October 10 edition of "Capitol Week" is online

Candidate debates, campaign advertising, and more

Oct 11, 2022

Dennis Hart and I spent more time watching television last week than usual, so we would be ready to talk about several candidate debates and new campaign ads during our October 10 broadcast.

I also wrote about several of the debates at Bleeding Heartland, with a focus on how the candidates discussed abortion. According to one of this year’s favorite Republican talking points, Democrats are the real abortion extremists. Will voters buy it?

The full archive of “Capitol Week” is available on KHOI Community Radio’s website, so anyone can listen to any of the 80+ shows we’ve recorded anytime.

Here’s the rundown from our October 10 broadcast (audio file):

What Senator Chuck Grassley and Democratic challenger Mike Franken said about abortion rights during their debate (you can find that video here);
How Grassley and Franken talked about inflation and the January 6 coup attempt;
Fallout from the controversy involving Franken and his former campaign manager (I previously wrote about her allegations at Bleeding Heartland, and Lyz Lenz published an additional statement from Franken’s accuser as part of her profile of the U.S. Senate race for Politico);
Former Democratic Senator Max Baucus of Montana endorsing Grassley;
The KCCI-TV debate between U.S. Representative Cindy Axne and her GOP challenger Zach Nunn (you can watch the video here, and they also clashed on KMA radio on Sunday);
The Axne/Nunn exchange over Axne’s proxy vote for the Inflation Reduction Act in August;
Axne’s new campaign ad, which highlights how Nunn used a baby monitor to spy on fellow members of student government when he was a Drake University undergraduate;
A quick preview of this week’s second Congressional district debate between U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson and her Democratic challenger Liz Mathis;
The KCCI-TV debate between Attorney General Tom Miller and GOP challenger Brenna Bird (we focused on their comments about abortion, but you can watch the whole debate video here);
Bird’s latest tv ad, which attacks Miller over a case involving a sex offender (Tom Barton covered the ad for the Cedar Rapids Gazette, and Ian Richardson wrote a backgrounder on the case a couple of years ago);
The joint appearance by State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald and GOP challenger Roby Smith on Iowa PBS (video here);
Deidre DeJear’s first campaign ad, which combines several lines of attack against Governor Kim Reynolds;
The latest Emerson College Poll of the Iowa Senate and governor’s races;
A jury awarding $1 million to Todd Halbur (the Republican nominee for state auditor) in his whistleblower lawsuit over being fired from the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division;
State Auditor Rob Sand rolling out endorsements from a bunch of Republicans (and also Libertarians, though I forgot to mention that); one of the GOP endorsers is featured in Sand’s second campaign commercial;
Sand’s first tv ad, which spoofs the sitcom “The Office”;
The Des Moines City Council voting down a proposal to restrict investigations related to having an abortion or performing abortions in the capital city.
A quick preview of next week’s debate between the candidates for governor, which will be the only one, since Kim Reynolds refused other invitations.

Please consider sharing this post with others who might enjoy listening to “Capitol Week,” KHOI’s 30-minute show about Iowa politics.

For those who missed my last Substack post, I want to let you know that the Iowa Writers Collaborative is introducing a special feature. Paid subscribers to any of our newsletters will be invited to the “Office Lounge,” a monthly Zoom gathering of the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative members. The Office Lounge call will be on the last Friday of the month, unless that’s a holiday.

This month the virtual gathering will happen on October 28 from noon to 1 p.m. There’s no need to RSVP. The week before, all paid subscribers (to this Substack, or to any others in the collaborative) will receive the Zoom link. If you feel like logging on, you can join the conversation on October 28, or just listen.

Everything on my Substack will remain free for all readers. But if you’d like to attend the “Office Lounge” gatherings, you will need to become a paid subscriber to at least one of the Iowa Writers Collaborative authors: