Iowa Caucus

Listen and show up. For presidential candidates working to avoid a repeat of Democratic missteps in 2016, ensuring turnout rebounds among African-American voters is key. Listen and show up. Sounds easy, right? Even with three simple words, questions instantly come to mind. Who are you listening to? Where are you showing up? If you’re looking…

Robert Morrison, 64, hasn’t always been involved in politics.  The self-described introvert said he gets easily tongue-tied when he speaks, so he usually keeps to himself. “I’ve always been led to believe if you work hard and you’re productive, you’ll get taken care of,” Morrison told Starting Line. So, he never worried about much. That…

Iowa Democrats evaluating presidential candidates in this week’s debate will weigh a number of issues and factors in making their choice. How big a role will climate change play in the debate, and who will be the best climate candidate? Addressing climate change has become one of the major policy issues that has leap-frogged ahead…

Photo from Bernie Sanders in a march with striking McDonald’s workers in Cedar Rapids three weeks ago. In a show of solidarity with labor, Bernie Sanders’ Iowa campaign used their extensive email list to help rally union members in Southeast Iowa for a march this weekend. The campaign sent around emails encouraging Iowans to show…

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is set to go up on the Iowa airwaves this week, according to a media buy schedule that Starting Line has seen. Her campaign is making a statewide ad buy worth around $42,000 from June 25 to June 30. Hers will be the second presidential campaign to launch Iowa TV ads this…

The Iowa Professional Fire Fighters union has voted to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden for the 2020 Iowa Caucuses. “Vice President Biden is honored and humbled to have the endorsement of the Iowa Professional Fire Fighters. Every day, Iowa’s firefighters put their lives on the line in communities across our state,” said Biden’s Iowa…

Several reports late this week revealed that Donald Trump has ordered EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to reconsider their approach to small refinery ethanol waivers. President Trump was in Iowa earlier this month to celebrate the year-round sales of E15 and to fundraise for his reelection campaign, but received blowback…

Yesterday, the Trump Administration got one step closer to restricting abortion access in the United States at the federal level. A three-judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, covering the Western part of the United States, ruled that the federal government can block federal grant money from health care providers if they offer…

Guest piece from Dick Goodson, a Des Moines resident and former chair of the Des Moines Committee on Foreign Relations. 10 reasons to support a specific candidate for President: The candidate must be impeccably honest and truthful. The candidate must treat all individuals with respect regardless of race, sexual orientation or nationality. The candidate needs…

Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is the only candidate among 21 who has laid out a full vision for reforming the Supreme Court.  Though many other candidates have recognized the need for reform, Buttigieg has advocated for expanding the number of justices during his campaign. His idea for the expansion would put…