Shrinking GOP field, Democrat running in IA-03, and more

Nov. 13 "Capitol Week" is online

So many of you have generously donated to support my work here and at Bleeding Heartland. I want to take a minute to ask you to chip in for KHOI Community Radio during their fall fundraising drive.

We’ve all seen reports about layoffs of political reporters. Last week brought the depressing news that a corporate owner is shutting down the website Jezebel and letting its entire editorial staff go. I’m so grateful to have my own platform for writing at Bleeding Heartland, as well as a radio station that supports my work.

KHOI is a non-commercial station based in Ames. Operating on a shoestring budget, they broadcast a wide variety of talk and music programming, some locally produced and some syndicated. You can livestream for free or listen to any of KHOI’s shows at a time that’s convenient for you. The current schedule is here, and the program archive/link for web streaming is here.

I rarely had the chance to appear on Iowa radio before Dennis Hart and I started working together on “Capitol Week” in February 2021. We’ve done nearly 150 shows so far and still have a blast. If you enjoy our analysis, and have the capacity to donate, please consider giving to KHOI online. You can also donate over the phone using a credit card (call 515-292-2878 during business hours), or mail a check to KHOI FM, 622 Douglas Avenue, Ames Iowa 50010.

If you don’t have spare cash now, please share KHOI’s program schedule with a friend who may want to tune in sometime.

On to the latest edition of “Capitol Week”! Remember, the full archive is always available on KHOI’s website.

Topics Dennis and I covered on the November 13 program:

• For once, the big breaking news happened on Sunday, rather than shortly before air time on Monday. Senator Tim Scott suspended his presidential campaign. We talked about why he failed to gain traction and which candidates might benefit, according to the recent Iowa Poll by Selzer & Co for the Des Moines Register, NBC News, and Mediacom;

• We spent several minutes discussing last Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate in Miami. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley turned in another strong performance, in part because of the way she has approached the abortion issue;

• Vivek Ramaswamy’s in-your-face style seems to be a turnoff for many Republicans, other than Donald Trump fans who will support Trump;

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is stepping up his criticism of Trump, but it’s notable that he and others in the field are not bothered by the authoritarian, dehumanizing rhetoric Trump has been using, or his undemocratic plans for exercising power if he gets back to the White House;

• Dennis and I thought former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had a fairly strong debate, but he’s not resonating with most GOP voters;

• The Iowa caucuses used to “winnow the field” of presidential contenders, but this cycle that’s happening before anyone gathers with their neighbors on a cold Monday evening. The FAMiLY Leader invited five candidates (including Scott) to its pre-Thanksgiving event, and it may be that only DeSantis and Ramaswamy show up;

• U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra is casting a wider net for his events and plans to host five candidates in early December, including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and zero percenter Ryan Binkley;

• We touched on one non-Iowa news story: Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin confirmed last week that he won’t seek re-election next year. Dennis and I talked about the possible impact of third-party presidential candidates;

• Moving to Congressional news, Iowa’s four U.S. House members supported a motion last week to censure Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib;

• We’re approaching another possible federal government shutdown on November 17, and if you’re looking for good Congressional reporting, I highly recommend Jamie Dupree’s Regular Order newsletter;

• Lanon Baccam made his campaign official last week in Iowa’s third Congressional district, which is the least Republican-leaning of the four House districts. I’m working on a deep dive for Bleeding Heartland on a possible Baccam/Zach Nunn match-up, and you’ll be able to find that (along with other posts from the main site) in my other free email newsletter;

• EMILY’s List endorsed Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan in Iowa’s first Congressional district;

• We spent a few minutes talking about last week’s school board elections. I wrote more about those results at Bleeding Heartland;

• Surprising many (including me!), residents of the conservative town of Pella voted to preserve the independence of the public library board;

• Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed a brief last week fleshing out the state’s arguments for the Iowa Supreme Court to lift the injunction on the near-total abortion ban Republicans approved in July. You can read the brief here;

• This Friday, the Iowa Board of Medicine will consider draft administrative rules related to some of the abortion ban’s provisions, such as when physicians can terminate a pregnancy in cases of rape or incest;

• Because several readers have raised the question, I wanted to explain why Iowans can’t collect signatures to force a vote on adding reproductive rights to our state constitution, as happened in Michigan last year and Ohio last week;

• The Iowa Utilities Board wrapped up its evidentiary hearing on Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed CO2 pipeline, but the board is not expected to decide on a permit for the project before next year. At Bleeding Heartland, Nancy Dugan covered the latest news related to legal challenges to water use permits sought by Summit-linked LLCs.

Thank you for reading or listening! Dennis and I will be back next Monday evening.

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More authors have joined the Iowa Writers Collaborative recently. Check out some of the columnists you may not know yet:

• Nicole Baart: This Stays Here, Sioux Center

• Ray Young Bear: From Red Earth Drive, Meskwaki Settlement

• Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

• Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

• Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

• Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, Roundup

• Steph Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston

• Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

• Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

• Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

• Arnold Garson: Second Thoughts, Okoboji and Sioux Falls

• Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

• Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

• Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

• Rob Gray: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny

• Nik Heftman: The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa

• Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilia

• Chris Jones, Chris’s Substack, Des Moines

• Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

• Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames

• Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey

• Letters from Iowans, Iowa

• Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Calhoun County

• Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa

• Alison McGaughey, The Inquisitive Quad Citizen, Quad Cities

• Kurt Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar

• Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines

• Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids

• Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

• Jane Nguyen: The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

• John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines

• Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

• Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.

• Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines

• Macey Shofroth: The Midwest Creative, Norwalk

• Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader

• Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

• Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona

• Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

• Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

• Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines