Iowa Down Ballot

Iowa Writers Collaborative Members
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Professional political analysts discuss Iowa politics with refreshing, in-depth conversations. iowawriterscollaborative.substack.com

  1. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/27/26

    16h ago

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/27/26

    Audio has leaked of RFK Jr. calling Libertarian candidate Rick Stewart, pushing him to drop out of the 2nd District race without ever making a concrete offer. That’s part of a bigger pattern of Republicans working to push Libertarians off the ballot, both through direct calls like this one and through legal challenges. Marco Battalia got disqualified over a name issue, and the Libertarian governor and lieutenant governor candidates are now fighting their own disqualification in court. We also revisited Governor Reynolds’ use of CARES Act money to pay 21 staffers back in 2020, a story Laura broke at the time and Rob Sand has criticized for nearly six years. This week the Trump Treasury sent a letter saying the spending was fine, and Sand pushed back, standing by his original finding. You can read Laura’s original stories on the topic here, here, and here. Finally, we covered the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that’s likely to knock out hundreds of Roundup cancer lawsuits, since there’s no federal cancer warning requirement on glyphosate. Both gubernatorial candidates oppose the ruling, and we noted the awkward spot it puts Zach Lahn in given his MAHA messaging and RFK Jr.’s silence on the issue. To become or paid (or free) subscriber go ahead and click that button above. If you’d like to make a one-time donation to help us here at Iowa Down Ballot and everyone with the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative please click the button below. Have a great weekend! Auto-generated transcript below: 00:00:20.510 --> 00:00:32.439 Dave Price: Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Iowa Down Ballot podcast, our weekly conversation about all things in Iowa politics, and then maybe some other stuff that impacts Iowa politics. 4 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:41.690 Dave Price: I’m Dave Price, joined by Laura Belin and Kathie Obradovich, two of my colleagues from the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Happy Friday, ladies! 5 00:00:42.080 --> 00:00:43.519 Kathie Obradovich: Happy Friday! 6 00:00:43.670 --> 00:00:45.110 Laura Belin: Good Friday to you. 7 00:00:45.110 --> 00:01:05.009 Dave Price: And we say that, obviously, for those of you who may be new to this conversation. We usually record on Fridays, and this podcast drops on Saturdays. It’s a little CYA maneuver in case something really, really big happens on a Friday night. So you might be thinking, why did these fools not talk about it? Well, that’s why, because you have to record this at some point. 8 00:01:05.099 --> 00:01:07.689 Dave Price: And so we do, usually, at some point on… 9 00:01:07.810 --> 00:01:15.550 Dave Price: on Fridays. Ladies, I was thinking about my life on Thursday night, and, you know, it’s sometimes 10 00:01:15.660 --> 00:01:25.920 Dave Price: maybe this is just me because I’m weird, but sometimes I just have, like, these random thoughts about things we’ve done and experienced in our professional careers and stuff. 11 00:01:26.090 --> 00:01:38.280 Dave Price: And, my family was all gone last night, and I was working on this RFK Jr. phone call to the Libertarian congressional candidate, Rick Stewart. 12 00:01:38.660 --> 00:01:48.290 Dave Price: which, first of all, just that sentence that I just said is unique enough, right? So I’m finding myself… so we have the audio of this phone call. 13 00:01:48.420 --> 00:02:01.060 Dave Price: And, you know, for our purposes, we’ve got to do some editing to it, we have to put their pictures up every time they talk, there are audio issues with the whole thing, there’s this weird… in the recording we got from the Libertarian Party, there’s a… 14 00:02:01.100 --> 00:02:19.099 Dave Price: little gap in the audio, so I was trying to figure out what the heck that means. Plus, at the end of the conversation, or end of the recording, it just sort of stops. So, you know, you gotta look at this thing and try to vet it and be like, alright, is this thing real? Like, what the heck’s going on? Plus, Rick Stewart’s voice is like this, and RFK is, like… 15 00:02:19.160 --> 00:02:20.040 Kathie Obradovich: Great. 16 00:02:20.040 --> 00:02:27.540 Dave Price: It talks anyway, but it’s, like, not very loud, so I’m trying to figure out, do I want to alter the video so that people can hear it better? 17 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:35.180 Dave Price: But then, you know, I don’t want a 60 minutes moment here of anybody accusing me of, you know, putting this stuff together differently, but… 18 00:02:35.440 --> 00:02:40.450 Dave Price: First of all, forget the journalism side of this, and the relevance to politics and all this stuff. 19 00:02:41.030 --> 00:02:52.120 Dave Price: I mean, it was one of those days, I’m like, I am literally listening to a phone call from RFK Jr. with a guy who’s a libertarian, who’s run for office a ton of different times over the years. 20 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:56.849 Dave Price: And RFK Jr. is trying to get him to drop out of the race. Like, what a… 21 00:02:57.290 --> 00:02:58.910 Dave Price: What a unique story. 22 00:03:00.480 --> 00:03:03.130 Kathie Obradovich: You hear about those things happening in politics. 23 00:03:03.460 --> 00:03:12.960 Kathie Obradovich: know, and but so, it is so rare, one, that there’s actual audio of the call. I don’t know why more candidates… 24 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:23.470 Kathie Obradovich: Especially those who come back and accuse their opponents of doing such things, why more of them don’t record. Because in Iowa, it is legal. I mean, some states, you can’t… 25 00:03:23.470 --> 00:03:36.189 Kathie Obradovich: record a call, if… unless all parties know. In Iowa, you can record the call as long as one party, you know, like yourself, knows. 26 00:03:36.190 --> 00:03:44.020 Kathie Obradovich: That the recording is happening. So, in some states, there’s wiretap laws that wouldn’t even allow that, but… and I wonder why… 27 00:03:44.240 --> 00:04:08.710 Kathie Obradovich: you know, I was thinking about why RFK Jr. would, you know, call somebody on the phone and, you know, try to get them to drop out of the race, and, you know, in the age when, you know, you can easily make a recording of a phone call, and it occurred to me that maybe he didn’t realize that you could do that in Iowa legally without announcing it. Anyway, but yeah, it’s unusual to have an audio of the call, and secondly. 28 00:04:08.710 --> 00:04:31.970 Kathie Obradovich: unusual that somebody so high profile is involved, you know? I mean, usually these things are handled through intermediaries, right? If it’s… if we can say that such a thing is usual. So… so yeah, that was… it was kind of an eye-popping thing, and I, you know, I… I believed Marco Battalia when he said, you know, he raised this, you know, as part of the state objection panel. 29 00:04:31.970 --> 00:04:34.680 Kathie Obradovich: Part of it when they were kicking him off the ballot. 30 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:57.219 Kathie Obradovich: He was in the 3rd District. They were trying to kick him off the ballot, and he talked about how RFK Jr. and, the Zach Nunn campaign had contacted him, trying to get him to drop out. And none of that is illegal unless they make promises, right? They… they try to bribe them to drop out with some sort of promise. 31 00:04:57.220 --> 00:05:03.900 Kathie Obradovich: But it is… it does seem, you know, unseemly, at the very least, so… 32 00:05:04.150 --> 00:05:11.610 Laura Belin: I had the same thought as Kathie, like, did RFK know he was being recorded? And absolute… by the way, yes, for everyone out there. 33 00:05:11.640 --> 00:05:34.659 Laura Belin: Iowa is a one-party consent state, so if you’re ever getting a newsworthy call, and I always say this even if it’s just a political opinion poll, just record that call, in case you want to refer to it later. Anyway, but Marco Battalia did not record his conversation, but apparently it did come from the same phone number, according to the Washington Post. The phone number 34 00:05:34.660 --> 00:05:40.060 Laura Belin: that Marco Battalia received a call from on his phone was a number that 35 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:42.769 Laura Belin: others can connect to RFK Jr. 36 00:05:43.650 --> 00:05:57.520 Dave Price: And, for those wondering what the heck, why is RFK Jr. calling? For those of us who’ve been around for a little while, and really, this isn’t that many years ago, but we remember 2020, 37 00:05:57.850 --> 00:06:08.999 Dave Price: In the 3rd Congressional District, there was a guy who ran by the name of Brian Jack Holder. He ran as a Libertarian then. He got just enough sliver of the vote. 38 00:06:09.380 --> 00:06:26.709 Dave Price: that David Young, who was the incumbent Republican running against the Democrat, Cindy Axne, they look at the margin there and say, hey, if he would not have run, that could have… that could have been the difference there, and then maybe… maybe the Republican could have… could have won in that case. 39 00:06:26.710 --> 00:06:31.269 Laura Belin: It happened twice. Both of Cindy Axne’s races that she won, in 2018 and 2018. 40 00:06:31.270 --> 00:06:32.360 Dave Price: and 20 a.m. 41 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:57.359 Laura Belin: He won in with, like, 49-point-something percent of the vote, and it happened in the Northeast Iowa congressional district. I believe they were independent candidates, not libertarians, but in 2010, Bruce Braley had a really close call against Ben Lang, and there were two other candidates on the ballot, and they combined to get, like, 3 or 3.5% of the vote, something like that. But in any case, it was more than the difference between Braley 42 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:11.380 Laura Belin: and Ben Lang. So I can see why Republicans would be worried about Rick Stewart in the second district. Of course, there’s also another independent candidate, Dave Bashaw, who might pull votes away from the Democrat, Lindsey Jane. 43 00:07:14.770 -->

    34 min
  2. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/20/26

    Jun 20

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/20/26

    Kathie got caught up on Derek Wulf as Lahn’s pick for Lieutenant Governor, this time noting his Ag Committee chairmanship could ease some rural skepticism toward Lahn. Then Laura dropped the real news: court filings show close to a million dollars in foreclosure and judgment cases tied to Wulf’s farm, something his campaign chalks up to broader struggles facing family farmers. We also dug into Kim Reynolds’ legacy as Lieutenant Governor compared to how visible Branstad kept her, plus Laura’s own frustrating run-ins trying to get access during COVID. Read more on that here: Branstad determined to make Reynolds next governor and here: Reynolds hides Gregg And we have some interesting Libertarian news. Two of four candidates got bounced from the ballot, one over a name dispute, one over missing paperwork, with both heading to court. Laura also reported candidates say they got pressure calls from RFK Jr. and a visit from Zach Nunn’s camp urging them to drop out before the challenges hit. To continue to help us cover production costs for this incredibly informative podcast please consider becoming a paid subscriber by clicking the link above, or click the link below to make a one-time contribution that helps Julie Gammack and her work with the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative including Iowa Down Ballot. Auto-generated transcript below: 00:00:10.280 --> 00:00:20.650 Dave Price: Hi, everyone, and welcome to the Iowa Down Ballot podcast, our weekly confab with two collaborators from the Iowa Writers Collaborative. 4 00:00:20.650 --> 00:00:31.699 Dave Price: Usually two. Last week was one. Kathie Obradovich has returned by popular demand. Laura Bellin was here with us last week and returns as well. Hello, ladies. 5 00:00:31.700 --> 00:00:34.219 Kathie Obradovich: Hello! Happy Friday, happy Juneteenth. 6 00:00:34.460 --> 00:00:35.720 Laura Belin: Yeah, happy Juneteenth. 7 00:00:35.720 --> 00:00:39.310 Dave Price: Happy Friday slash Saturday, I’m gonna say, since this… we recorded 8 00:00:39.730 --> 00:00:43.230 Dave Price: drops on Saturday. Last week, we were… 9 00:00:43.460 --> 00:00:52.399 Dave Price: not so artfully, behind the scenes trying to figure out a record time, because Kathie, despite the fact that she was supposed to be off. 10 00:00:52.710 --> 00:01:02.819 Dave Price: not working on Fridays so she could spend time with family, was still dedicated to try to do the podcast, and we were trying like crazy to make sure we knew the news about 11 00:01:02.820 --> 00:01:14.430 Dave Price: Zach Lahn choosing State Representative Derek Wulf as his running mate, so we were trying to figure all that into our record time, and the math did not work, so we left Kathie 12 00:01:14.900 --> 00:01:22.729 Dave Price: Unfortunately, out of the conversation. So, should we do it like a PS on that, Kathie, since you didn’t get to weigh in? What’d you think of the choice? 13 00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:38.769 Kathie Obradovich: You know, I think, that, I had predicted he would pick, you know, somebody with legislative experience, so that certainly, qualifies, and, you know, his choice of. 14 00:01:38.770 --> 00:01:55.810 Kathie Obradovich: of Derek Wulf as, you know, he’s the Ag Committee Chairman in the House. You know, I think, definitely plays up to rural interests that perhaps Zach Lahn may not be that close to, in the case of some of the big ag 15 00:01:55.810 --> 00:02:01.750 Kathie Obradovich: Manufacturers and producers who, you know, he’s had a kind of an anti-big-ag message. 16 00:02:01.750 --> 00:02:16.569 Kathie Obradovich: That, so I don’t know what the choice of Wulf signals there, that maybe he’s, you know, perhaps a… a little bit of a moderating force on that particular line of questioning. 17 00:02:16.570 --> 00:02:34.840 Kathie Obradovich: And, you know, I think, it seemed like, you know, despite the hiccup at the Republican state convention, where some of Adam Steen’s supporters tried to nominate him, you know, I think that that, you know, ultimately 18 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:41.370 Kathie Obradovich: Republicans probably felt fairly confident or comfortable with Wulf as a choice. 19 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:51.700 Dave Price: I always wonder what’s going on behind the scenes, and whether Rob Sands’ choice of Dave Mulbauer as his running mate, and of course, Dave is a farmer. 20 00:02:51.750 --> 00:03:04.969 Dave Price: Derek is a farmer. Did that have anything to do, you know, did that push Derek up the list to try to combat… combat this so we can go cattle rancher versus cattle rancher in this Lieutenant governor debate, where they both… 21 00:03:05.200 --> 00:03:11.439 Dave Price: They both wear their hats, and maybe we do this debate out on a countryside or in a barn or something, in a different. 22 00:03:11.440 --> 00:03:23.069 Kathie Obradovich: I was laughing, laughing at the hats. It’s like, you know, if somebody accidentally switched photos of these two guys, would anybody notice? 23 00:03:23.070 --> 00:03:25.249 Dave Price: They do look a little similar. Their wives would probably disagree. 24 00:03:25.630 --> 00:03:28.159 Dave Price: But they do look really similar when they’re in their heads. 25 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:46.550 Kathie Obradovich: Yeah, no, I mean, ultimately, I don’t think the choice of lieutenant Governor really makes that much difference, to voters. I mean, unless it turns out to be a terrible choice, and that, you know, the Lieutenant Governor candidate becomes, you know, something of a target. But… 26 00:03:46.790 --> 00:04:06.369 Kathie Obradovich: you know, where it does matter, I think, is whether the governor and lieutenant governor can be a team and work together. That is something that Terry Bransted always lived by, that he, you know, ultimately what was more important to him was picking somebody that he could actually trust and work with. 27 00:04:06.370 --> 00:04:20.969 Kathie Obradovich: And, you know, obviously somebody who could be prepared to take over if the worst should happen. So, I think those are the things that are important. I don’t think that otherwise the Lieutenant Governor Choice really brings that much to the ticket, you know, in terms of trying to get elected. 28 00:04:21.320 --> 00:04:33.180 Laura Belin: Dave, one thing we didn’t talk about last week, because it was so new and I hadn’t had time to look into it, but last weekend, I was looking on Iowa Courts Online and going through some of the filings. There are a lot of 29 00:04:33.180 --> 00:04:38.400 Laura Belin: Legal cases, and a petition for foreclosure, and a few legal judgments. 30 00:04:38.400 --> 00:04:53.880 Laura Belin: against Derek Wulf or his farm, and so I feel like… I mean, that’s only what is available right now on Iowa Courts Online. I feel like if there are more legal issues that we don’t know about that may come out during the campaign, I feel like that’s a risk 31 00:04:53.940 --> 00:05:07.439 Laura Belin: that Zach Lahn didn’t necessarily need to take. Although the Lane campaign told me that this is just an example, a lot of farmers are having hard times, and that basically this is an example of why we need to work to help 32 00:05:07.440 --> 00:05:25.670 Laura Belin: farm stay in family hands, and that they… they told me that Derek Wulf is working on some kind of refinancing, and that all of the debts are going to be paid. But it’s… if you add up all these cases together, it’s close to a million dollars in unpaid bills and other obligations. 33 00:05:25.850 --> 00:05:33.219 Dave Price: I find it fascinating that, you know, probably unintentionally, but on the Republican side. 34 00:05:33.870 --> 00:05:52.920 Dave Price: both of these guys, their private lives will be part of public discussion now, right? With Derek Wulf and his family, and the financial struggles they’ve had with their farming operations, and he’s… as he tries to refinance all of that to get on the right side of that. 35 00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:57.769 Dave Price: Clearly, that if they choose to, that could be… that could, 36 00:05:57.770 --> 00:06:04.280 Dave Price: Provide an entry point to talk about how difficult life is for so many small farmers who live on the margins. 37 00:06:04.280 --> 00:06:20.649 Dave Price: And as they’ve been squeezed with higher input costs, and this whole trade uncertainty, and obviously now the… you’ve got two wars going on with Iran, and then the Russian-Ukraine thing that’s been going on forever, that has disrupted so many different things on the energy side and on the fertilizer side. 38 00:06:20.650 --> 00:06:23.489 Dave Price: If he’s willing to talk about this, and this could… 39 00:06:23.490 --> 00:06:38.869 Dave Price: Obviously, it’s very personal stuff, and his family may or may not want to talk about this stuff. And then we have Zach Lahn, who we’ve already discussed, but here’s a guy in his second marriage, and he has children in two different states, and so people may have different views of 40 00:06:39.190 --> 00:06:51.819 Dave Price: How he and his current wife and ex-wife, because his current wife also had a previous marriage where she had children as well, so they have kids together, they both have kids with other people. 41 00:06:51.830 --> 00:07:07.040 Dave Price: from their former marriages in Kansas, so that becomes a complicated situation, and I sat down with Lane and talked about that. He used the word complicated to talk about this, and I’m fascinated about how, especially on the Republican side. 42 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:19.499 Dave Price: These two are going to be willing, if they are, to address some of this personal stuff, because it does, if they want to, provide a kind of an opening into some pretty complicated measures. 43 00:07:20.200 --> 00:07:28.289 Kathie Obradovich: not that hypocrisy is a thing in politics anymore, but I can’t see all of these Trump vote

