Iowa Caucus

Best get your tickets now for the annual Iowa Democratic Wing Ding Dinner on August 10 because it’s going to be a wild night. With the unexpected news that Story Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti will attend – and that he’s thinking of running for president – the speaker line-up got quite interesting. Expect an extra…

Will voters be eager to support “the exact opposite of Trump,” as Jeff Merkley describes himself, for president in 2020? That’s the sentiment the senator from Oregon hopes he finds among Iowans as he makes some early trips out to the lead-off caucus state and seriously considers launching his own presidential candidacy next year. Merkley…

Congressman John Delaney, the only declared Democratic presidential candidate for 2020, is staffing up his Iowa operation with a new hire that has some solid in-state experience. Monica Biddix will serve as Delaney’s new communications director for the lead-off caucus state, building out Delaney’s current presence here a year and a half out from the…

The release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of 13 Russians charged with interfering with the American election added extra proof to what many already suspected and knew of Russia’s 2016 meddling. The 37-page indictment added plenty of new details to the far-reaching efforts of Russian operatives’ efforts to use social media to turn Americans…

The Democratic National Committee’s Unity Reform Commission voted in favor today of recommendations to the party’s nominating system, which will mean major changes to how the Iowa Caucus operates (its first place status in the process remains safe). The DNC as a whole still needs to vote on the rule changes, but most expect them…

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey already had to wait an awfully long time for his anticipated nomination to an important USDA position. Now his final appointment may have to wait even longer. Politico reported today that Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has placed a hold on Northey’s nomination before the Senate Agriculture Committee, despite…

“There will be time for that later,” Governor Kim Reynolds said yesterday when asked if Iowa will pursue any new gun control legislation in the aftermath of the worst mass shooting in American history. She was lying. There will never be a real discussion about responsible gun laws in Iowa so long as Kim Reynolds…

Under a hot September sun, progressive activists, Democrats and issue advocates gathered this weekend for the third annual Progress Iowa Corn Feed. Three prominent out-of-state leaders keynoted the event: Center For American Progress president Neera Tanden, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. Merkley and Buttigieg’s profiles have been on the rise…

What does the future leaders of the Democratic Party and issue advocacy look like? Iowans will get several chances in the coming weeks to get a glimpse of a few possibilities. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigeg will headline Progress Iowa’s annual Corn Feed fundraiser this Saturday, along with…

John Delaney isn’t exactly a household name among Iowa Democratic activists. Not yet, anyway. The Maryland congressman who became the first official 2020 presidential candidate last month is planning on making a significant early investment in the lead-off caucus state. That begins with placing staffers as soon as next month, with the hope of having…