender for the 2018 gubernatorial nomination: Cathy Glasson. She kicked off an exploratory committee today with a video outlining what she calls a "bold, progressive" agenda for Iowa. An ICU nurse at the University of Iowa Hospitals for over...
We all want to believe that our children have an equal shot at opportunity and success. And we all want to believe that Iowa will deliver that equal shot. Who doesn’t remember Iowa sitting atop the national rankings year after year in college entrance exam scores? Who...
It was quite a week last week with the buzz about impeachment. Relax. I’m not referring to President Donald Trump. I’m talking about the mayor of Muscatine. Diana Broderson was removed from office by a 7-0 vote of the city council on Thursday. The meeting lasted 3...
While the Donald Trump presidency disintegrates before the nation's eyes in non-stop breaking news stories, local politics marches on in Iowa. Let's do a quick round-up of recent news. Des Moines City Council The race for Des Moines City Council Ward 3 originally...
The first leg in Nate Boulton's long marathon to the Democratic gubernatorial nomination saw a common theme at his kick-off events in breweries, restaurants and coffee shops this week: energy. Boulton was met by cheering crowds in packed rooms where the atmosphere...
It's official: State Senator Nate Boulton is running for Iowa Governor. Like, literally running. In an up-beat video that resembled a sports pep rally more than a typical campaign ad, Boulton showed off his marathon-running skills as he declared his candidacy. Asking...
Time is running out in order to slow and reverse the warming of the earth. The catastrophic consequences associated with climate change are rapidly becoming more evident. It’s not too late but the world must act soon in order to prevent the worst of these...
Mike Carberry, a Johnson County Supervisor, said in a recent interview he was considering beginning an exploratory committee in a run for Governor. That admission sounds like he could be persuaded to run if he received sufficient encouragement. He said his interest in...
The past weekend’s immigration raids across the country by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) have immigrant communities living in fear and confusion. Trump’s indiscriminate raids appear to set the stage for a larger mass deportation of the 11...
The Iowa Legislature convened this week for the 2017 session. Republicans now control both chambers in the Statehouse and the Governor's mansion, but Democrats aren't backing down from the fight. Senate Democratic Leader Rob Hogg gave the following speech on opening...
Some people fear a vacuum of power post-election, but the wide-open race for IDP chair has generated some much-needed discussion over what has gone wrong with our party, and what we need to do differently. Rather than having a hand-picked chair, the uncertain coming...
Last week seven of the eight candidates for IDP Chair attended a forum hosted by The Political Party, a relatively new group that's encouraging millennial progressives to get more engaged in politics. Today they announced their endorsement for the position: Kurt...