    31 min
  3. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/13/26

    Jun 13

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/13/26

    Zach Lahn named state rep Derek Wulf as his running mate, a cattle farmer and early Trump endorser, likely a move to shore up MAGA support after Lahn didn’t get Trump’s endorsement in the primary. Trump has since walked that back publicly, saying he got “bad info.” Rob Sand went with Dave Muhlbauer, a rural Democrat who’s held office in deep-red Crawford County. The pick sends a clear message that Sand isn’t writing off small-town Iowa. Both tickets are now set, several Libertarian candidates are fighting ballot challenges on paperwork technicalities, and debate talks are underway. Laura called this the most exciting Iowa election cycle she’s ever covered. Hard to disagree. Thanks for subscribing, we continue to grow! We reached 30k total audio downloads since we launched this show a little over a year ago. If you would like to support the shows production costs, please hit the subscribe button above. If you’d like to make a one-time donation please click the button below. Auto-generated transcript below: Get full access to Iowa Down Ballot at iowawriterscollaborative.substack.com/subscribe

    33 min
  4. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/6/26

    Jun 6

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/6/26

    Two big results: Zach Lahn edged out Randy Feenstra in the Republican gubernatorial primary — a surprise upset fueled by a dominant Polk County performance and a late push from conservative commentator Steve Deace. On the Democratic side, Josh Turek won the U.S. Senate primary more comfortably than expected. Looking ahead, we talked about why Lahn is a trickier general election opponent for Rob Sand than Feenstra would have been — he’s a change candidate with no voting record to attack. With both the governor’s race and U.S. Senate seat open simultaneously for the first time in 58 years, Iowa’s general election is set to grab A LOT of attention. Thanks so much to those of you that have become paid subscribers or made a one time donation. Please click the subscribe button above or one-time donation button below to pitch in! Also, we reached #70 on Rising U.S. Politics on Substack this week. We wouldn’t have been there without your support. THANK YOU! Auto-generated transcript below: 00:00:17.360 --> 00:00:34.689 Dave Price: Welcome, everybody, to the Iowa Down Ballot podcast, the post-primary election edition. I’m Dave Price, joined by Kathie Obradovich and Laura Belin. Hello to both of you as we begin this first weekend past the primary. How are you? 3 00:00:35.230 --> 00:00:36.650 Kathie Obradovich: Fabulous. 4 00:00:36.650 --> 00:00:39.090 Laura Belin: I’m recovering. 5 00:00:39.090 --> 00:00:40.039 Dave Price: We survived. 6 00:00:40.040 --> 00:00:40.920 Laura Belin: Nights, yes. 7 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:43.030 Dave Price: Yeah, but 8 00:00:43.170 --> 00:00:52.269 Dave Price: All in all, to have primary night wrapped up by the time everything essentially was, was not bad. Kathie, what’s your headline? 9 00:00:53.330 --> 00:01:09.919 Kathie Obradovich: So, couple of surprises. One, I thought that this U.S. Senate Democratic primary, would be a lot closer than it was. It caught us off guard a little bit when AP called the race, excuse me, for Josh Turek. 10 00:01:10.070 --> 00:01:34.609 Kathie Obradovich: as early as they did, we thought it would go, go later and be a lot closer. And then secondly, you know, I think we saw that this could have been a possibility of Zach Lane edging out, Randy Feenster for the nomination. I mean, we saw the trend lines happening there. But again, you know, I sort of thought. 11 00:01:34.690 --> 00:01:58.689 Kathie Obradovich: you know, we were going to be going till 2AM on this race, or, you know, the potential for it to go to convention, and, the fact that, here’s the surprise, that Feenstra conceded, really, at the… at the… he was less than a percentage point behind Lane, and he conceded even before AP called the race. So, that surprised me as well. 12 00:01:59.650 --> 00:02:00.890 Dave Price: Laura, what was your headline? 13 00:02:02.310 --> 00:02:13.090 Laura Belin: Oh, I think the lane surge. I was kind of feeling the lane-mentum. I went to his rally in Ankeny on Sunday, and on Tuesday night, I started the evening at the Iowa Democratic Party’s 14 00:02:13.090 --> 00:02:36.220 Laura Belin: election night event, but when I saw the Polk County number come in really big for Zach Lahn, he had a margin of about 2,500 votes from Polk County, and Polk County tends to be one of the first to report, I scooted over to West Des Moines to go to the Lahn Victory Watch, because even though it was tight, he was hanging in there. I don’t think he ever gave up the lead at any point when they were 15 00:02:36.220 --> 00:02:41.810 Laura Belin: adding batches of votes. So, but my biggest surprise was not that Lahn won the primary, but 16 00:02:41.810 --> 00:02:52.570 Laura Belin: how many counties he carried. He carried 52 counties, and he actually carried most of the counties in Feenstra’s own congressional district, which I thought was amazing. He got 17 00:02:52.570 --> 00:03:16.439 Laura Belin: 40% of the vote in Sioux County, even. I mean, Feenstra carried Sioux County, but you would expect him to be absolutely dominating in his home county, so that did surprise me. I was also surprised in the second congressional district. Joe Mitchell won the… that was expected that he would win the nomination, but he only had, like, 62% of the vote or so. I thought he would do better against a very underfunded 18 00:03:16.440 --> 00:03:23.530 Laura Belin: opponent. So, in general, there was a pretty big anti-establishment streak in those Republican primary results. 