Iowa caucus race, CO2 pipeline lawsuit, news on diversity in Iowa, and more
Dec. 11 "Capitol Week" is online
Dennis Hart and I just wrapped our 150th episode of “Capitol Week”! So grateful to have a platform on KHOI Radio. It’s a joy to work with Dennis and our producer Mike Murphy.
As political news slows down during the holiday season, we may have time on our year-end programs to answer a few listener questions. Shoot me an email (laurabelin@substack.com) or leave a comment in this thread if you have any question for Dennis and me, either about Iowa politics or about how we prepare for each week’s show.
I encourage you to take a look at KHOI’s other talk and music programming, which can all be live-streamed.
On to the latest “Capitol Week.” Our archive going back to early 2021 is available for free on KHOI Community Radio’s website. Here’s the audio from our December 11 program.
Topics we covered this week:
The Des Moines Register published the latest Iowa Poll by Selzer & Co for the Register, NBC News, and Mediacom. It’s all good news for former President Donald Trump, as Brianne Pfannenstiel reports here. About 51 percent of likely GOP caucus-goers support him; just 19 percent are for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 16 percent are for former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy is sitting at 5 percent;
Not only does Trump have a huge lead on the top lines, he’s ahead among every important demographic. His supporters are also more enthusiastic and less open to changing their minds before January 15. So if anyone outperforms their poll numbers at the caucuses, it’s more likely to be Trump than another GOP candidate;
Although the Koch network recently endorsed Haley, I’m skeptical that will move the needle for her, since one of the big Koch-funded groups has spent millions of dollars in Iowa already on anti-Trump messages that didn’t resonate with GOP voters;
I forgot to say this during the program, but the latest Iowa Poll is a huge embarrassment for Governor Kim Reynolds and social conservative leader Bob Vander Plaats. Both endorsed DeSantis within the past month, but that didn’t give him any significant boost;
This GOP primary has never resembled the Iowa caucus campaigns of 2008, 2012, or 2016. All year, Trump has been the de facto incumbent, and most Republican voters have shown little interest in other candidates;
We spent a few minutes discussing takeaways from last week’s NewsNation debate featuring DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. You can watch the full video here if you’re interested;
CNN is scheduled to host debates before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary next month. But after our show aired, I saw that the Iowa debate is in doubt, as Haley has not committed, and Ramaswamy and Christie may not meet the higher polling thresholds;
Trump was in Davenport last week for a Fox News town hall with Sean Hannity. The host gave the former president several opportunities to promise not to be a dictator. At one point, Hannity asked, “Under no circumstances — you are promising America tonight — you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?” Trump replied, “Except for day one”;
Former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney has not ruled out running for president as a third-party candidate next year, but I doubt she will go there. All signs suggest she will focus on defeating House Republican candidates, so the party does not have a majority in January 2025, when the electoral votes will be certified;
The Republican Party of Iowa has announced its precinct locations for the January 15 caucuses. Remember, your caucus location may not be your regular polling place. If you plan to attend the GOP caucuses, confirm your precinct name or number on the Iowa Secretary of State’s website, then go to IowaGOP.org to find your caucus location;
The Iowa Democratic Party has not yet announced caucus sites. Based the 2012 caucuses (the last time a Democratic incumbent was seeking re-election), Democrats will put many precincts together in larger buildings like schools;
Incidentally, Dennis and I will record “Capitol Week” live at 7 pm on Monday, January 15. We will get up early to record another live show at 6 am on Tuesday morning, January 16 (when KHOI would normally rebroadcast Monday’s show);
Moving to state government news, we spent some time breaking down my exclusive reporting on the governor’s office budget. I didn’t want to bombard listeners with a bunch of numbers, so focused on the broader questions related to transparency and Governor Kim Reynolds overspending her budget appropriation. My article has all of the details and numbers;
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Stephanie Rose ruled in favor of Summit Carbon Solutions last week, finding that two Iowa counties cannot enforce ordinances restricting the siting of CO2 pipelines. Jared Strong covered this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch;
I expect further litigation related to other aspects of Summit Carbon’s pipeline project, in particular siting of the carbon capture facilities (which would need to be built next to ethanol plants along the pipeline route);
North Dakota’s utilities regulator has yet to decide whether county ordinances can restrict CO2 pipeline routes in that state;
ResumeBlaze recently ranked Iowa 46th in the nation for workplace diversity, which is not surprising, since Iowa is also the 46th most diverse state, according to U.S. Census data;
We didn’t have time last month to talk about the Iowa Board of Regents adopting new recommendations to limit diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at Iowa’s three state universities. Dennis and I briefly covered this tonight, but for more information, check out the recommendations and coverage from Iowa Capital Dispatch, the Cedar Rapids Gazette, and Des Moines Register;
Continuing the theme of diversity of Iowa, we discussed my reporting from November on the NAACP’s new data regarding Black and Latino representation on Iowa juries;
A preview of coming attractions: KHOI will air “Capitol Week” on Monday, December 25, and Monday, January 1, but we plan to record those shows ahead of time.
Thanks for reading or listening, and happy Chanukah to all who are celebrating! Tonight is the fifth of eight nights; here’s a photo of our family’s menorahs lit on the fourth night a few years back.
The Iowa Writers Collaborative continues to grow. Check out some of the new columnists, as well as the seasoned ones!
"U.S. District Court Chief Judge Stephanie Rose ruled in favor of Summit Carbon Solutions last week, finding that two Iowa counties cannot enforce ordinances restricting the siting of CO2 pipelines. Jared Strong covered this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch" -- This is going to have impact on some of the other ordinances we've seen re: SANE/SAKI funds for EC.....
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