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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...
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,...
Kim Reynolds gave the most important speech of her young term as Iowa's first female governor, presenting the Condition of the State at the Capitol this morning. The Statehouse was packed with both supporters of the Republican governor and plenty of protesters and...
New year, new endorsements. Both Theresa Greenfield and Andy McGuire added some support to their respective campaigns for the 3rd Congressional District and governor today. Both Democrats face seven-way primaries to gain the party's nomination on June 5. AFSCME...
In one of Democrats' best hopes for flipping a Midwestern Republican congressional district, a leading Democratic challenger for Iowa's 1st District has raised over $300,000 in the 4th quarter reporting period. State Representative Abby Finkenauer's campaign informed...
State Senator Nate Boulton rallied a crowd of labor members, Democratic activists and students at a pre-session event last night in Des Moines. Speaking at an IBEW union hall, the gubernatorial candidate who gained statewide prominence for his leadership on last...
Did you email inbox nearly implode over the past week with constant fundraising pleas from every Iowa candidate you've ever heard of? You're not alone, as each campaign went all-out in the closing hours of the year, insisting that it was their most critical finance...
Organize, organize, organize. That's been the model of nearly every Democratic candidate waging an outsider run from the left for major office. If you don't have the connections or the positions to pull in enough money to go toe-to-toe with better-funded opponents on...
A new year is just around the corner. But instead of tipping a celebratory glass of champagne on New Year’s Eve, a big tumbler filed with Maalox seems more appropriate this time. For all of the optimism that usually accompanies a new year, the arrival of 2018 is being...
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...
The 2018 election may still be a long ways off in a political climate that can change rapidly on a daily basis, but all the data points for a good Democratic year in Iowa are starting to stack up. A string of special elections for state legislative seats have...