19 00:03:23.630 --> 00:03:24.149 Dave Price: We have… 20 00:03:24.150 --> 00:03:47.299 Kathie Obradovich: It was interesting to see… just a quick addition to what Laura said. It was interesting to see how dominant Lahn was in the third district. You know, that’s really where he won it. Feenstra, they were pretty close, in the first and second district. Feenstra carried his own home 4th district, but not, as Laura just said, not by very much. 21 00:03:47.300 --> 00:04:03.270 Kathie Obradovich: But I think where Lahn really won it, was in the 3rd District, Central Iowa, Polk County, and he, he was… he was quite a bit further ahead there. So, I was a little bit surprised by that. 22 00:04:04.480 --> 00:04:20.019 Dave Price: I also was surprised that the Turek margin was as big as it was, although it really did feel like… I think we all sort of hinted at this the week before, that, it was… he looked like he had established himself as the… as the frontrunner with this. 23 00:04:20.029 --> 00:04:20.769 Laura Belin: It was… it was. 24 00:04:20.769 --> 00:04:22.189 Dave Price: The one thing that… 25 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:30.109 Laura Belin: I was… I’m sorry, the Vote Vets’ internal polling was showing him 20 to 25 points ahead, so it was pretty consistent with that. 26 00:04:30.110 --> 00:04:40.120 Dave Price: Yeah. The one thing I thought about is, I don’t remember exactly at what time lanes, numbers… 27 00:04:40.350 --> 00:04:56.269 Dave Price: jumped above Feenstra. I was standing behind, in front of this big monitor for our TV streaming broadcast that we did all night, and it would automatically refresh. And I remember looking, and all of a sudden, Lahn had jumped up, the early numbers had Feenstra up. 28 00:04:56.270 --> 00:05:06.809 Dave Price: But it just reminded me that this is not scientific by any means, but I talked about this a couple of weeks ago here on the podcast. Like, sometimes you can just feel some stuff. 29 00:05:07.330 --> 00:05:21.750 Dave Price: When you go out and witness some of these campaigns in action, and it doesn’t… what you… maybe what you feel as the reporter, at least for me, doesn’t necessarily match, maybe, my head. 30 00:05:21.750 --> 00:05:28.829 Dave Price: So, like, when this campaign started, Feenster’s clearly the frontrunner, right? Most money, most well-known. 31 00:05:28.830 --> 00:05:45.580 Dave Price: a member of Congress, you know, whatever. And we have talked numerous times on this podcast about, boy, you know, it doesn’t seem to be a lot of enthusiasm for this guy, whatever. Laura, you went to the Lahn event in Ankeny. I went to the one Friday night in West Des Moines right beforehand. 32 00:05:45.580 --> 00:06:10.110 Dave Price: Which, P.S, great point about Polk County, because they really leaned in hard to point… to Polk County and won handily. And that’s the margin right there, if you start looking at his overall numbers. But you could just feel the juice, and Friday night, I felt like you could still feel the juice in Lahn rally, even though hours before, they got the gut punch that the president had endorsed Feenstra. 33 00:06:10.590 --> 00:06:27.599 Dave Price: and, you know, changed his mind, or whatever happened behind the scenes, or somebody influenced him to get involved in the race. But it was just another indication to me about sometimes what the… I would say head and heart, but, I’m neutral here, so I don’t really have the heart involved in these things, but sort of heart and gut, maybe? 34 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:32.100 Dave Price: But Gut was telling me that Lahn was gonna surpass, and Head was telling me… 35 00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:47.040 Dave Price: boy, Feenster should probably be able to hold on here, right? And then, boy, once that flip happened, and I was texting throughout the night with, Feenster supporters, and you could tell that there was angst almost from the get-go. 36 00:06:47.290 --> 00:06:56.230 Dave Price: And then desperation sort of set in, like, they were looking at Montgomery County numbers, which were late… later coming in, but that was sort of the Hail Mary… 37 00:06:57.220 --> 00:07:01.050 Dave Price: And, you know, there weren’t enough people there that were gonna make enough of a difference anyway. 38 00:07:01.890 --> 00:07:02.580 Kathie Obradovich: I was… 39 00:07:02.580 --> 00:07:25.600 Kathie Obradovich: You know, beforehand, we weren’t… didn’t really have a lot of information about what Lahn’s get-out-the-vote operation was going to be like. You know, I was sort of assuming that Feenstra and Steen might both have an advantage there, with Steen, you know, having his tried-and-true supporters from the family leader, etc. 40 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:50.180 Kathie Obradovich: But, yeah, the… either, you know, that organization is not quite as influential as it has been, or, there wasn’t enough difference between Steen and, Lahn and Feenstra in terms of how people felt as far as their, you know, religious, Christian conservative, values. 41 00:07:50.180 --> 00:07:51.280 Kathie Obradovich: So… 42 00:07:51.280 --> 00:08:00.670 Laura Belin: Well, Steve Dace, who was an early Steen endorser and a big Steen endorser, came out on Saturday, the day after the Trump endorsement, and said. 43 00:08:00.880 --> 00:08:07.269 Laura Belin: I’m still voting for Steen, but if you want to stop Randy Feenstra, who’s gonna lose to Rob Sand, you have 44 00:08:07.270 -

