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Democrats have a good opportunity at retaking the Iowa House in the 2018 elections, but which candidates get the party's nomination in competitive primaries could prove a key factor. There are a lot more legislative primaries than usual this year - 25 in all for the...
A guest post from Johnson County Supervisor Kurt Friese. Each year at the end of April, Labor organizers across the country hold a vigil of remembrance called “Workers Memorial Day.” Here in Johnson County, it was just this past Friday. We gathered to remember and...
Iowa Democrats held their district conventions this Saturday, the third step in their caucus-to-convention process. Unlike the precinct caucuses and county conventions, there were no blizzards. The most consequential part of the day was elections for the party's State...
This past Sunday, April 22, the nation celebrated a day dedicated to the environment. However, the support for this recent Earth Day event has changed dramatically since that first celebration in 1970. The original Earth Day was truly a bipartisan celebration and a...
Just about everyone up at the Statehouse is ready for the session to be over for the year. The Legislature passed the 100-day mark last Tuesday, the day per diems end for lawmakers and the clerks head out. And two people with a particular vested interest in its end...
Two separate polls have been going around the 3rd District in the past few weeks. Both appear to be your standard message-testing polls, in which campaigns gauge various messages for their candidate and others to see which might be the most convincing. They usually...
State Senator Nate Boulton added to his labor coalition in a big way on Thursday with the Iowa AFL-CIO's endorsement of his gubernatorial campaign. About 150 union members and supporters gathered at the Statehouse on Thursday afternoon for a rally with Boulton and to...
With under seven weeks left to the Democratic primary on June 5, the TV airways are starting to fill up with campaign ads. While every candidate has traveled the state, spoken at Democratic events, participated in countless forums and drawn media coverage, the reality...
State Representative Abby Finkenauer will post another strong fundraising total for her bid to take on Congressman Rod Blum in Iowa's highly-targeted 1st District. Finkenauer's campaign tells Starting Line they raised over $480,000 in the 1st quarter of 2018, bringing...
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...
Congressional candidate Theresa Greenfield has ended her campaign. Attorney General Tom Miller put out a judgement late this afternoon that his office does not believe that Greenfield could use Chapter 43 of the Iowa Code to justify remaining on the ballot. Secretary...
Problems with candidate petitions and signatures is nothing new in Iowa politics, but the recent spate of problems have certainly surpassed past screw-ups. Both 3rd District Democrat Theresa Greenfield and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Corbett won't know...
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....
Progress Iowa, a progressive issue advocacy group, had hoped to welcome Ivanka Trump to Des Moines on Monday with a billboard near the Des Moines airport. However, Lamar Advertising, the company that owns the signs, apparently dubbed their message as too...
Theresa Greenfield, a top contender for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, may not appear on the ballot after a last-minute problem was discovered yesterday with her petition signatures. Republican incumbent David Young will likely be a top target of national...
This wasn't the election scenario Tracy Freese envisioned when she first launched her campaign to take on Bill Dix, but she'll take it. A special election date of April 10 was just set yesterday by Governor Kim Reynolds to fill former Senate Majority Leader Dix's seat...
Today’s special congressional election in Pennsylvania is incredibly important to both Democrats and Republicans. It gives Democrats another early test of their future success in the 2018 midterms. This congressional district’s voters chose Trump by 20 points in 2016,...
I think that the movement to get control of the issue of so many Americans dying of gun violence has now found its voice, just as the # MeToo movement has for woman’s harassment issues. The catalyst here is the recent shooting at the Stoneman-Douglas High School in...
George Lakoff is perhaps the best-known writer on framing Democratic messaging. He suggests that the Democrats’ political future depends on how well they can explain why they are Democrats. Lakoff says Democrats must recall who they represent and why. He argues that...
President Trump’s vicious attack on Democrats, many of whom have bravely served their country, deserves unqualified condemnation. Trump’s labeling of fellow patriotic Americans with treasonous behavior, an offense punishable by death, crossed the line of acceptable...
Senator Nate Boulton is returning to the early themes of his gubernatorial run in a new TV ad that starts running on Saturday. Back is the "stomp/clap" music that gave his campaign kick-off announcement video an energetic feel last year, as well as the senator's...
Later this evening, thousands of dedicated Iowa Democrats will trudge through the snow and the cold to attend their local precinct caucus. It’s expected to see the largest attendance ever for a non-presidential year caucus, but the stakes involved with the...
Theresa Greenfield's days start early - and for good reason. As the president of a real estate business and a Democratic candidate for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, she has a lot to get done in any given week. "I’m a farm kid, so I get up with the sun,"...
President Trump’s latest immigration proposal appears to offer the 1.8 million Dreamers protection, but the rest of his proposal would severely restrict legal immigration. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused President Donald Trump of “using a proposed path...
The next governor of Iowa and member of Congress from the state's 3rd District could be determined by what happens on Monday when Democrats gather for their off-year caucus. Attendees at the February 5th Iowa Caucus will kick off the caucus-to-convention delegate...
Senator Matt McCoy set off a Polk County political earthquake today, one whose aftershocks will impact other major races up and down the ballot. McCoy made official this afternoon what many had speculated for most of the past year: he's challenging incumbent Johnny...
Today at 4:30 was the deadline for Iowa statewide and legislative candidates to file their fundraising reports for everything they raised and spent in 2017. Starting Line will have a lot of in-depth coverage on the gubernatorial, other statewide candidates and...
State Senator Nate Boulton had a strong fundraising year in 2017 for his gubernatorial campaign, raising just under $1.1 million since his May kick-off, his campaign informs Starting Line. Since the start of the new year and after the 2017 reporting deadline, he's...
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...
Governor Kim Reynolds laid out her agenda for the 2018 legislative session this week, presenting a set of lofty goals that hit on topics that typically have bipartisan support. But as Joe Biden often said, "show me you budget and I'll show you your priorities." So,...
