Election 2020
Lawsuit claims Fox News knew — and now its viewers do, too
Loyal viewers of Fox News should be asking themselves a critical question. Are they getting facts, or are they getting lies told to them because Fox thinks that’s what they want? The answer should be obvious following the bombshell revelations in a court filing Thursday. Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion, […]
Newly disclosed FEC records shed light on Ernst ‘dark money’ case
A central Iowa group that allegedly spent close to $1.5 million supporting Sen. Joni Ernst’s 2020 reelection campaign says newly disclosed records from the Federal Elections Commission support the dismissal of a lawsuit against the organization. The FEC records show that while the commission’s general counsel found reason to believe several election laws were violated […]
Iowa Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott to serve as Democratic whip
Iowa Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott will take over from retiring Sen. Amanda Ragan as Democratic whip in the Iowa Senate, Democrats announced Friday. Trone Garriott of West Des Moines won reelection against former Senate President Jake Chapman, representing Senate District 14. While Democrats lost ground and remain the minority in both chambers, Trone Garriott’s race […]
GOP on track to control U.S. House, but dozens of races still undecided
Republicans remained on pace to likely wrest control of the U.S. House, even as Democrats picked up a few more victories in close races late Wednesday and into the day Thursday. As of about 4 p.m. Central on Thursday, The Associated Press had called 209 races for Republicans. That put them ahead of Democrats’ 191, […]
Recreational marijuana use will be legal in 21 states after ballot measures pass
Advocates for marijuana liberalization saw mixed results as legalization ballot measures were counted Tuesday, with Maryland and Missouri voters approving recreational use for adults but Arkansas, South Dakota and North Dakota rejecting the proposal. Maryland and Missouri will bring the list of states where recreational marijuana use is legal to 21. Missouri is the second […]
Candidates are trying to scare you. Don’t fall for it.
It’s the spooky season. We love to be scared. Halloween decorations dot lawns across Des Moines. Over the weekend, I spotted a giant, inflatable baby on a north-side lawn with a mouth full of blood-smeared fangs. Magazines are full of directions for making cheese-cloth ghosts and punch-bowl ice in the shape of severed hands. Horror […]
Biden pitches to the middle class as Democrats fight for support in advance of midterms
PORTLAND, Ore. — President Joe Biden, at a community center here Saturday, promoted Democrats’ efforts to bring down health care costs, in a visit to a normally Democratic state three weeks before midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the next two years. Speaking on the first day of Medicare open enrollment, Biden […]
Iowa man arrested for threatening to lynch Arizona official over election fraud claims
A 64-year-old Iowa man has been arrested for threatening to lynch Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman and an employee of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office for not investigating claims of fictitious voter fraud. “When we come to lynch your stupid lying Commie [expletive], you’ll remember that you lied on the [expletive] Bible, you piece of […]
How election-denying GOP governors could tilt the 2024 presidential election
Republican candidates who claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump have been nominated for governor in four critical swing states, raising concerns that if elected they could try to sway election results in 2024 and beyond. In Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Republican primary voters elected a candidate who has denied the […]
Members of U.S. Senate committee consider bipartisan changes to Electoral Count Act
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers and legal experts at a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday outlined the need to pass legislation clarifying an archaic election law so that the peaceful transfer of presidential power is ensured. The Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, a bipartisan bill being pushed by 16 senators, was proposed after the […]
Election officials risk criminal charges under 31 new GOP-imposed penalties
Second in a two-part series. See part one here. Since the 2020 election, Iowa has enacted one new felony and two new misdemeanor offenses targeting election officials. The state’s omnibus election law, passed in 2021, criminalizes election officials who fail to perform their duties, don’t adequately maintain voter lists, or interfere with other people performing their […]
First Jan. 6 hearing to reveal new evidence of Trump conspiracy, panel aides say
The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol will use its first public hearing to tie the violent attempt to overturn the election directly to former President Donald Trump, committee aides told reporters Wednesday. In addition to live witnesses — a U.S. Capitol Police officer injured by rioters during the […]