    37 min
  5. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/30/26

    May 30

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/30/26

    Pre-Primary Palooza: What to Watch Tuesday Night A new poll from JMC Analytics has Zach Lahn at 24%, Feenstra at 22%, and Steen at 15% — with 27% still undecided. We’re not putting too much weight in it, but it would explain why Feenstra went negative this week, hitting Lahn over a past investment in a men’s health company. Frontrunners don’t attack candidates they aren’t worried about. An outside group sharing a consultant with the Lahn campaign also launched its own immigration hit on Feenstra, so the gloves are off heading into Tuesday. Steen has the Family Leader network behind him, which has powered late surges before — but without TV money, he risks losing anti-Feenstra voters to Lahn if they consolidate around the more viable option. Dave stopped by a Feenstra house party Wednesday night and came away puzzled. Terry Branstad, the Lt. Governor, the Secretary of Ag — a full Republican who’s who — but no energy, no closing argument, just the standard Pizza Ranch stump speech. Meanwhile Lahn has been packing town halls with 100-150 people. The contrast is hard to ignore. On the Democratic side, VoteVets has dropped $10 million since mid-March for Josh Turek — more than Hubbell spent in all of 2018. Zach Wahls has the Iowa résumé and is leaning on an outsider frame, but electability seems to be the real tiebreaker for Democratic primary voters, and that spending has erased Turek’s early name ID gap fast. We’ll know a lot more by next week. See you then. A huge thank you to everyone who has already become a paid subscriber — your support is what keeps this conversation going. If you’ve been listening and haven’t yet, please consider subscribing or making a one-time donation through the link below. We’ve got a big year of Iowa politics ahead and we don’t want to stop now. Auto-generated transcript below: 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:49.230 Dave Price: Hi everyone, welcome to the Iowa Down Ballot podcast. This is our pre-primary election Extravaganza. 10 00:00:49.350 --> 00:00:55.330 Dave Price: Hi, I’m Dave Price, joined by Laura Belin and Kathie Obradovich. Hello, ladies, how are you? 11 00:00:55.660 --> 00:01:02.849 Kathie Obradovich: Hello. Happy Friday. I think Primary Palooza is what we want to go with, don’t you think? 12 00:01:02.850 --> 00:01:04.859 Dave Price: Like, let’s start this sucker over again. 13 00:01:05.080 --> 00:01:05.989 Kathie Obradovich: No, no, no, no. 14 00:01:05.990 --> 00:01:11.849 Dave Price: I dug out… I was trying to think of a prop, you know, I keep different things. 15 00:01:11.850 --> 00:01:12.640 Laura Belin: This is from… 16 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:17.069 Dave Price: there was, way back in the day. 17 00:01:17.240 --> 00:01:33.119 Dave Price: Back in my hometown in southern Illinois, Belleville, Illinois, there was a longtime member of Congress named Mel Price, Melvin Price. I do not believe we were related to him in any way, but, 18 00:01:33.190 --> 00:01:48.070 Dave Price: my dad was sort of, like, both ways. Like, for a while, he was involved in Democratic politics when he worked for this stove company, and he was, he worked, I remember once a month on Saturdays working for the union, and then he was kind of one of those, 19 00:01:48.070 --> 00:01:55.170 Dave Price: He got laid off during the Carter administration, he flipped over and became one of these Reagan Democrats and kind of stuck with… 20 00:01:55.420 --> 00:02:01.079 Dave Price: the Republicans most of the rest of his life, although he was a Ross Perot guy in there, too. My dad was a… 21 00:02:01.180 --> 00:02:15.670 Dave Price: He was a fascinating swing voter over the time. I should have… I wish I would have recorded more stories with him before he passed away. But anyway, this is my… I’ve always kept this, and since it doesn’t say Mel on there, then… 22 00:02:15.670 --> 00:02:16.700 Laura Belin: That’s right. 23 00:02:17.290 --> 00:02:20.559 Dave Price: when I… when I… when I launch one day. 24 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:31.959 Kathie Obradovich: I could be your running mate, Dave, because I received a fortune in a fortune cookie just the other day that says, your determination will lead to victory in November. 25 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:33.550 Dave Price: So… 26 00:02:34.510 --> 00:02:44.530 Kathie Obradovich: I don’t know whose fortune cookie I got, it clearly wasn’t intended for me, but it’s like, okay, I guess we’ve got a sort of a political bent here, so… 27 00:02:44.530 --> 00:02:52.939 Dave Price: A bunch of candidates who, who watch this podcast when it drops will probably reach out to you. Can we please have that fortune from you? 28 00:02:53.930 --> 00:02:57.720 Dave Price: Before Tuesday night. Hey, as we’re… 29 00:02:57.970 --> 00:03:20.430 Dave Price: as we’re gathering here, and we are gathering on… on Friday morning, there is a new poll that’s dropped, and Laura, maybe you can start us off. Can you be our asterisk, as we talk about this poll? Because this is a company that we don’t frankly know a lot about, and we are going to intentionally not put too much weight into this. 30 00:03:20.430 --> 00:03:26.039 Dave Price: It is one… new facet, perhaps, in this Republican gubernatorial race. 31 00:03:26.230 --> 00:03:37.469 Dave Price: But if it is true, or if it maybe has picked up on something, it does maybe make some sense with some recent developments that we’ve seen here, right? 32 00:03:37.620 --> 00:03:38.240 Laura Belin: Right. 33 00:03:38.530 --> 00:04:03.490 Laura Belin: So, JMC Analytics and Polling, and they say in their polling memo that they are not affiliated with any candidate running for governor or Senate in Iowa. So, they commissioned this poll of the Republican primary, and the big, shocking top line is that they found Zach Lane with 24% support, Randy Feenstra with 22%, and Adam Steen in third place. 34 00:04:03.490 --> 00:04:15.099 Laura Belin: with 15%, and then a huge number, 27%, undecided. So, if true, that would be very big, and, of course. 35 00:04:15.100 --> 00:04:39.979 Laura Belin: we’ve been saying for a while that Zach Lane, one of his big challenges would be to get his name ID up and consolidate support to allow him to overtake Feenstra, and this would suggest that all of his big spending on digital ads and TV ads may be paying off. Now, the Senate race was a little more of a snooze, with Ashley Henson way ahead, 58% to 19% over Jim Carlin, which is kind of 36 00:04:39.980 --> 00:04:42.640 Laura Belin: in line with, I think, what people would expect. 37 00:04:42.850 --> 00:04:43.580 Dave Price: And… 38 00:04:43.580 --> 00:05:01.400 Kathie Obradovich: Yeah, so, I mean, if this poll is accurate, two things really jump out at me. One, of course, is that Zach Lane has moved into the lead, but two, nobody had 35%, which is what you need to win a primary. That big, undecided 39 00:05:01.440 --> 00:05:19.579 Kathie Obradovich: block, also means that, you know, regardless of what the polls say, it’s still… and this is always really important in primary anyway, it’s still about getting your voters out. So, who has the best, get out the vote? Is, you know, does Zach Lane, can he… 40 00:05:19.690 --> 00:05:30.150 Kathie Obradovich: stand up? Can his get-out-the-vote effort stand up to a really experienced politician like Randy Feenstrod? But, you know, it raises some really interesting questions, I think. 41 00:05:30.280 --> 00:05:48.079 Dave Price: And the get-out-the-vote, as we’ve talked about throughout this podcast, it is the test for Feenstra. Can he translate what he’s pulled off in the fourth, where Republicans always do well in the way that district is? Is it 36 counties, is that right? 42 00:05:48.080 --> 00:05:49.170 Laura Belin: 36 now, yes. 43 00:05:49.170 --> 00:06:09.199 Dave Price: 36 of the 99, so geographically, just a humongous chunk, but it is so heavily Republican there. So Feenstrait’s challenge all throughout has been the other three congressional districts, where would he turn out people there, but also really has to juice his numbers in the fourth, if he can do that, to try to up his game. 44 00:06:09.200 --> 00:06:17.839 Laura Belin: Well, and I don’t know that he can, because remember 2 years ago, he had a primary opponent, Kevin Virgil, who was backed by Steve King. 45 00:06:17.840 --> 00:06:36.569 Laura Belin: And Feenstra won that primary only by 60% to 40% against a guy, you know, hardly anyone had ever heard of 6 months before the primary, who Feenstra outspent by 10 to 1, or maybe more. So I don’t know that he can really count on Northwest Iowa being this solid base of support for him. 46 00:06:37.750 --> 00:06:39.470 Dave Price: Kathie, you saw the… 47 00:06:39.970 --> 00:06:58.990 Kathie Obradovich: I was just gonna say, I mean, it’s a huge geographic area, but, but, you know, you look at the, you know, the population, you know, it’s just a… the big population centers are all elsewhere in the state, so I… it is… it is difficult, I think, to win… win the state by winning the 4th district. 48 00:06:59.080 --> 00:07:00.160 Kathie Obradovich: So… 49 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:02.160 Dave Price: Okay, so, let’s… 50 00:07:02.770 --> 00:07:16.660 Dave Price: We can talk about this poll, whether this is or isn’t accurate, and how, and as Laura’s pointed out, 126 times, I feel like, in your columns and on your show this year, it is tough to measure the primary electorate, right? 51 00:07:17.640 --> 00:07:19.369 Dave Price: Okay, so Kathie. 52 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:22.539 Dave Price: What about here late in the game? 53 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:32.940 Dave Price: So it would be Wednesday night, Thursday morning, I believe, when this thing dropped, but Feenstra, who from the get-go has been the perceived frontrunner in this race. 54 00:07:32.940 --> 00:07:44.429 Dave Price: he goes negative with an ad against Zach Lane. And jus

    42 min
  6. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5-23-26

    May 23

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5-23-26

    We debriefed on the Gray Media/KCCI Republican gubernatorial debate, which Dave helped moderate. Four of five candidates participated — Zach Lahn, Adam Steen, Brad Sherman, and Eddie Andrews — with Randy Feenstra a no-show despite the debate being scheduled on a Saturday to accommodate him. Lahn and Steen had the strongest showings. Lahn stayed on message with his four systemic issues, while Steen spent notable time invoking Rob Sand, positioning himself as the candidate ready for a general election fight. The H-1B visa exchange was telling — Dave tried to focus on legal temporary workers that Iowa industries depend on, but most candidates steered toward undocumented immigration instead. Surprisingly, none of the candidates went after each other much, and Feenstra was barely mentioned. We also covered Governor Reynolds signing the Iowa MAHA bill with RFK Jr. in attendance. The bill has some bipartisan appeal — screen time limits in classrooms, food dye restrictions in school lunches — but also some sharp edges, including a SNAP waiver tied to Iowa’s quirky sales tax food definitions and a provision protecting pharmacists who dispense ivermectin without a prescription. Fundraising numbers are coming next week, right before the primary. We’ll dedicate pretty much all of next week’s show to a primary primer. Stay tuned! Auto-generated transcript below: Dave Price: Hello, everybody. Well, welcome back to the Iowa Down Ballot podcast. I’m Dave Price, joined by Kathie Obradovich and Laura Belin. Hello to you on a Friday as we record this. 2 00:00:19.450 --> 00:00:21.730 Kathie Obradovich: Hey! Happy holiday weekend! 3 00:00:21.980 --> 00:00:29.719 Dave Price: Indeed, Memorial Day weekend, indeed. Hey, I’m gonna selfishly start with a topic that I was part of. 4 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:53.540 Dave Price: Which is super arrogant, so I’m gonna, most of the time, sort of stop, step aside and let you two dive into this, but, my TV station group with Gray Media partnered with KCCITV in Des Moines, so we had this statewide debate. Four of the five Republican candidates for governor agreed to take part in this, unlike the Iowa Public TV debate. 5 00:00:54.230 --> 00:01:07.410 Dave Price: Where Zach Lahn protested and said, if Randy Feenster doesn’t come, neither am I. He gave up that protest and decided to take part in this, and, clearly got a lot more attention from doing the debate. 6 00:01:07.510 --> 00:01:13.069 Dave Price: 90 minutes, we did this, recorded it on a Saturday, and I just wanted to lay out 7 00:01:13.070 --> 00:01:29.440 Dave Price: why things worked the way they did. It was not because we wanted to record a debate on a Saturday and tape it and air it later, it was to give the best chance to get Congressman Feenstra to say yes, because he had not said yes to any of the other debates. 8 00:01:29.440 --> 00:01:53.370 Dave Price: in this cycle. So the thinking was, hey, let’s offer on a Saturday, even if he has to be in DC, he can fly back, which he comes home on the weekends anyway, so he could do it. But anyway, that didn’t work. But the other four said yes. So before I blather on about the behind-the-scenes stuff, Kathie, how about you lead off here? What was your takeaway? 90 minutes, what’d you think? 9 00:01:53.370 --> 00:02:13.300 Kathie Obradovich: Yeah, so, first of all, I was glad that you had 4 out of the 5 candidates. I think it was a smarter, much smarter move for Zach Lahn to join, and certainly, Ed, as you said, I think you probably did get a lot more attention out of it. Couple of quick observations. 10 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:32.990 Kathie Obradovich: We did hear some differences, among the candidates on a couple of issues, which is always, you know, makes it a little, you know, makes a little news, which is, you know, what debate organizers are always hoping for, right? A little bit of news. You know, they… a little bit of difference in terms of 11 00:02:33.200 --> 00:02:49.919 Kathie Obradovich: how you treat H-1B visas, so essentially guest workers, to come into the country and fill jobs, you know, especially, jobs where there’s a shortage. So a little bit of difference among the candidates on that issue, and then also, I think, a little difference 12 00:02:49.920 --> 00:03:14.210 Kathie Obradovich: Among how you go about water quality and, the farm chemicals related to Iowa’s cancer issue. And, so I, so we did hear some differences among those candidates. And the other… one other observation I’ll just mention, before we dive into any detail is, I think that, Adam Steen mentioned Rob Sand more than anybody 13 00:03:14.320 --> 00:03:36.969 Kathie Obradovich: He certainly mentioned it more than anybody else… him more than anybody else on stage, but also mentioned him more than he mentioned Randy Feenster, which I thought was interesting, that Adam Stein, at least as one candidate, seems to be looking beyond the primary already, to try to make some general election arguments. So I thought those three things stood out. 14 00:03:38.190 --> 00:03:40.699 Dave Price: Laura, what’d you take away from this? 15 00:03:41.720 --> 00:03:54.960 Laura Belin: So as a former high school debater, I always look at this as who was most successful in coming in and getting out the messages that they want to get out, and I think Zach Lahn and Adam Steen definitely had the most successful debate. 16 00:03:54.960 --> 00:04:19.959 Laura Belin: Zach Lahn came in there in his opening statement, talking about the four systemic issues that he always talks about. Kids were top four in the country in terms of kids leaving the state. We’re losing family farms, we used to be number one for education and we’re not, and we have this fast-growing cancer rate. And then he was repeatedly able to bring answers to other questions back to some of these central 17 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:44.809 Laura Belin: systemic issues that he talks about. And Adam Stein, what Kathie mentioned, it really struck me how often he mentioned Rob Sand, how he positioned himself as someone who knows Rob Sand because he’s seen him up close, because he’s worked in state government, and he can take on Rob Sand. So I felt like they both came in there and got the messages out. And regarding the water quality, Zach Lahn has been very open, and 18 00:04:44.810 --> 00:04:59.459 Laura Belin: cancer, he said, you know, these big ag companies have not been honest about their harmful products. And Adam Steen, it seemed to me very deliberate that he, on several occasions, was like, I’m not putting the blame on farmers, you know, farmers are trying to do the right thing. So I thought. 19 00:04:59.770 --> 00:05:17.840 Laura Belin: angling to get that rural vote. And I felt that Brad Sherman was trying, he mentioned several times that being a pastor and trying to bring God into this equation, but I just feel like that was an attempt to compete with Adam Steen, who has the endorsement of the family leader, and I don’t know that it was really successful. 20 00:05:18.410 --> 00:05:38.329 Kathie Obradovich: Brad Sherman, by the way, I think was… I could be wrong about this, but I think he was the only one who said that he wanted mandatory, conservation measures by farmers in order to try to control nutrients going into Iowa’s waterways. And I think he was the only candidate who said he, you know, he did… he did actually want 21 00:05:38.330 --> 00:05:43.660 Kathie Obradovich: some mandatory regulation there. So I thought that was interesting. 22 00:05:44.080 --> 00:05:51.820 Dave Price: And there was not… clearly, for this 90 minutes, there were not a lot of mandatory calls. Most of the things they talked about, whether it was 23 00:05:51.820 --> 00:06:05.710 Dave Price: ag-related, water-related, cancer-related, whatever, was… would be voluntary toward this. I thought, Kathie, you mentioned the H-1B visas, and Zach Lahn has a commercial specifically about that. 24 00:06:06.090 --> 00:06:23.419 Dave Price: I was listening to that, listening to them talk about this, I was thinking almost the disconnect, if you will, between what they were largely saying when it comes to immigration versus what the business community was talking about. And I’m not… 25 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:27.579 Dave Price: Before we get some, messages on this. 26 00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:46.539 Dave Price: I’m not saying the business community, I’m not saying any of these for… nobody’s talking about violent criminals who are living in the country illegally, doing a bunch of bad stuff. We’re not talking about that stuff. And what I specifically asked about, because I was trying to tailor these in a certain direction. 27 00:06:46.590 --> 00:06:56.430 Dave Price: was I wanted to talk about the legal… those who are here legally with some kind of temporary legal permission to work here, and 28 00:06:56.490 --> 00:07:02.009 Dave Price: We have a variety of industries in this state that rely on those 29 00:07:02.930 --> 00:07:14.979 Dave Price: workers. Education, healthcare, ag, there’s probably something else I’m not thinking of, just business overall, I suppose. And so, when I talk to business folks, they want that pipeline still. 30 00:07:15.260 --> 00:07:30.279 Dave Price: I don’t know that these four on the stage, they were communicating that same thing. Now, maybe Eddie Andrews did a little bit when he was talking about, you know, he’s recruited tech workers as part of his professional career, but Lahn was very much… 31 00:07:30.630 --> 00:07:36.440 Dave Price: you know, Iowa universities are for Iowans, and we don’t want any of these people teaching. 32 00:07:36.540 --> 00:07:41.709 Dave Price: That, that to me was an interesting theme that came up throughout this. 33 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:56.659 Kathie Obradovich: Yeah, and Adam Steen also, you know, basically was saying he wanted to bar, the universities and

