Iowa Down Ballot

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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 2/14/26

    5H AGO

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 2/14/26

    We’re less than a week away from the first funnel week in the Iowa legislature, so Kathie thought it would be fun to talk about our ‘favorite’ bills so far this session. Kathie starts us off with a bill to make it illegal for commercials to be louder than the show on streaming services, and a bill that gets rid of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. Dave brings up the bill that was introduced to bring the Chicago Bears to the state of Iowa. The team is looking for a new stadium, so some Iowa legislators are trying to seize the opportunity. Laura’s ‘favorite’ so far this session was a bill that was introduced that limits lawmakers to no more than 10 bills per session. She also added a bill that would end county moratoriums on renewable energy installations such as wind turbines or solar panels. We end the show with discussion of republican house lawmakers pushing for new restrictions on public libraries in the state. (A quick note from Laura to correct the record, the bill banning school partnerships with public libraries passed out of the House Education Committee on Wednesday, February 4--not this past Wednesday the 11th.) The team goes over the changes that are being introduced and how that would effect libraries. Thanks for watching/listening/reading we really appreciate all of you! Please consider becoming a paid subscriber if you are able :) Happy Valentine’s Day, have a great weekend! AI Generated Transcript Below: Get full access to Iowa Down Ballot at iowawriterscollaborative.substack.com/subscribe

    45 min
  2. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 2/7/26

    FEB 7

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 2/7/26

    It was a busy week in the Iowa Legislature, and the team starts with the House education committee grilling Des Moines Public School officials on their hiring of former superintendent Ian Roberts. Republican legislators tried to blame DEI for Roberts’ hiring. Officials from the school say they were looking for someone with a history of working with a diverse school population. That conversation segues into Laura giving us an eyewitness report from an explosive House subcommittee meeting focused on eliminating affirmative action, “minority grants”, and nondiscrimination language about citizenship in state licensure. Kathie then highlights the work Clark Kauffman has done for Iowa Capital Dispatch regarding nursing home safety violations. That dovetails with the legislature killing a bill that would have allowed ‘granny cams’ to be used in nursing homes. We finish off this week’s discussion with campaign news. We start with the competitive republican primary race in Iowa’s 4th district in the NW part of the state possibly narrowing down soon. The Family Leader CEO Bob Vander Plaats has endorsed Adam Steen in the governor race, does that help narrow the race to a Steen vs. Feenstra battle? Thanks for being a part of the show however you consume it. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber if you are able to help cover our production costs. Have a great weekend, we’ll see ya next week! AI generated transcript below: (00:00:01): Hi, and welcome to the Iowa Down Ballot Podcast. (00:00:04): I am Dave Price, joined by the regulars, Kathie. (00:00:07): They’re not regular, but they are consistent contributors. (00:00:11): Nothing about these two women is regular. (00:00:13): Kathie Obradovich and Laura Belin. (00:00:15): Hello, ladies. (00:00:16): Hello. (00:00:16): Thanks for not calling us odd. (00:00:20): I bring the oddity to this conversation. (00:00:22): Thank you. (00:00:24): I had a conversation with somebody a couple of weeks ago, a friend, probably about my age. (00:00:29): And we talked about one of the blessings of adulthood and really middle age hood. (00:00:36): Is that a thing? (00:00:37): Middle age, (00:00:37): dumb, (00:00:38): whatever you call it when you’re in middle age, (00:00:39): is that you just sort of embrace what you are, (00:00:41): right? (00:00:42): Like I remember in high school, (00:00:43): I was in the band and I had good grades and, (00:00:47): you know, (00:00:47): I was a skinny little, (00:00:50): from the beginning of high school especially and so you know it would hurt when (00:00:54): somebody would call you a dork or a geek for being smart or a band geek or what (00:01:00): have you blah blah blah until and then at some point in your life you sort of (00:01:05): embrace being different and you know all those things don’t really matter you’re (00:01:08): like somebody thinks I’m smart cool (00:01:11): They think I’m dorky. (00:01:12): I’ll take that. (00:01:14): Well, you would have been just my type back in high school, apparently. (00:01:18): We would have had much in common. (00:01:19): I was a debate geek. (00:01:21): See, there you go. (00:01:23): There you go. (00:01:24): Well, anyway, happy Friday to you both on a pretty pleasant Friday, right? (00:01:28): I mean, it’s windy, but not all that bad. (00:01:30): This is another thing you talk about once you hit middle age. (00:01:33): You just talk about the weather all the time, right? (00:01:35): Especially if you live in Iowa. (00:01:36): Yeah. (00:01:38): We’re supposedly obsessed with the weather. (00:01:40): Yeah, exactly. (00:01:41): I got a nice long walk yesterday after getting out of the state state house. (00:01:45): It was outstanding. (00:01:47): My dog got a very nice long walk last night, which she desperately needed. (00:01:51): And she slept like a baby overnight. (00:01:53): So it was a gift for all of us, for our whole household. (00:01:56): We do, (00:01:57): just as a little insight for all of you fine folks who join