Iowa Caucus

An important moment for disability rights advocates happened in West Des Moines Sunday morning; a presidential candidate hosted a first-of-its-kind disability rights panel in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. Former Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, who wrote the Americans with Disabilities Act 29 years ago, joined presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand on stage to hear the stories of Iowans…

Honor, respect and unity were the themes of the 105th Annual Meskwaki Powwow held yesterday in Iowa. Montana Governor Steve Bullock and author Marianne Williamson were there in the afternoon to share in the occasion. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker appeared in the evening. Beto O’Rourke was scheduled to be there, too, but he spent…

In the midst of one of the busiest weekends of the Iowa caucus season to date, more than a dozen candidates carved out time in their packed schedules to attend the Presidential Gun Sense Forum. Organized by Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action, 16 candidates answered questions from a two-person panel and members…

Innocent Iowans who merely wanted to attend their State Fair to eat some corndogs and drink lemonade in peace had to constantly dodge presidential candidates and their enormous press entourages today. Nine Democratic candidates in all are making their way around the fair, grabbing fried food, giving speeches and shaking hands. Team Starting Line is…

In case you weren’t sure whether Kamala Harris was in Iowa this week, her gigantic bus, emblazoned with her name on the side that rolled through towns’ main streets was a helpful reminder. Harris is on a five-day tour of the lead-off caucus state, traversing the full length of Iowa from Sioux City to Burlington,…

Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro brought his entire family to the Iowa State Fair, while former Congressman John Delaney flipped some burgers and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard grabbed a root beer. Meanwhile, Andrew Yang gnawed on a giant turkey leg and Marianne Williamson met voters at the Iowa Democratic Party’s booth. Here’s what their days at…

By now, Iowa acivists have seen in-person or heard on TV more than two dozen Democrats running for president. Whether they attended the Hall of Fame dinner in Cedar Rapids, the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding Friday night in Clear Lake or an intimate gathering at a coffee shop, voters are beginning to narrow down their…

In a week that many candidates had planned to talk agriculture plans in Iowa, the latest mass shootings over the past weekend quickly shifted the debate. At individual campaign events, multi-candidate gatherings, the State Fair and now a hastily-assembled forum in Des Moines, the Democratic contenders are pitching their plans to halt the violence. Senator…

Julian Castro said Donald Trump’s attack on his brother, Joaquin Castro, amounts to an attack on campaign finance transparency laws. Joaquin Castro drew criticism from Republicans after he tweeted out the names of Trump donors following the El Paso terrorist attack, data that is publicly available. Castro made the comments to reporters while he was…

While the State Fair kicked off in Des Moines yesterday, I continued my hitchhiking trek across Western Iowa with the presidential candidates. In case you missed my first story, I discovered this week that several of the candidates’ events line up just perfectly where you can catch a ride from each to the next stop…