    34 min
  7. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/16/26

    May 16

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/16/26

    We spent most of this episode breaking down Thursday night’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary debate between Zach Wahls and Josh Turek, moderated by our man Dave! The headline exchange was on abortion — Wahls went after Turek’s missed vote on the six-week ban, and Turek fired back that he was sick at the time due to a disability-related illness, calling the attack disgraceful. Laura dug into the context on that one, noting that the missed vote criticism is a bit of a cheap shot, and that Turek’s committee vote on the Moms program funding was more complicated than Wahls made it sound. The bigger takeaway: these two don’t have many actual policy differences, so the race keeps coming back to electability arguments and voting record attacks. We also previewed Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial debate — four candidates, 90 minutes, no Feenstra (also moderated in part by Dave!). Zach Lahn is back after sitting out the Iowa PBS debate, and the big question is whether anyone can consolidate the non-Feenstra vote. A late-breaking story about how much time Lahn has been spending in Kansas could come up, though we’ll see if any of his fellow Republicans actually go there. We absolutely love doing this show, and we thank all of you for helping us spread the word it really, seriously helps. We’re planning on going through the June 2nd primary with new episodes dropping each Saturday through June 6th. If you are able to contribute financially, whether that’s through a Substack subscription or a direct contribution to the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative, you can help us go all the way through the Summer! If you’re interested in making a direct contribution, please email me at spencerdirks@gmail.com and I can get you more information. To those of you that already support us with your hard-earned money, THANK YOU!!! Auto-transcript below: 00:00:11.680 --> 00:00:21.029 Dave Price: Welcome back, everybody, to the Iowa Down Ballot podcast. I’m Dave Price, joined, as always, by Kathie Obradovich and Laura Belin. We’re going a little extra early. 2 00:00:21.260 --> 00:00:27.180 Dave Price: On a Friday morning. The coffee has barely even kicked in, so who knows what’s gonna happen in this show. Hey, ladies. 3 00:00:27.520 --> 00:00:28.789 Kathie Obradovich: Hey! Happy Friday! 4 00:00:28.790 --> 00:00:29.460 Laura Belin: Yeah. 5 00:00:29.820 --> 00:00:32.509 Dave Price: Kathie has important duties today. 6 00:00:32.770 --> 00:00:45.380 Kathie Obradovich: I’m on the Iowa Newspaper Association Board. We’re having a meeting today, so my colleagues here graciously agreed to get up early and get going on this thing. 7 00:00:45.380 --> 00:00:47.500 Dave Price: I mean, for the record, I’m always up early with. 8 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:50.740 Laura Belin: I was gonna say, yeah, I was up 2 hours ago, so… 9 00:00:51.140 --> 00:00:54.710 Dave Price: And you have a doggie who needs to be walked, right? 10 00:00:54.710 --> 00:00:55.190 Laura Belin: Correct. 11 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:57.140 Dave Price: Okay, so… 12 00:00:57.630 --> 00:01:13.499 Dave Price: I was part of a debate on Thursday night. KCCI in Des Moines was the host station, and my company, Gray Media Iowa, our stations across the state took part as co-sponsors 13 00:01:13.500 --> 00:01:26.520 Dave Price: primarily it was KTIV in Sioux City, KCRG in Cedar Rapids, and KWQC, and Davenport and KYOU in Ottumwa. I believe a few other stations, probably stream this as well. 14 00:01:26.520 --> 00:01:37.009 Dave Price: So, I can maybe give a little background on this. I don’t know what you both think about this, but one thing that’s so hard when you’re right there. 15 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:44.039 Dave Price: you go through the debate, and it finishes, and the reporter in me, I’m like, okay, what’s the news out of here? 16 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:48.899 Dave Price: And, like, it takes me a while… I had to go back home and, like, re-watch it. 17 00:01:49.320 --> 00:02:04.489 Dave Price: Because it couldn’t… there’s just, like, too much stuff going on, and I couldn’t really process… there were moments that stuck out to me, but I’m curious what stuck out to you as you watched Zach Walls and Josh Turek do this hour-long debate? 18 00:02:04.740 --> 00:02:19.880 Kathie Obradovich: Yeah, well, first of all, good job last night. I’ve moderated a lot of debates, and I will… I will tell you that I used to always insist that a different reporter would cover the debate, because I… same with me, I could come out of that 19 00:02:19.880 --> 00:02:30.299 Kathie Obradovich: after moderating, and have not a thought in my head about what was actually news, you know? And I’d ask people afterward, did this… did we make news somewhere? 20 00:02:30.300 --> 00:02:30.650 Dave Price: Yeah. 21 00:02:30.920 --> 00:02:35.690 Kathie Obradovich: Because you’re always thinking about, you know, you’ve got the timing, you’ve got 22 00:02:35.690 --> 00:02:59.720 Kathie Obradovich: if you… if you’re on the clock, you have to watch the clock, you know, figuring out who gets the next question first, and, you know, keeping track of all of that, and it’s… it is exhausting. So, believe me, good job on that. You know, I think that the exchange about abortion, was the headline out of that. The, Zach Wahls went after. 23 00:02:59.750 --> 00:03:02.959 Kathie Obradovich: Josh Turek, about… 24 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:19.959 Kathie Obradovich: missing some votes related to reproductive rights and abortion, and particularly the six-week abortion ban vote, and also about a vote on the budget for the Moms program, which is a. 25 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:21.739 Kathie Obradovich: Sort of a… 26 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:32.379 Kathie Obradovich: help for unplanned pregnancies type of program. And, you know, I think that, Turek. 27 00:03:32.380 --> 00:03:47.139 Kathie Obradovich: was ready for most of that, and the memorable point I think he made was that he was sick, when the six-week abortion ban vote was taken, with an illness related to his disability. He said. 28 00:03:47.140 --> 00:03:58.190 Kathie Obradovich: he, you know, that was known at the time that Zach Wahls knew, and he said it was, I don’t remember what the word was, disgusting, or… 29 00:03:58.190 --> 00:03:58.920 Dave Price: Graceful places. 30 00:03:58.920 --> 00:04:16.890 Kathie Obradovich: disgraceful that he would bring that up. So… so that was a pretty memorable exchange. I think it’s, consistent with the previous debates and forums that we’ve seen with these two, with Zach Wells throwing elbows at, Josh Turk’s record, and, really not 31 00:04:17.209 --> 00:04:30.630 Kathie Obradovich: In this particular debate, not a lot of Josh Turek, you know, pushing back at, you know, at Zach Wall’s record, as we saw in the previous debate. 32 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:56.110 Laura Belin: I also liked the questions that they were very direct and on issues that a lot of Democratic primary voters care about, so I appreciated that aspect of it. And I have not moderated a televised debate, but I have moderated candidate forums, and I can relate to that thing that you’re trying to keep track and make sure you get to all the topics and make sure the time is fair, so that it… I think it makes sense to assign somebody else to write the story about the 33 00:04:56.110 --> 00:05:20.789 Laura Belin: debate. I have been looking at this reproductive rights stuff, because the Walz campaign has been pushing this line since January, when the Roe v. Wade anniversary rolled around. And the missed vote, I remember in 2023, I asked a bunch of the legislators who were absent for that vote why they missed it, and so I got that explanation at the time, and Josh Turric had posted at the time that he was against that bill. 34 00:05:20.820 --> 00:05:44.580 Laura Belin: But I do think that it’s fair to say that Council Bluffs, not a socially liberal place, and another thing that Zach Wells brought up is that Josh Turek, until this year, had not co-sponsored or introduced any legislation on reproductive rights, and that’s accurate as far as I can tell. But, you know, representing Coralville and Johnson County is really different from representing Council Bluffs. 35 00:05:44.580 --> 00:05:49.780 Laura Belin: And the missed votes, I just feel like that’s a little bit of a cheap shot, because 36 00:05:49.780 --> 00:06:13.919 Laura Belin: legislators missed some votes. Zach Wells missed a lot of votes around the time his son was born in 2024, and I don’t think anybody points fingers and says, you’re not… you don’t care about that issue because you were absent the day they voted this, that, or the other. I did look into the vote on the Moms program, that’s the money that goes for the crisis pregnancy centers that are not medical clinics, but sometimes present themselves as offering healthcare, and that… 37 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:37.469 Laura Belin: That was a committee vote on a bill that had a lot of pieces to it, including something about creating OBGYN residencies or something. And it wasn’t just Turek. Austin Bates and several of the committee Democrats voted for that bill coming out of committee. Then they all voted, all the Democrats voted against the final version of the bill that had the extra funding for these clinics, this, the moms. 38 00:06:37.470 --> 00:06:46.159 Laura Belin: program. So I think that that’s a little bit… it is accurate that he voted for it out of committee, but I think it kind of misrepresents what that committee vote was about. 39 00:06:46.370 --> 00:07:05.939 Kathie Obradovich: Well, and they had double the money for that mom’s program, apparently, from $500,000 to a million dollars on the floor, which, either… I don’t know if Turk said that during the debate, or if it was something his campaign put out later, but they said that when they raised that fundin