us every week, (00:02:02): we have this email that goes back and forth between the three of us where we kind (00:02:06): of talk about, (00:02:07): hey, (00:02:07): what’s on your mind? (00:02:07): What topic should we talk about? (00:02:09): Whatever. (00:02:10): Laura, (00:02:10): as she frequently does, (00:02:12): ruins the plan because she emails back this morning with this long, (00:02:17): lengthy email that (00:02:19): about the 500 gazillion things that happened at the Statehouse this week. (00:02:24): And she’s not wrong, because all of those things are worthy. (00:02:28): Our challenge is how in the holy heck we’re going to get to all of them, so we’re not. (00:02:33): We’re going to hit as many as we can, (00:02:36): and we try to be respectful of everybody’s time and try to be about 30 minutes or (00:02:40): so, (00:02:41): which means I should shut up now, (00:02:44): and let’s get into some of those. (00:02:45): So, Laura, you and I were at... (00:02:48): the same uh house committee meeting or whatever day that was wednesday wednesday (00:02:55): okay and so they brought in a couple folks from des moines public school so you had (00:03:02): the interim superintendent matt smith and you also had the school board chair um (00:03:11): kim how do you say your last name i think it’s mar toronto (00:03:15): Or Toronto. (00:03:15): Yeah, I think so. (00:03:17): Okay, so they’re sitting kind of at the end of the table, and they had somebody with them. (00:03:22): She’s an attorney for the district. (00:03:24): Okay, okay. (00:03:25): To help out. (00:03:26): Well, I think, is it Allers and Cooney? (00:03:28): She’s with one of the law firms. (00:03:29): Okay, fair enough. (00:03:31): And so, Laura, I’m curious... (00:03:34): What your thoughts were as an observer to this? (00:03:38): I have been, I mean, there are a gazillion things to follow about this, right, with Ian Roberts. (00:03:43): Obviously, (00:03:43): the guy somehow was one of these unique characters who was inspirational to a lot (00:03:49): of people, (00:03:50): but he was a liar about a lot of stuff too, (00:03:53): right? (00:03:53): So he really inspired people, (00:03:55): but he also really, (00:03:56): really disappointed people, (00:03:58): and he broke laws on top of it. (00:04:00): And so in the end, it probably cost Jackie Norris her U.S. (00:04:05): Senate campaign. (00:04:06): She used to be the chair of the Des Moines School Board, (00:04:09): and she took a lot of flack for what happened. (00:04:12): And Republicans had kind of made her sort of a central target, really, with a lot of this. (00:04:16): But, Laura, what did you take from the questioning? (00:04:19): It went on for quite a while, maybe an hour and a half, two hours. (00:04:23): I think it was close to an hour and a half. (00:04:25): Okay. (00:04:26): so i thought the questioning was a little bit strange i mean the republican members (00:04:32): of the house education committee were very focused on a few things first of all (00:04:37): wanting to get the des moines school board or school district representatives to (00:04:42): admit that it was their fault and they made a mistake and they were responsible so (00:04:47): The school board chair walked through this report that they had this third party (00:04:51): investigation of what happened and really laying more of the blame on this (00:04:55): consulting firm. (00:04:55): Which was out in November. (00:04:56): It was the same report. (00:04:57): Right. (00:04:57): The report was out in November. (00:04:59): The school district has sued the consulting firm that was involved, (00:05:03): that recommended Ian Roberts as a candidate and so on. (00:05:07): But the other issue that just kept coming up again and again was pressing the Des (00:05:12): Moines School District on. (00:05:13): Was he hired because of diversity initiatives, the policies that the board had in the future? (00:05:20): Are they going to be looking at DEI when they’re hiring again? (00:05:23): Of course, (00:05:23): they’ve given this interim superintendent, (00:05:26): Matt Smith, (00:05:26): I think he has a two-year contract, (00:05:28): so they’re not actively searching for a new superintendent right now. (00:05:31): But (00:05:32): There was a real heavy focus on that aspect of it. (00:05:38): And I just think it reflects a broader obsession that some of the Republican (00:05:42): legislators have with DEI. (00:05:44): And they had acknowledged that it was a priority for (00:05:49): in their conversations with that search firm to find somebody who had experience (00:05:55): essentially in a diverse district like Des Moines. (00:05:57): And Des Moines is kind of a unique district in our state, (00:06:00): both in its size and the makeup of the student body, (00:06:03): which, (00:06:04): I mean, (00:06:05): they said up front that was a priority. (00:06:06): They never did say (00:06:09): She never did say that they were under any directive to hire a person of color for (00:06:16): this position because you have a lot of students who are of color. (00:06:20): It more so was just you wanted somebody with they just wanted somebody with (00:06:23): experience in a district such as theirs with that makeup. (00:06:28): Yeah, (00:06:28): and State Representative Eleanor Levin, (00:06:30): who’s one of the Democrats on the committee, (00:06:32): she asked for more information just about the diversity of the district and some of (00:06:37): the statistics that they shared. (00:06:39): I mean, they have 15% of the students have some kind of a disability, so they have an IEP plan. (00:06:47): About 25% are English language learners. (00:06:50): The white students make up about 40% of the district. (00:06:54): So, (00:06:54): I mean, (00:06:55): it is a very diverse district and it is, (00:06:58): like you say, (00:06:58): unlike any other school district in

