Election 2024
Campaign rules for the Iowa caucuses have evolved but not changed
There are three well-known rules to find success in the Iowa Caucus, also known as the Nagle Rule, since I first proscribed them: Rule No. 1 is Organize; Rule Number Two is Organize and Rule No. 3 is Get Hot at the End. In the 40-plus years we have held this event, time and time […]
Trump claims election investigations are themselves ‘election interference’
Former President Donald Trump — who might face criminal charges for attempting to interfere with the outcome of the 2020 presidential election — claimed Tuesday afternoon in Iowa that he is the victim of election interference by federal prosecutors. Trump announced earlier Tuesday he has received a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith saying he […]
National bill on voting standards pushed anew by Democrats in Congress
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats on Tuesday said they plan to again introduce a bill to set national voting standards in response to state legislatures passing strict voting laws. The bill, known in a previous Congress as the Freedom to Vote Act, would establish national standards for early voting, mail-in ballots and protection of poll workers and volunteers […]
Trump says he has been told he is a target of the special counsel’s Jan. 6 investigation
Donald Trump has received a target letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith, he said Tuesday, indicating another indictment of the former president is likely over his role in encouraging the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump posted to his social media site, Truth Social, on Tuesday, announcing that he’d received the target […]
Reynolds invites GOP presidential candidates to event at Iowa State Fair
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she has invited all of the Republican presidential candidates to join her in one-on-one conversations at the Iowa State Fair. Fair Side Chats will take place throughout the fair, Aug. 10-20, with interviews that will “go beyond just the issues of a presidential campaign and allow fairgoers to see who the […]
Iowa’s U.S. House incumbents each top $1 million in 2023 fundraising
Despite Election Day being over 15 months away, Iowa’s congressional representatives each have pulled in over a million dollars since the first of the year. Only one of the four Republican incumbents has had a challenger announce a campaign. Democrat Ryan Melton announced July 4 he will run again against Rep. Randy Feenstra. Melton lost […]
Underperforming political journalism and pitfalls of conventional wisdom
Writers covering election politics these days generally do not disclose anything relevant about issues and top candidates. Mostly, they read online speeches and social media posts, view broadcast and YouTube segments, report poll predictions, scan databases and launch wave after wave of commentary. We are drowning in a tsunami of political opinion. There are a […]
Despite poor polling numbers, Kamala Harris viewed as key for Democrats in 2024
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris’ poll numbers have stagnated at a lower level than many of her predecessors’ ratings, a daunting problem for a running mate as the 2024 presidential campaign gets underway. Professors and political experts interviewed by States Newsroom say there are several reasons why Harris’ favorability numbers sagged after she took […]
Field of presidential candidates faces crowd of Christians
Republican presidential candidates worked to appeal to about 2,000 evangelical Christians Friday at a Des Moines conference – in some cases despite critical questioning in on-stage interviews by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson. Carlson wrangled with former Vice President Mike Pence on his position that the U.S. should continue to support Ukraine with military equipment and […]
D.C. Dispatch: Lawmakers eye expanded grazing, foreign land ownership, stillborn baby prevention
After two weeks off, Iowa’s congressional delegation got back into the swing of things in Washington. Lawmakers focused on restrictions on foreign ownership of land, foreign lobbying, spending by the secretary of agriculture, and more. Citing consecutive years of drought, the Iowa delegation sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging […]
U.S. House Republicans pass overhaul of federal elections system out of committee
WASHINGTON — On a party-line vote, the U.S. Committee on House Administration on Thursday night passed a bill that would enact strict new voting laws for states, such as requiring copies of IDs for voting by mail, and set penalties for states that allow voting by noncitizens in local elections. The 224-page bill, H.R. 4563, was […]
As states hunt for new voters, Massachusetts adds thousands via Medicaid applications
Massachusetts saw a more-than-five-fold jump in voter registration applications through social service agencies in the last election cycle, new federal data shows. The striking increase comes after the state implemented an automatic voter registration (AVR) system that includes Medicaid applicants. Any eligible voter in the state who applies for Medicaid is automatically added to the […]