    40 min
  8. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/9/26

    May 9

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/9/26

    We made it through the Iowa legislative session — barely. The Republican leadership powered through last weekend in a marathon that didn’t wrap until Sunday evening, leaving lawmakers, staff, and reporters running on fumes. We break down what that grueling stretch actually produced. The two big finishers: a property tax reform package and the standings bill. On property taxes, the Senate looked very different from the House — almost all Senate Democrats voted yes, while most House Democrats voted no. But here’s the catch nobody should miss: don’t expect to see anything on your tax bill until September 2027 at the earliest, and at least one Republican House member admitted in his newsletter he’s skeptical it will make a difference even then. We also dig into the water quality announcement — including a last-minute Senate amendment that rerouted $300,000 away from the University of Iowa’s real-time water monitoring program and toward the DNR, forcing UI researchers to compete for a grant to access money that was essentially already theirs. The $25 million headed to Central Iowa Water Works drew some grumbling too, and don’t count on skipping the lawn watering ban this summer. Plus: Tom Harkin endorses Josh Turek in the U.S. Senate Democratic primary ahead of the debate we’re co-hosting next week with KCCI. Elizabeth Warren is coming to Iowa for Zach Wahls. J.D. Vance was here. Ted Cruz headlined Faith and Freedom. Brooke Rollins has apparently moved in. And Senate Majority Leader John Thune rounds out an unusually star-studded week in Iowa politics. Thanks for being a part of the show, as always any shares are appreciated. We’re getting closer and closer to the primary and now is the time to get your friends and family on board! Auto-generated transcript below: 00:00:14.190 --> 00:00:22.419 Dave Price: Welcome, everybody, to the Iowa Down Ballot Podcast. I’m Dave Price, joined by Laura Belin and Kathie Obradovich. 2 00:00:22.680 --> 00:00:27.899 Dave Price: Ladies, we have been through a lot since we last met in this forum. 3 00:00:28.330 --> 00:00:44.690 Dave Price: Although, Kathie, I must say I spent more time sitting next to Laura than I have spent sitting next to my wife in a long time. I don’t know anybody in my life I’ve spent as much time, too, sitting next to continuously as Laura. It is… 4 00:00:45.110 --> 00:00:51.840 Dave Price: I have checked in this past week, and I’m sure you both have too, with people totally not related to… 5 00:00:52.000 --> 00:01:11.100 Dave Price: our profession, and when you try to explain the experience that everybody had as the Republican leadership decided to power through the legislative session last weekend and just keep going until they finally reached a deal, it is tough to put it into words, isn’t it? 6 00:01:11.880 --> 00:01:23.010 Kathie Obradovich: Yeah, it’s grueling, and it’s a marathon, and, you know, everybody feels really crappy afterward, and during, for that matter. 7 00:01:23.010 --> 00:01:32.139 Kathie Obradovich: And, you know, speaking only for myself, because I’m older than both of you guys, I am too old for these all-nighters, for sure. 8 00:01:32.140 --> 00:01:33.589 Kathie Obradovich: I, I… Definitely cool. 9 00:01:33.870 --> 00:01:39.299 Laura Belin: I am a night owl, and I actually pull a lot of all-nighters, so staying up and working… 10 00:01:39.300 --> 00:01:39.890 Dave Price: Crazy. 11 00:01:39.890 --> 00:01:56.099 Laura Belin: I like having the big block of uninterrupted time, so working until 5 a.m. or 6 a.m, I can handle, but they didn’t finish until after 7 p.m. on Sunday, and that’s where I could tell on Saturday when I realized they were not in a position. 12 00:01:56.100 --> 00:01:56.570 Dave Price: and today. 13 00:01:56.570 --> 00:02:17.109 Laura Belin: finish at 4 or 5 or 6 in the morning. They were… initially, I was thinking, oh, they could be going until noon on Sunday. Of course, it was a lot later. And then I started to get worried, because I really start to run out of steam after 6 or 7 in the morning, after pulling an all-nighter, and it’s just a bad way for people to be making decisions. Wayne Ford, who 14 00:02:17.110 --> 00:02:34.330 Laura Belin: many of our listeners may remember, because he served in the Iowa House for a long time, he wrote a guest editorial for my website this week, and he was talking… he cited the research that when you’ve been awake for 24 hours straight, it’s like having a blood alcohol level of 0.1. I mean, it impairs your ability to function. 15 00:02:35.760 --> 00:02:38.520 Dave Price: Found myself… Go ahead, sorry. 16 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:47.639 Kathie Obradovich: I was gonna say, think of how many of those folks, left the State House and got on the road and drove home. Right. A lot of them did, I bet. 17 00:02:47.640 --> 00:02:49.800 Dave Price: I found myself, 18 00:02:50.590 --> 00:02:54.339 Dave Price: I don’t want to say half the time, but it seems like a lot of the time. 19 00:02:54.430 --> 00:03:12.240 Dave Price: trying to essentially have off-the-record conversations with anybody who would converse about trying to gameplay how this thing was gonna play out. I was trying to figure out, how to schedule my colleague in the TV bureau about 20 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:28.239 Dave Price: you know, should she go home and sleep for a while? You know, how should we play this out? And as I was explaining to people, in my station group, what made it so difficult is that you knew that they were trying to reach final agreements on a bunch of big stuff. 21 00:03:28.250 --> 00:03:37.250 Dave Price: But there was so much horse trading going on that, you know, if you go for this, then we can support this, you know, between the two chambers and within the caucus and all that stuff. 22 00:03:37.250 --> 00:04:01.019 Dave Price: So it… there were so many moving parts that were so connected that… Laura and I must have talked, like, a hundred times with different scenarios about… because I think you and I were both sort of in the same mindset about, dang, it feels like they could… this could go for a long time, and getting, you know, little nuggets from people here and there saying, oh, we don’t seem to have agreement here, and, you know, whatever. But we also knew that 23 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:14.819 Dave Price: when you reached it, when the breakthrough finally happened, it could go fast, and, like, it took, you know, forever to get there, but once they reached that point on Sunday, and we were primarily in the house. 24 00:04:14.820 --> 00:04:25.200 Dave Price: Like, it did go through reasonably fast when you’re talking about a property tax bill and the standings bill, which was primarily budget, although policy, too. 25 00:04:25.200 --> 00:04:28.420 Laura Belin: There were 40 pages, there was lots of policy in it. 26 00:04:28.420 --> 00:04:35.139 Dave Price: You know, so those two huge things, the debate didn’t take that long. Granted, everybody was… 27 00:04:35.280 --> 00:04:40.710 Dave Price: Torched by that point, but, you know, a couple hours, and they plowed through that and adjourned and called it good. 28 00:04:40.910 --> 00:04:59.569 Laura Belin: Yeah, I mean, in retrospect, you look at the action calendar, and there were windows where there were 4 or 5 hours where not very much was going on, but you don’t know, right? You don’t want to go home and go to sleep, and then find out that they came up with a property tax bill, and it’s all done by the time you can get back to the Capitol. 29 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:12.420 Kathie Obradovich: Yeah, that’s… I actually wrote a thank you note, early this week to Pat Grassley’s, comms person, Melissa Seitz, because she, you know. 30 00:05:12.420 --> 00:05:13.020 Dave Price: Legendary. 31 00:05:13.020 --> 00:05:27.689 Kathie Obradovich: You know, when they’re coming back, she would, you know, tell you what’s the short list of bills that they’re going to do, and you could plan, and I wrote in this note, I really wish that your counterparts in the Senate would follow your example, because 32 00:05:27.690 --> 00:05:48.019 Kathie Obradovich: it was a mystery over there. You didn’t know when they were coming back from caucus, you didn’t know really what bills they were going to do, and so you had to keep watching, and keep watching, and keep watching, and, you know, if they didn’t come back for 4 hours, you still just had to keep watching, because you never know when they’re going to come back and knock out 3 or 4 bills and then… then go away again. 33 00:05:48.490 --> 00:06:00.850 Dave Price: I’m so glad you gave Melissa a shout-out, and I don’t think this would be divulging anything that’s… that’s confidential, but it’s, like, impossible to put into words how valuable Melissa is to all of us. 34 00:06:00.850 --> 00:06:13.480 Dave Price: to give us the heads up. At the beginning of the week, she kind of gives you a heads up for the House Republican Caucus about, hey, here… you know, and obviously they have the majority. Here’s what we think is gonna play out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, whatever she can tell us. 35 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:31.510 Dave Price: And she gives us a heads up when they’re coming back after they’ve met in caucus on a specific day, maybe what bills may come up, or maybe where the committee, activity will be, or whatever. It is so super helpful, and, you know, and the agreement is that we’re not gonna burn her. 36 00:06:31.510 --> 00:06:37.410 Dave Price: And we’re not going to report a bunch of stuff prematurely, or partially, or what have you, but it is… 37 00:06:37.410 --> 00:06:38.669 Kathie Obradovich: It’s all on background and nuts. 38 00:06:38.670 --> 00:06:39.010 Dave Price: Yeah. 39 00:06:39.010 --> 00:06:43.719 Kathie Obradovich: And it’s subject to change, so… but yeah, it’s still super hel

    44 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Professional political analysts discuss Iowa politics with refreshing, in-depth conversations. iowawriterscollaborative.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Iowa Writers Collaborative Members
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    58
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Iowa Writers Collaborative
  • Show Website
    Iowa Down Ballot

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