    43 min
  3. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/31/26

    JAN 31

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/31/26

    We start this week’s discussion with a recap of President Trump’s visit to Clive on Tuesday. Trump spoke for a little over an hour, and stressed the importance of keeping republican control of congress. The President also highlighted new John Deere jobs being created in other states, while the company has downsized in Iowa in recent years. The team also discusses how to cover a president that stretches the truth as much as Trump. We also get into the effect Trump’s stop will have on Rep. Randy Feenstra’s run for governor. Feenstra was not given a speech slot on stage, and was not highlighted much during Trump’s remarks. Congressman Zach Nunn, who likely will have a tough race in Iowa house district 3, did speak before Trump and touted some of his bipartisan bona fides. Laura has been following the lawsuit Donald Trump filed against the Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer last year regarding Selzer’s presidential poll in 2024, and she gives us an update on the hearing she attended Friday just before we recorded. Kathie takes us home with information from a piece her reporter at Cami Koons at Iowa Capital Dispatch recently published about the eminent domain/carbon pipeline issue. This has been an ongoing issue in the legislature for several years, and there’s still contention within both the republican and democratic parties in the state. Thanks for following along whether you’re watching, listening, or reading. Please pass us along to a friend, and please consider contributing financially thru a paid subscription if you’re able. Have a nice weekend! AI generated transcript below: (00:00:01): Welcome, everybody, to the Iowa Down Ballot Podcast. (00:00:04): I’m Dave Price, (00:00:05): joined by Kathie Obradovich and Laura Belin, (00:00:08): a couple of our regular contributors, (00:00:11): like regular, (00:00:11): you’re on like every week, (00:00:13): but also regular contributors to the Iowa Riders Collaborative, (00:00:17): which is just taking over the state by storm. (00:00:19): Hello, ladies. (00:00:20): Happy Frigid Friday to you. (00:00:23): Yes, it is. (00:00:24): It is plenty chilly today. (00:00:27): Oh, yes. (00:00:28): This is going to be one of those conversations we can hopefully park in the back of (00:00:32): our mind for fast forward a couple of months when we’re whining about, (00:00:35): man, (00:00:36): it’s so hot and humid outside. (00:00:38): You can’t go anywhere. (00:00:41): Exactly. (00:00:42): okay so we had a vip visit to our great state this week president donald trump (00:00:49): returned first time in 2026. (00:00:50): i don’t know if they have a do they have a name of this tour thing that he’s doing (00:00:55): all these midterm stops he’s doing all over the place but to my knowledge we are (00:00:59): the first one right we were the first yes okay um there’s a lot of different ways (00:01:07): we can we can dig into this but um (00:01:11): He went, I should have timed it. (00:01:12): It was like an hour and four or five or six minutes or something like that, I remember. (00:01:19): Kathie, (00:01:20): so many ways we can go on this, (00:01:21): so many things he brought up, (00:01:22): but big picture, (00:01:24): his theme... (00:01:27): I don’t know if Walmart still uses low, (00:01:29): low prices, (00:01:30): but he had like lower prices, (00:01:32): I think, (00:01:32): and the signs all over the place. (00:01:34): So while he was kind of mocking Democrats, (00:01:37): not kind of, (00:01:37): he did mock Democrats for using the word affordability, (00:01:40): which he used to talk about when he ran in 2024, (00:01:43): but clearly they’ve realized they need to talk about financial stuff, (00:01:49): right? (00:01:50): Like it wasn’t ice, it wasn’t (00:01:54): election is rigged signs it was lower prices so yeah he i mean he did uh of course (00:02:01): uh complain about uh everything that he complained about before he was elected i (00:02:07): mean it was like it was sort of a i mean if you played this speech um and then (00:02:13): compared it to one that he you know during his um (00:02:18): election campaign here, (00:02:20): you know, (00:02:22): two years ago, (00:02:23): you probably would have trouble figuring out, (00:02:27): OK, (00:02:27): when what was the most recent one? (00:02:29): I mean, (00:02:30): it was all of his greatest hits and, (00:02:33): you know, (00:02:33): including, (00:02:34): you know, (00:02:36): blaming Joe Biden for everything. (00:02:39): So, I mean, I was I listened to it from home because I also had a reporter covering the (00:02:45): uh republican gubernatorial uh debate uh the same night so um so i was you know i (00:02:53): was watching it waiting it’s like okay is this news is this news is this news it’s (00:02:57): like it got pretty far into the speech before i was like okay but this may be all (00:03:01): we get um he did not talk about um the ice uh situation up in minnesota at all he (00:03:09): did you know make mention of (00:03:12): some of the immigration talking points that we’ve heard before. (00:03:16): But so I think that really the point of the speech was to persuade voters that the (00:03:22): economy is, (00:03:23): you know, (00:03:24): great, (00:03:26): or at least much better than they seem to think it is, (00:03:30): and to try to undermine Democrats’ major talking points for the midterms. (00:03:35): Also, he made a very, I would say, very blatant or very (00:03:42): like, (00:03:42): uncoded plea to his base saying, (00:03:46): you know, (00:03:46): all of the things that we accomplish that you like will be undone if we lose the (00:03:52): House or the Senate in the midterms, (00:03:55): which is not exactly... (00:03:57): true because he would still be the president and so legislation that comes through (00:04:02): a democratic house or senate doesn’t have to be signed into law by him but anyway (00:04:05): he’s he is I think a saying and I think he also said several times that the party (00:04:15): who holds the presidency typically loses at least half the Congress during the (00:04:22): midterms and don’t let that happen to me so (00:04:27): The deja vu aspect of it, (00:04:29): I like that he’s still calling former state Senator Brad Zahn the Marlboro man. (00:04:34): And he’s still talking about how Brenna Byrd endorsed him so early. (00:04:38): So that was funny. (00:04:39): I mean, (00:04:40): I think from a news perspective, (00:04:42): to me, (00:04:42): the most newsworthy part was that he said that he’s going to sign, (00:04:47): he’s going to do year-round E15 ethanol. (00:04:49): But I thought he did that when he was running, didn’t he? (00:04:52): Well, he, so here’s the thing. (00:04:54): That was in (00:04:56): There was a year-end funding bill at the end of 2024, and year-round E15 was part of that. (00:05:01): And the members of the Iowa delegation were already posting on social media and (00:05:06): bragging about how they got this into the bill. (00:05:08): And then at the last minute, (00:05:10): this was before Trump was even inaugurated, (00:05:12): but he and Elon Musk basically blew up that funding deal. (00:05:16): in December of 2024, (00:05:17): and when they came up with a new continuing resolution, (00:05:21): it didn’t have E15 in it anymore. (00:05:23): So arguably, it’s Trump’s fault that this isn’t already law right now. (00:05:28): But in any case, he said that he was going to do that. (00:05:31): I thought that was interesting. (00:05:33): He didn’t, though. (00:05:34): He said that he was going to he trusted Speaker Johnson and he basically threw it (00:05:42): back at Congress and he didn’t say he was going to do anything. (00:05:45): You know, he just said he’s for it. (00:05:47): He’ll sign it. (00:05:48): But he’s he is, you know, he trusts Congress to do it. (00:05:51): And guess what? (00:05:52): We’ve got a funding package going through right now. (00:05:55): uh today um which may or may not get through today we’ll see what happens but um (00:06:01): e15 you’re on e15 is not in it um but chuck grassley’s already um you know put (00:06:06): sending guest columns around complaining about it so so he did not get it done well (00:06:12): okay well he anyway he he promised that it’s something that he would sign i thought (00:06:16): it was an awkward moment for me was when (00:06:19): He went on and on, and the Iowa Democratic Party was all over this. (00:06:23): He went on and on about how John Deere, (00:06:25): They’re opening a plant in North Carolina. (00:06:28): It’s going to be really great. (00:06:29): John Deere, great company. (00:06:31): They’re expanding. (00:06:32): And of course, Deere has laid off hundreds of employees this year. (00:06:36): Thousands. (00:06:37): If you go back the last two or three years, it’s thousands. (00:06:40): But just this year alone, it’s hundreds. (00:06:42): So I thought that that was that. (00:06:45): I mean, (00:06:45): the crowd didn’t seem to react to it, (00:06:47): but I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from Democrats about that. (00:06:51): Okay, (00:06:52): there’s so many things I wanna talk to you too about this, (00:06:54): but I would like to talk to you both as reporters, (00:06:59): just to share a challenge I have. (00:07:02): And that is, I struggle with Trump more than any politician I’ve ever covered. (00:07:08): And my role in TV is like, (00:07:10): I’m not an opinion guy, (00:07:11): and we’re trying to, (00:07:12): you try to play, (00:07:13): I don’t wanna say down the middle, (00:07:14): but whatever the right neutrality is, (00:07:16): whatever. (00:07:17): I really struggle, (00:07:20): with especially with trump when he has an hour plus speech there are so many things (00:07:24): you can try to tackle right and for me on tv i get a minute and a half two minutes (00:07:

