Iowa Caucus

Senator Cory Booker will headline the Iowa Democratic Party’s biggest event of the year in early October, the party announced this afternoon. He’s the featured guest for this year’s Fall Gala (formerly known as the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner), which will be held on Saturday, October 6. It’s the New Jersey senator’s first trip to Iowa this…

 Iowa Starting Line Podcast host Pat Rynard talks with former IDP executive director Norm Sterzenbach about the DNC’s changes to caucus states and superdelegates. And we sit down with Julian Castro to discuss his potential 2020 run and what he sees as key to Democrats’ success.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned in national politics over the past several years, it’s that the issues we think will matter to voters are not always the ones that do come the election. Media firestorms can change the public attention’s at any moment, while new policy ideas can catch on fast. Medicare-for-all was hardly…

For an initial Iowa visit to test the presidential waters, Julian Castro hit all the usual marks last week. The former Housing and Urban Development secretary spent his three days in the lead-off caucus state meeting activists, touring the State Fair and introducing his life story and overall vision for the country. But many of…

Michael Avenatti in Des Moines tonight warned against anyone in politics using the recent death of Mollie Tibbetts as a campaign issue, and he criticized President Donald Trump for a long history of inflaming racial tensions for political gain. “The family has asked that that not be politicized,” Avenatti said when asked by reporters about…

The steady march of White House hopefuls visiting Iowa for the State Fair this past week and a half has finally ended. They got their corn dogs, made their speeches, did a few press hits and chatted with activists. But how many made a lasting impact on their chances for Democrats’ presidential nomination in 2020?…

Iowa Democrats should follow California Congressman Eric Swalwell for the special role he plays as a member of the House Intelligence Committee investigating the Trump/Russian connection. In the interview below he presents a compelling case for the relationship between Trump and Trump’s family with the Russians. As a former prosecutor, Swalwell provides an inside look…

Here they come. A deluge of potential 2020 presidential candidates is set to make appearances throughout Iowa over the next few weeks. The lead-off caucus state has seen its fair share of White House hopefuls make the rounds here since the 2016 election, but the upcoming gauntlet of the Wing Ding Dinner, the State Fair…

Congressman Ro Khanna stumped for local Democrats in Iowa this weekend while pitching his unique brand of progressive vision mixed with Silicon Valley innovation. It’s his second trip out to the state after visiting for a Pete D’Alessandro congressional event back in May during the primary. Khanna drew a large crowd of over 100 people to…

Montana Governor Steve Bullock joked that he wouldn’t talk about his Iowa ties at his meet-and-greet in Coralville this weekend, but those local connections showed up all the same. Barbara Smith, Bullock’s second cousin that lives in Iowa City, heard through the family grapevine that the governor would be in town and came out to…