Iowa Caucus Guy’s Presidential Election Blog

Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann made news in November when he said essentially we are looking forward to seeing everyone at the Caucuses, and you can support any candidate that you want as long as it's Trump. Kauffman's quotes over the last couple of years include "We love Donald Trump! And if you don't love him (Ben Sasse), I'd suggest you stay on your side of the Missouri River." and "Quite frankly, if Iowa wants to retain our first-in-the-nation caucus status we can't have people wandering off and supporting all these other fringe candidates." It's clear the chairman who has said he's 1000% behind Trump isn't looking for competition. However, even in November, he stopped short of cancelling the Straw Poll. Now, that California has made it known that they are holding a primary in March of 2020, all bets are off. Iowa is fiercely proud of it's first-in-the-nation status, and it is something that may even tru...

It's been two months since my last blog post about the election. We had just seen a flurry of potential candidates make trips to Iowa. Since then, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have visited, because when you are the 11th richest person in the world and have billions of dollars, time and means, there's no place you want to be in December than Iowa. A younger blogger me would have wrote posts about these visits, but let's be fair, there's a lot of candidates and a long ways to go. The Register lists 20 possible candidates, and that looks to be a good working number, but feels infinitely expanding. (I suspect 20 was arbitrarily selected as there is no Martin O'Malley, Terry McAullife, or Sheryl Sandberg to name but a few). The Register last week ran a front page story about the 50 Most Influential Democrats in the states, which seemed rather pointless (particularly at this point in the cycle), but g...

Cory Booker was here earlier this month and was the first "real" campaign event of the season (or at least more accurately, the first one covered by the media as such). The Booker stop was very much in line with what one expects in the current climate. He is undoubtedly charismatic and a great speaker. As the New Republic eloquently put it, he does have a lot in common in Obama, lazy comparisons notwithstanding. Still, Iowa is getting blitzed in October with potential candidates.  Iowans will be visited by Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, Jay Inslee, Jeff Merkley, Tulsi Gabbard, Eric Slawell and Andrew Yang.  Plus since nothing in life is guaranteed, it is also probably worth mentioning Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, maverick Ben Sasse, Paul Ryan, and former Independent for President Evan McMullin are also here this month. Nothing too earth shattering here (mainly because most of the above have been here before), but the po...

The news this weekend is Cory Booker headlining the Democrat Fall Gala. The Gala was formerly known as the Jefferson-Jackson dinner and last year, Alec Baldwin headlined for 3000 people. For sure, at this time of the election cycle, it's a dress rehearsal for a campaign run. The last event of this magnitude in Iowa was May's Hall of Fame dinner which featured Washington's governor Jay Inslee, a name that otherwise hasn't popped up much yet. The lede on this is that Booker is the first 'serious' candidate to visit the state, which is an unflattering kick to John Delaney and a bunch of others who could end up being the nominee. A big shout out to Iowa Starting Line for a definitive list of possible candidates and their visits to Iowa. Iowa Starting Line gives you some seriousness when you put numbers to things (given Jason Kander's recent PTSD story, he's unlikely to run, but on top of this list are Delaney, Eric Swalwell, Martin O'Malley, T...

The Presidential campaign of 2020 is still a year too early to be taken in earnest, but there are touchpoints along the way, and a major one is the Iowa State Fair.  In the run-up during the caucus, it can be a scene of major moments, not just Rick Perry eating corn dogs (although there is that, but Mitt saying corporations are people, Barack playing bumper cars with his daughters and the Donald telling kids he's Batman and taking them on helicopter rides. The soapbox is an exciting spot which puts candidates to the people, and gives you things like Romney's gaffe, and occasional a longshot speaking to a crowd of two dozen indifferent spectators. This year actually had a crowd of presidential contenders (or hopefuls) along with those in the State Races. John Delaney - John is the only major announced candidate and probably one of the highlights so far was him giving his soapbox speech and seeing John Boehner in his audience.  "I appreciate you coming out and support...

A new candidate has emerged. It was a fairly quiet summer.  Although Trump's numbers are low, no significant Democrat has shown up. Indeed, I saw an idea floating around that suggested the Dems should run no candidate and support John Kasich (This didn't work in 1872 and seems like a worse idea now). In the meantime, there are the annual party fundraisers and this is where those who want to run for President seem to gravitate to. One of those was August 10 in the rural Northern Iowa town of Clear Lake, and it's called the Wing Ding.   Michael Avenatti, who is a prominent attorney and media presence, and at this point, is best known for being Stormy Daniels's attorney- stole the headlines. " When Trump hits low, we punch harder " was Avenatti's message. Popularly received despite two years of Democrats calling for civility. Avenatti likely is leaning toward a Presidential run. He's loud, polarizing, camera-seeking and is not a Politician...

My Election 2020 blog has been dormant for almost six months. Nothing wrong with that. It's still very early. John Delaney is the only announced major candidate and he ran articles earlier this year (which have resumed only recently) and has visited all 99 counties of Iowa , but that's about it for Iowa action.  I know there are other stories to cover, but I also know that when I go chasing random takes, that is when I have fallen for fake news. It is also when I am straying from what makes my take unique. So you won't see me writing about the election possibilities of Oprah Winfrey, The Rock, Mark Zuckerburg, or Mark Cuban. Nor, though I am tempted, to talk about action novelist Brad Thor or "Smack That" singer Akon who have made comments that they want to seriously run for President. Still, the news is minimal, but I will attempt to cover the Summer 2018 news to date. I don't see Bernie Sanders as a serious entrant in 2020, but until that is ve...