    42 min
  4. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/24/26

    JAN 24

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/24/26

    Hope you’re staying warm and safe wherever you may be. Iowa lawmakers wrapped up their second week of work on Friday, and a bill banning carbon pipeline constructors from using eminent domain has already passed the house. We dive into the bill as well as the politics on both sides. Dave filled in to host Iowa Press on Iowa PBS this week and majority house leader Mike Klimesh was the guest, so Dave also has a fresh perspective on the republican leadership’s plans. We also discuss how the democrats may vote on an eminent domain bill in the senate. Property tax reform is the other priority for republican legislators this session. It’s a complicated issue, so we try to unravel what may end up being in the plan. We close out the show with a quick preview of President Trump’s scheduled visit to Clive on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for being a part of the Iowa Down Ballot podcast however you consume the show, we’ll see ya next Saturday morning :) AI generated transcript below: (00:00:01): Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Iowa Down Ballot podcast. (00:00:05): I am Dave Price, (00:00:06): joined by Kathie Obradovich and Laura Bell and two of my colleagues from the Iowa (00:00:11): Riders Collaborative. (00:00:12): We are joining you on a Friday where even if we squint super, (00:00:17): super hard, (00:00:18): we cannot see a temperature of zero because it is unfairly cold outside. (00:00:25): It’s ridiculous. (00:00:26): I was out, had a meeting this morning and then another errand and my car just went. (00:00:37): I did not want to start. (00:00:40): That is your car’s way of telling you, hey, dummy, go back in the house. (00:00:44): It’s too cold. (00:00:46): Go home and go in and put your slippers on. (00:00:49): I did, (00:00:50): I filled in on Iowa Press today and I wore my winter coat, (00:00:54): which my mother-in-law fixed for me because I had popped a button off. (00:00:58): So they’re in town and she fixed it for me, which was super nice. (00:01:01): As I’m walking from the parking lot out at Iowa Public TV or Iowa PBS now, (00:01:07): I’m walking to the building realizing as I reached into my pockets, (00:01:11): I did not put in my gloves for the winter because I haven’t worn this coat the (00:01:15): whole year. (00:01:16): I was thinking, (00:01:17): You are really dumb. (00:01:18): It’s 10 below zero. (00:01:20): And I have a long walk and carrying all my stuff. (00:01:23): I can’t even put my hands in my pocket. (00:01:24): And I was thinking, man, that is not a good move. (00:01:29): And we’re Iowans. (00:01:30): We should know better. (00:01:32): But we also know that it’s temporary, right? (00:01:35): Like I told my mother-in-law, I mentally prepare for this every year. (00:01:38): Like, (00:01:39): You know, (00:01:39): there’s going to be one butt-kicking, (00:01:43): obnoxiously cold day that you question all of your life’s choices. (00:01:50): And you’re thinking, can I do this from a warm climate just for a little bit? (00:01:54): But then, you know, whatever. (00:01:56): We get through it. (00:01:58): I’m just glad I didn’t have to go up to the Capitol today. (00:02:03): So I’m just glad because that long walk uphill from where I parked. (00:02:08): up to the capitol building it’s freezing and there’s always ice and you’ve got that (00:02:14): howling wind and you’re thinking is this really worth it couldn’t i just watch the (00:02:19): live stream of something happening today why must i be there all right enough of (00:02:24): the weather report um we had so we just wrapped up week two of the iowa legislative (00:02:30): session and there are two biggies that are on my mind and to set the stage i (00:02:35): mentioned (00:02:36): as I was yakking here early that I filled in on Iowa Press, (00:02:40): and this week the guest was the new Senate Majority Leader, (00:02:44): Mike Clemish. (00:02:45): So truthfully, (00:02:46): a few of these topics are right at the top of my mind because I just talked at (00:02:49): length with him. (00:02:50): But I’d like to start this week our chat with where things are with eminent domain (00:02:59): which feels like one of the, sexy is not the right word because we’re talking about politics. (00:03:04): What’s the right word? (00:03:05): Most intriguing, the juiciest, like the parlor intrigue kind of story, the house of cards stuff. (00:03:13): I don’t know what the right thing is. (00:03:14): Yeah, it’s buzzy. (00:03:16): Yeah, Buzzy. (00:03:17): Buzzy. (00:03:18): All right, so Kathie, set the stage for us here. (00:03:20): So we’ve heard some ideas now. (00:03:22): House has actually already passed something remarkably quick. (00:03:27): The Senate Republicans have an idea of what they want to do, particularly Klemish. (00:03:34): And Klemish, (00:03:34): by the way, (00:03:35): said that he’s told us today that he will be the floor manager for eminent domain (00:03:41): on the Senate side. (00:03:42): So he will lead this through. (00:03:43): Maybe a little bit unusual as... (00:03:46): as the majority leader, but he’s going to kind of take the lead. (00:03:49): So kind of set us up here, Kathie, where do things stay? (00:03:52): So I am not clear yet whether the House and Senate have even a conversation about (00:04:00): being on the same page. (00:04:01): So the House moved away from the bill that the governor vetoed last year. (00:04:08): And this this strikes me as being kind of an in your face to her. (00:04:13): It’s like, well, you didn’t like (00:04:15): our sort of complicated look at restricting or dialing back eminent domain. (00:04:21): So we’re just going to give you a flat ban on eminent domain for carbon pipelines. (00:04:30): And that is what they passed. (00:04:31): I mean, already raced through the House and they pass it on the floor this week. (00:04:39): And I sent it to the Senate where it will die. (00:04:43): I’m fairly confident in predicting that. (00:04:45): And as you said, Senator Clemish has actually proposed two bills. (00:04:51): He is the only sponsor of those bills, (00:04:53): at least as of the last time I looked, (00:04:55): and he was not saying how many of his colleagues are willing to vote with him on (00:05:01): these bills, (00:05:03): one of which I think we may have talked about a little bit. (00:05:06): It’s basically a version of an amendment that was offered last year in the Senate (00:05:12): that would let the carbon pipelines, (00:05:14): and we’re talking about summit here at this point, (00:05:17): Summit Carbon Solutions to take the route that the utilities, (00:05:22): Iowa Utilities Commission approved for them and, (00:05:25): you know, (00:05:26): sort of color outside the lines a little bit to try to go around, (00:05:32): you know, (00:05:32): never, (00:05:33): you know, (00:05:33): the the never, (00:05:36): never, (00:05:36): never property owners who are never, (00:05:39): ever going to sign. (00:05:41): no matter how much money they offer. (00:05:43): So to color out the sidelines a little bit and try to go around some of those (00:05:47): property owners and to limit to what extent you have to use eminent domain to force (00:05:53): easements on unwilling property owners. (00:05:55): So that’s the one idea, which he talked about before the legislative session. (00:05:59): The second one, (00:06:00): which is really interesting, (00:06:02): and it’ll be really interesting to see how many of his colleagues support him on (00:06:05): this, (00:06:06): is actually taxing the carbon that is running through this pipeline. (00:06:11): Um, (00:06:12): and, (00:06:13): uh, (00:06:13): so, (00:06:14): um, (00:06:15): so a new tax, (00:06:17): um, (00:06:17): first of all, (00:06:17): um, (00:06:19): something that the summit people, (00:06:20): I can’t imagine that they would want, (00:06:23): um, (00:06:23): this, (00:06:24): uh, (00:06:24): although maybe he’s, (00:06:25): he’s, (00:06:26): um, (00:06:26): framing it as we’ll take this, (00:06:29): you know, (00:06:29): if you want, (00:06:30): if you want any sort of wiggle room on eminent domain, (00:06:32): take this, (00:06:33): I don’t know. (00:06:34): So a tax on carbon. (00:06:37): And so, like I said, neither of these bills have been in subcommittee yet. (00:06:42): We don’t know how many Republicans would actually support this legislation and the (00:06:49): pressure on them from even Republican groups. (00:06:56): in very Republican counties, Republican, you know, are putting pressure on this issue. (00:07:02): So I think it’s, as you said, there’s a lot of intrigue. (00:07:07): There’s a lot of inner party drama here. (00:07:12): That didn’t end last year when 12 senators said, (00:07:16): we’re not voting for budget bills until you deal with this. (00:07:18): So... (00:07:20): Well, (00:07:21): at the press conference where Senator Klemish laid out this plan, (00:07:25): I asked, (00:07:28): do you have 26 votes for this proposal? (00:07:31): And he said he wasn’t going to comment on internal politics of the Senate Republicans. (00:07:37): i think it’s a pretty safe bet that he doesn’t have 26 republican votes for that (00:07:40): because a dozen republicans i think it ended up actually being 13. (00:07:44): there was a dozen who promised not to support any budget bills until there was this (00:07:49): eminent a vote on eminent domain but i think in the end 13 republicans voted for (00:07:54): that house bill last year so i think the senate democrats actually hold a lot of (00:07:59): cards here because (00:08:01): There are quite a few Democrats who support the pipeline in principle because it’s (00:08:06): something that labor unions want, (00:08:09): but they also want to say that they’re protecting property rights. (00:08:13): So I think Klemish may have to make some kind of a deal with (00:08:17): the sen

