I have to admit ignorance to Iowa politics. Other than the DNC pulling out from there as first primary because it's unrepresentative, I'm pretty much ignorant.
I do understand, however, that it hasn't been that long since Iowa was blue.
In your opinion, could Iowa be coming back from a Trump populist surge?
Nope, not ignorant at all. I just happen to live here, that’s all. I used to live in Roanoke, Va., too, in the wonderful Blue Ridge Mountains. Although I would definitely defer to you on the current political climate out in your region.
The reason for the change in Iowa’s first in the nation Democratic Caucuses wasn’t that it was unrepresentative. I mean, like compared to New Hampshire? That was the narrative put out by the people in other states who wanted to get their own shot at being the first in the nation.
The economic impact in having such a focus on Iowa was huge. Think of all the candidates not in the incumbent party who visit regularly with their teams and the media coverage. We’re talking millions of dollars for hotels and restaurants, and that’s just in Des Moines.
The Iowa Democratic Party in 2020 screwed up royally. They used a faulty system to report caucus results around the state, and it turned into a three-day cluster before the final delegate count was made. That was unforgivable, because the entire nation was watching.
Also, the drumbeat was getting powder to strip the first in the nation designation from Iowa. If I recall, the Bernie bros weren’t too happy when Buttigieg won, with Bernie in 2nd, and Elizabeth Warren in 3rd. I’ll give you two guesses who finished in 4th place, a dismal showing here, and turned into one of the biggest proponents to take away Iowa’s first in the nation standing- yeah, Joe Biden. The guy was a sad, sorry loser here. And he helped pave the way to bad mouth Iowa. Don’t get me wrong- it was Iowa’s fault, and I personally disliked all of the political attention and ass-kissing every few years. But he and his campaign sucked for being a sore loser in Iowa.
Back to your questions. Iowa has had some several governors in my lifetime including Democrat Harold Hughes, Republican Robert Ray, Republican Terry Branstad, Democrat Chet Culver, Branstad again, then when he was named Ambassador to China, his Republican Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds. Two longtime senators in Democrat Tom Harkin and Republican Chuck Grassley. When Harkin retired, Republican Joni Ernst was elected.
Iowa is capable of becoming a purple state again, but the right has had a stranglehold on the state House and Senate, which steamrolls right wing initiatives through without much resistance. That’s got to change first.