    44 min
  5. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/17/26

    JAN 17

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/17/26

    We spend the bulk of the show with Governor Reynolds’ penultimate condition of the state address. Protestors in the rotunda made their presence felt during the speech, and property tax reform was a big theme. We discuss the details and possible ramifications of the governor’s plan. Another focus in the speech was tackling the state’s cancer problem, so we get into the proposals and their possible effect. We cap off the show with what stories the gang are working on for the week ahead. Thanks for listening, watching, or reading we really appreciate all of you for following along. We’ll be back next Saturday, see ya then! AI generated transcript below: Get full access to Iowa Down Ballot at iowawriterscollaborative.substack.com/subscribe

    37 min
  6. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/10/26

    JAN 10

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/10/26

    The gavel drops to begin this year’s legislative session on this Monday, January 12th. We have a full breakdown of the changes in leadership to start off our discussion, as well as the incentives for the legislators to wrap up the session on time this year. Governor Reynolds and republican House Majority Leader Bobby Kaufmann quarreled over the governor’s veto of the eminent domain bill last year, so we’ll see if that battle carries over into this year’s negotiations. Iowa Down Ballot is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Our eminent domain preview segues into likely the biggest issue of this year’s session, property tax reform. Republicans have promised property tax changes for a couple years now, and it seems it will be difficult again this year to get a bill done and passed. Thanks to everyone for the welcome back and welcome to our new subscribers. We’ll see ya next Saturday! AI generated transcript below: (00:00:01): Hi, everyone, and welcome to the Iowa Down Ballot podcast. (00:00:05): I am Dave Price, (00:00:07): joined by our regulars, (00:00:09): Kathie Obradovich of the Iowa Capitol Dispatch and Laura Bellin of Bleeding (00:00:14): Heartland. (00:00:14): Hello, ladies. (00:00:15): Happy Friday. (00:00:17): Happy Friday. (00:00:18): Good to see you. (00:00:20): Good to see you both. (00:00:23): All right, we look ahead to next Monday, which starts the Iowa legislative session for 2026. (00:00:29): And then all kinds of speeches. (00:00:31): You have the condition of the state address by Governor Reynolds on Tuesday. (00:00:35): We have condition of the judiciary, condition of the guard. (00:00:38): So a lot of speeches for week one. (00:00:41): Not a heck of a lot necessarily gets done, as we know, but it does perhaps lay out (00:00:46): some themes of the week. (00:00:48): Kathie, (00:00:49): we want to get into some of the topics that we pretty much know will be big ones (00:00:55): this session. (00:00:55): But before we get into issues, (00:00:58): what is the thing that kind of piques your curiosity about 2026 as far as the (00:01:04): legislative session goes? (00:01:06): Well, we all want to know as reporters how long it’s going to be. (00:01:10): And they always hate that question, right? (00:01:11): That is, (00:01:12): you know, (00:01:14): the old saw, (00:01:15): and well, (00:01:16): actually, (00:01:17): it is literally supposed to be 10 days shorter than the first year of the two-year (00:01:24): General Assembly. (00:01:25): And, (00:01:26): you know, (00:01:27): it ends 10 days early so that lawmakers can get out on the campaign trail as an (00:01:32): election year. (00:01:33): However, (00:01:34): we have learned that it being an election year does not always mean that they will (00:01:39): get done even on time, (00:01:41): let alone early. (00:01:43): And they’ve got some really big issues on their plate, (00:01:45): which will go through issues that they are not going into session with. (00:01:50): you know, hand-holding and singing kumbaya about. (00:01:54): So I do, and you add to that a tough, what I think is going to be a very tough budget year. (00:02:01): And so you’ve got all of those things working against them. (00:02:06): So I’m not currently making any vacation plans for even the second week of May yet. (00:02:13): I think that we’re (00:02:14): We’re in for maybe a long haul here, (00:02:17): trying to get enough of these issues resolved so that lawmakers feel like they can (00:02:23): go out onto the campaign trail with some accomplishments. (00:02:26): And of course, we should point out that after 100 days, they lose their per diem. (00:02:32): So there is a financial incentive to wrap things up on time, (00:02:38): if you will, (00:02:39): and a financial disincentive. (00:02:41): Especially if you’re not a Des Moines metro legislator and you have to pay for a (00:02:45): place to stay and all of that kind of stuff. (00:02:48): I mean, that does tend to maybe up the pressure a little bit. (00:02:51): Well, (00:02:52): and even bigger financial disincentive is that they can’t raise money during the (00:02:56): legislative session. (00:02:57): You know, they can’t accept donations. (00:03:00): Yeah. (00:03:02): Any of them that have primary races are going to want and need to get out of (00:03:07): session and be able to collect donations. (00:03:11): Yeah, that’s why I think they are going to be done before May. (00:03:14): I’m just going to be bold and predict that even though the budget’s going to be (00:03:17): hard and I don’t think they... (00:03:20): I think it’ll be harder to get to a property tax agreement than they imagine it will be. (00:03:24): But so many of the Republican incumbents have primary challengers. (00:03:29): I think that they are not going to let it stretch into mid-May. (00:03:32): But what I’m most watching is whether relationships between the Senate Republicans (00:03:38): and the House Republicans improve at all under new leadership in the (00:03:44): They just the lingering resentments over eminent domain and other issues make it (00:03:50): hard for them to cooperate. (00:03:52): I would take that and add the governor into that to make a trifecta of (00:03:56): relationships for exactly the reason you point out about eminent domain. (00:04:03): And she’s a lame duck, which last year she only announced in April. (00:04:06): So the last month or so of the session, (00:04:09): she was a lame duck, (00:04:10): but she didn’t go into last year’s session as a lame duck. (00:04:12): We all thought she was running again. (00:04:15): So let’s talk about the leadership dynamic, because both chambers have a new leader in the mix. (00:04:20): Bobby Kaufman in the House and Senator Clemish as the majority leader in the Senate. (00:04:28): Kathie, what do you make about the leadership changes? (00:04:30): Maybe to piggyback off what Laura said about the kind of bad blood that we saw last (00:04:35): year with eminent domain debate. (00:04:37): Does that does that maybe help things get off to a clean slate? (00:04:42): Not necessarily. (00:04:43): I mean, (00:04:44): Bobby Kaufman, (00:04:45): before he was elected majority leader, (00:04:47): I think boldly declared that nothing with the governor’s name on it was going to (00:04:51): get through the House if he had anything to say about it. (00:04:55): And now he has a lot to say about it. (00:04:57): Now, you know, maybe he was just blowing off steam and, you know, that’s entirely possible. (00:05:04): It seems unlikely that... (00:05:09): None of the governor’s initiatives will make it through the House and certainly not. (00:05:14): I mean, there’s there’s bound to be. (00:05:16): She always will come up with some bipartisan, (00:05:19): for example, (00:05:21): proposals, (00:05:23): you know, (00:05:23): so I kind of doubt that that will happen. (00:05:26): But. (00:05:27): We also haven’t necessarily seen any public displays of unity at this point. (00:05:36): The Iowa Capitol Press Association had a legislative forum this week and couldn’t (00:05:42): get the Republicans to come to the table. (00:05:46): And I think that the House would have if the Senate had agreed. (00:05:53): So I think they’re still not in unison. (00:05:55): Yeah. (00:05:57): Bobby Kaufman makes a lot of bold statements and doesn’t always follow through on them. (00:06:03): So he’s not going to hold up absolutely everything. (00:06:06): But the governor, (00:06:07): I think the fact that the governor created this nuclear energy task force last week (00:06:12): indicates that she knows that her energy bill, (00:06:15): which nuclear energy was a big part of her energy bill that she introduced last (00:06:20): year. (00:06:20): And I think she senses that’s not going anywhere. (00:06:23): She’s just going to try to do bits of it on her own by executive order. (00:06:28): And it wasn’t the nuclear part of that that was really controversial. (00:06:31): I think it was electrical. (00:06:32): But I mean, it was but it was all it all got tangled up in the same problem. (00:06:38): Yeah. (00:06:38): And I should mention, (00:06:39): by the way, (00:06:40): that bills that were introduced last year, (00:06:42): by and large, (00:06:42): are still alive this year. (00:06:45): You know, (00:06:45): they some of them get re-referred to committee and some may have to start, (00:06:51): you know, (00:06:51): anew. (00:06:53): But, you know, a lot of the issues that we talked about last year as being (00:06:58): you know, dead bills, whatever. (00:07:02): Most of those still have some life left in them. (00:07:05): It doesn’t mean that they’re likely to move because, (00:07:07): you know, (00:07:07): a lot of them, (00:07:08): if they didn’t have the support last year, (00:07:10): they’re not going to have it this year. (00:07:13): But it does mean that some of those bills don’t have to start from scratch, (00:07:16): including the governor’s energy bill. (00:07:19): Always a reminder to me that I always recommend to staff that we do not waste a lot (00:07:25): of time on what’s dead because things come back from the dead. (00:07:32): as we have seen different times, whether it’s that year or the next year. (00:07:37): Laura, (00:07:39): now you mentioned about Bobby Kaufman making bold predictions and what have you, (00:07:43): but I would have loved to be a fly on the wall. (00:07:48): I have no idea if this has even happened yet, (00:07:52): but a one-on-one conversation, (00:07:54): whether it would be on the phone or sitting down face to face between the governor (00:07:59): and (00:07:59): and Leader Kaufman. (00:08:01): I don’t know if such a thing has happened, (00:08:03): but the things... (00:08:05): I don’t know what you two thought, (00:08

    32 min
  7. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/2/26

    JAN 3

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/2/26

    We are glad to be back! Thanks to all of our subscribers, new and old, we are beginning our first post-hiatus show with a general preview of what our reporters think will be the headline stories of the new year. We all agree this 2026 election cycle may be one of the most exciting in decades with competitive primaries on both side of the aisle. With Governor Reynolds and Joni Ernst out of the race we’ll have open primaries for both governor and senate this year. That republican primary for Governor could be especially hard to handicap at this point, and we do a deeper dive on that race towards the tail end of the show. The economy, as always, will be a big story both locally and nationwide. We’ll see how the effect of tariffs will continue impact the state. Also, the cost of healthcare continues to rise, including for farmers and self-employed individuals on the Affordable Care Act options. How will those increases effect the electorate this year? We’ll be back next week with a legislative session preview for 2026. Thanks for watching, listening, and reading, we appreciate you! AI generated transcript below: (00:00:01): Hi, happy 2026. (00:00:04): The Iowa Down Ballot podcast is officially back. (00:00:10): We need like balloon drops, right, ladies? (00:00:13): Confetti. (00:00:14): Happy New Year. (00:00:15): It's been a minute. (00:00:17): Welcome back to Laura Bellen and Kathie Obradovich. (00:00:20): How are you both? (00:00:22): Fabulous, thank you. (00:00:23): Good. (00:00:25): As we were joking before we started recording, (00:00:27): we all just tore it up for New Year's Eve, (00:00:30): as we are known to do, (00:00:32): so we needed two days to recover. (00:00:35): It's hard for me to even say that out loud because it's so ridiculous for anybody (00:00:39): who knows me that those days are long gone. (00:00:45): I did not see the New Year ring in. (00:00:46): Oh, you did not. (00:00:49): I may have celebrated New Year in London or something like that, which was six hours earlier. (00:00:58): Okay, Grandma, you're in bed by six. (00:01:03): I was finishing my write-up of the special election in Senate District 16, (00:01:07): thanks to somebody who scheduled the election for December 30th. (00:01:11): I was finishing an article on New Year's Eve, so that was very exciting. (00:01:15): You can ring in the new year like that. (00:01:17): That will have significance in 2026, which kind of tees us up. (00:01:21): I thought that for our welcome back gathering as we begin 2026, (00:01:26): and we'll have extensive coverage in the weeks ahead of the Iowa legislative (00:01:31): session, (00:01:32): which starts, (00:01:33): as we record, (00:01:33): about a week and a half from now on Monday. (00:01:36): But I thought maybe let's more broadly look at 2026, midterm election, legislative session. (00:01:43): We have some economic things to think about. (00:01:45): And I thought we would start off maybe by just hitting, let's pick one thing to start us. (00:01:53): Laura, (00:01:53): as I look at my screen, (00:01:54): you're in my top left, (00:01:55): so I'm going to make you go first as our leadoff hitter. (00:01:57): But pick one thing that piques your curiosity for 2026. (00:02:04): It's just going to be the most fascinating election cycle ever, Dave. (00:02:08): But if I can only... You sound like a politician. (00:02:11): The stakes could not be higher. (00:02:13): But really, truly, I mean, it is going to be a wild election year. (00:02:17): But I would say if I could only pick one thing... (00:02:21): it would be this republican primary for governor because it is a weird primary (00:02:27): shaping up don't do two good ones in one thought you're supposed to limit one (00:02:32): thought can you please save the save the republican primary lady that's on my list (00:02:36): here that's for later okay sorry do just the overall election and why is it so (00:02:43): fascinating and maybe compared to the last couple (00:02:47): Well, (00:02:47): there are a lot of competitive primaries for a lot of offices, (00:02:50): federal and state on both sides. (00:02:52): So, (00:02:52): I mean, (00:02:52): I think a lot of people stepping up to run for office and I'm interested to see how (00:02:56): it all shakes out. (00:02:58): Okay. (00:02:59): We'll take that. (00:02:59): Thank you. (00:03:00): All right, Kathie, what's top of your list? (00:03:02): Okay. (00:03:02): This is a kind of a subset of Laura's, but I know you're going to let me get away with it. (00:03:08): Where's the mute button on this thing? (00:03:12): And that is, will the success that Democrats have had in the special elections of 2025 (00:03:20): carry into 2026? (00:03:21): And if so, how? (00:03:24): So, I mean, these were legislative races. (00:03:28): I wouldn't necessarily expect them to have legs above, (00:03:34): you know, (00:03:34): this is a down ballot podcast, (00:03:36): right? (00:03:36): But there's a lot of top of the ticket stuff to talk about. (00:03:40): But, (00:03:40): you know, (00:03:40): whether the special elections, (00:03:43): which frankly did generate a lot of life and momentum for Democrats, (00:03:48): does this (00:03:49): you know, (00:03:49): translate to, (00:03:50): you know, (00:03:51): above the legislative races on the ballot and how or whether that momentum and life (00:03:58): and spark carries through to legislative, (00:04:02): important legislative races here in 2026. (00:04:06): Laura, you did that deep dive. (00:04:08): We already talked about it. (00:04:09): You know, (00:04:09): the way you rung in 2026 by living it up and writing out an extensive piece on that (00:04:15): special election in the Des Moines Metro for the late Senator Claire Celci's seat. (00:04:21): What did you see in there to piggyback off what Cathy said? (00:04:26): where there was there something in there that you believe could give democrats some (00:04:31): hope and i'm i have kind of a two-parter for you because i also want to tease (00:04:34): something you wrote several months back when you were looking at particularly (00:04:39): statewide the big big hole that democrats find themselves in when it comes to (00:04:45): registered voters and that was sort of your caution to some of the activists about (00:04:50): Hey, let's chill a little bit. (00:04:52): You can be excited about 2026, but this is a big mountain to climb. (00:04:56): How do you maybe connect those two things? (00:04:59): Well, (00:04:59): I think Cathy's right that it can be hard to see a special election as predictive (00:05:04): of the next general election. (00:05:05): But I do think that this election that just happened in the western suburbs of Des (00:05:09): Moines is quite important because a lot of battleground legislative races will be (00:05:14): in the Polk County suburbs. (00:05:16): And we saw when Cindy Axne was elected in 2018 and reelected in 2020, (00:05:22): strong turnout in the suburbs of Polk County was very important for her. (00:05:26): And Democrats ran a really good ground game, and they're very fired up. (00:05:30): And this trend that we've seen of suburbs becoming more Democratic, (00:05:35): I mean, (00:05:35): there's no sign of it slowing down right now. (00:05:37): So I do think that that's important, (00:05:39): and those Polk County suburbs are gonna be critical for a lot of races, (00:05:43): including even the statewide races, (00:05:45): because statewide candidates for Democrats are gonna need to get every last vote (00:05:50): they can out of precincts like these Democratic ones in Polk County. (00:05:54): But this voter registration hole that you brought up, I first wrote about this in June. (00:05:58): The situation is basically no better for Democrats now. (00:06:02): So at that time, (00:06:03): I was thinking, (00:06:04): OK, (00:06:04): Democrats have about a year and a half to start chipping away at this massive voter (00:06:08): registration lead that Republicans have and really minimal changes. (00:06:13): And so if you compare it to the 2018 midterm, when Democrats had a pretty good election and (00:06:19): Across Iowa, Fred Hubble only lost the governor's race by about three points. (00:06:23): But at that time, the party registrations were closer to equal. (00:06:27): I mean, the Republicans had a very slight advantage. (00:06:30): Now it's almost a 200,000 advantage. (00:06:34): And that's not to say that everybody votes according to their voter registration, (00:06:37): but it's just hard if you start out (00:06:40): that much in the hole, (00:06:41): even with high turnout among Democrats, (00:06:44): it's just hard to overcome that natural Republican advantage. (00:06:47): So I still see Republicans as favored in all of the statewide races next year. (00:06:51): I would say one thing, Dave, and that is (00:06:55): You know, (00:06:55): we just touched on the fact that there are a lot of really, (00:06:59): really competitive primary races coming up in June. (00:07:03): And that, (00:07:03): to me, (00:07:04): is an opportunity both for Republicans and Democrats, (00:07:09): but to build up their party registration, (00:07:11): because getting people to vote in primaries, (00:07:14): obviously, (00:07:15): you have to declare a party here in Iowa. (00:07:17): We have closed primaries and getting people to declare a party for those primary (00:07:21): elections and the fact that they're they're competitive and interesting. (00:07:25): Could help some of that settle out, (00:07:28): or at least we'll know after those June primaries or maybe leading up to the June (00:07:33): primaries, (00:07:34): how successful Democrats are likely to be in rectifying that gulf in party (00:07:40): registrations. (00:07:41): Kathie, earlier in your career, you primarily focused on Eastern Iowa. (00:07:45): Now, (00:07:45): of course, (00:07:46): for years, (00:07:46): you've really focused, (00:07:47): eve

    42 min
  8. Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/21/25

    06/21/2025

    Iowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/21/25

    This will be our last episode before our Summer hiatus. We are hoping to be back with new episodes in the Fall, but we do need more financial support to defray the costs of production. If you are able, please consider a donation or paid subscription. We really enjoy doing the show, and believe that many of you find it valuable. On to the show! Christina Bohannon has officially declared her candidacy for the 1st congressional district in southeast Iowa. Will the third time be the charm? It certainly was for Mariannette Miller-Meeks. That leads in to a discussion of Joni Ernst, Randy Feenstra, and MMM trying to tie their wagon to the MAGA/Trump Republicans but they also have a fairly tepid past with Trump; Laura Belin wrote a deep dive at Bleeding Heartland concerning Democrats’ statewide chances in the 2026 cycle, and we discuss the apparent uphill battle for the dems. We also discuss how the trends in Iowa mirror what’s been going on in other states since about 2014; Our central Iowa viewers will be familiar with our last topic. High nitrate levels in Des Moines and Raccoon rivers prompted Central Iowa Water Works' first-ever lawn watering ban. Kathie and her team at Iowa Capital Dispatch have been all over this story so she gives us the details on how nitrates in water can impact our health. We appreciate you guys, and hope to see you again soon. Have a nice summer and stay cool this weekend. AI generated transcript: Dave Price (00:00:01): Hi, Dave Price (00:00:01): everyone, Dave Price (00:00:01): and welcome back to the Iowa Down Ballot podcast, Dave Price (00:00:04): a production of the Iowa Writer's Collaborative. Dave Price (00:00:07): I'm Dave Price, Dave Price (00:00:07): joined, Dave Price (00:00:09): as always, Dave Price (00:00:09): almost always, Dave Price (00:00:11): Kathie Obradovich and Laura Belin, Dave Price (00:00:13): and happy Friday to you both as we talk on a Friday afternoon. Dave Price (00:00:16): It is 150,000 degrees outside, and it'll be that way all weekend long. Kathie Obradovich (00:00:24): They say it's not the heat, it's the humidity, right? Dave Price (00:00:27): uh apparently so man we had the des moines area we had a pretty good storm early Dave Price (00:00:32): this morning my poor doggie got all freaked out as she does in the storms and came Dave Price (00:00:36): up to the bed and that's when i knew things were about to get ugly outside Dave Price (00:00:44): All right, let's talk about a few things. Dave Price (00:00:46): I think maybe possibly on here somewhere several weeks back, Dave Price (00:00:52): we may have said Christina Bohannon's name. Dave Price (00:00:56): It has been a long kept secret that not so good secret, Dave Price (00:01:01): I suppose, Dave Price (00:01:02): that she was going to run again in Iowa's first congressional district. Dave Price (00:01:07): As she told me when we were talking earlier this week, Dave Price (00:01:09): she claims that third time will be a charm here. Dave Price (00:01:13): um it is an interesting way to I saw the National Republican campaign uh committee Dave Price (00:01:19): had uh said something about Iowans have already rejected her or something like Dave Price (00:01:23): which is true that's that's true she lost both times but it might not be the right Dave Price (00:01:27): way to come after her when Marianne Miller Meeks lost three times before she won a Dave Price (00:01:32): fourth time so this is like the race of persistence if these two become our Dave Price (00:01:36): nominees right Kathie Obradovich (00:01:39): Yeah, yes, absolutely. Kathie Obradovich (00:01:40): I mean, so Christina Bohannon has come very, very close to knocking off Marianette Miller Meeks. Kathie Obradovich (00:01:51): We had the last... Kathie Obradovich (00:01:55): election i think the difference ended up being something like 800 votes 599 i think Kathie Obradovich (00:02:02): right right yeah 799 799 okay yeah so that you know percentage wise is is pretty Kathie Obradovich (00:02:08): small um the legislature you say it sort of prompted the legislature to actually Kathie Obradovich (00:02:13): come back and change the recount rules um because that that um race did go to a Kathie Obradovich (00:02:20): recount Kathie Obradovich (00:02:21): um and you know obviously did not change the results um but you know you look at it Kathie Obradovich (00:02:27): you know if you look at the fact that that was a presidential year um that was Kathie Obradovich (00:02:32): frankly punishing for democrats and i know we're going to get into that a little Kathie Obradovich (00:02:37): bit later with laura but um but you know the fact that she could come so close in a Kathie Obradovich (00:02:42): presidential year and now the the midterms Kathie Obradovich (00:02:46): which, you know, typically would be better for the party not in power. Kathie Obradovich (00:02:49): So, Kathie Obradovich (00:02:49): you know, Kathie Obradovich (00:02:51): I don't, Kathie Obradovich (00:02:53): I'm not necessarily going to discount her chances as certainly being better than Kathie Obradovich (00:02:59): they were two years ago. Kathie Obradovich (00:03:01): But I also didn't hear a lot from her in her announcement about what she might be Kathie Obradovich (00:03:08): planning to do differently. Kathie Obradovich (00:03:10): So I would be interested in hearing more about that. Laura Belin (00:03:13): I did. Laura Belin (00:03:13): I asked her a little bit about that. Laura Belin (00:03:15): She thinks that this whatever you want to call it, Laura Belin (00:03:18): I think she was calling it the big, Laura Belin (00:03:19): bad bill, Laura Belin (00:03:19): the big, Laura Belin (00:03:20): beautiful bill. Laura Belin (00:03:21): And that is going to be a central issue for her in the midterm elections. Laura Belin (00:03:25): But I want to put this in context of how badly Marianne Miller Meeks underperformed Laura Belin (00:03:30): in that district. Laura Belin (00:03:31): That's a district that Donald Trump carried by about eight and a half points that Laura Belin (00:03:36): Miller Meeks won by 0.2%. Laura Belin (00:03:38): So she was one of the absolute worst performing Republican incumbents in the Laura Belin (00:03:43): country relative to how Donald Trump did in the district. Laura Belin (00:03:47): And I think that's why Democrats are targeting that first district again, Laura Belin (00:03:51): because even though there has been so much slippage in Democratic performance, Laura Belin (00:03:55): I mean, Laura Belin (00:03:55): you just have to say that Christina Bohannon is in this for a real chance. Dave Price (00:04:00): And we're assuming Marianne Miller-Meeks is going to run again. Dave Price (00:04:03): I do not believe she has said that yet. Dave Price (00:04:06): We do know that if she does run, Dave Price (00:04:08): she has a Republican challenger, Dave Price (00:04:09): David Pouch, Dave Price (00:04:11): who made a race of it last time around, Dave Price (00:04:13): right? Dave Price (00:04:13): I think it was 55-45. Laura Belin (00:04:16): It was 56-44. Laura Belin (00:04:17): And he raised almost no money, less than $40,000. Laura Belin (00:04:20): And she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. Laura Belin (00:04:22): And then outside groups were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. Laura Belin (00:04:26): I think the American Action Network is already, that's a conservative... Laura Belin (00:04:29): group. Laura Belin (00:04:30): I think they're already up with some ads for her. Laura Belin (00:04:32): I don't know if they're digital or broadcast, but she's going to need a lot of help. Laura Belin (00:04:36): She could lose the primary. Laura Belin (00:04:37): That's realistic. Dave Price (00:04:39): I'm going to make a very TV-like generic blank statement, Dave Price (00:04:44): blanket statement, Dave Price (00:04:44): as we TV people do when we try to make a point in 10 seconds. Dave Price (00:04:48): But do you all agree with me on this, Dave Price (00:04:51): that Marionette Miller-Meeks, Dave Price (00:04:54): to me, Dave Price (00:04:55): has something in common kind of with Joni Ernst and Randy Feenstra? Dave Price (00:04:59): they're not like a super perfect mega match necessarily and they have to kind of Dave Price (00:05:08): work for it right like randy feenstra who is running for governor but not quite Dave Price (00:05:14): running for governor and it's all this semantics thing he's got this exploratory Dave Price (00:05:18): committee but man his stuff is so trump trump trump trump trump trump trump trump Dave Price (00:05:24): and i'm going to support trump and all of this stuff and as we well know before the Dave Price (00:05:28): last caucus cycle he was planning on endorsing somebody that somebody was Dave Price (00:05:36): supposedly not donald trump then he changed and he didn't endorse so that whatever Dave Price (00:05:42): that Dave Price (00:05:44): environment thing was happened and marionette miller meeks had we just talked about Dave Price (00:05:49): she had to deal with her republican primary joanie ernst also did not endorse trump Dave Price (00:05:54): and seemed more aligned with nikki haley although she never never endorsed her and Dave Price (00:05:58): now she's trying to figure out with elon and hegseth and dc and all this stuff and Dave Price (00:06:04): is she running not running and whatever it just feels like the three of them like Dave Price (00:06:09): there's something not quite hand in glove what do you think Kathie Obradovich (00:06:14): I totally agree. Kathie Obradovich (00:06:15): And we've seen that more, Kathie Obradovich (00:06:18): I think, Kathie Obradovich (00:06:19): with Joni Ernst recently, Kathie Obradovich (00:06:21): especially with the qualms that she showed early on with Hegseth and how very vocal Kathie Obradovich (00:06:31): the MAGA right was in threatening her into esse

    35 min
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About

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

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  • Creator
    Iowa Writers Collaborative Members
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    39
  • Rating
    Clean
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