Stories

In 2002, Bill Salier, an Iowa hog farmer, stunned the political world in Iowa and beyond when he won 41 percent of the vote in a Republican primary, his first run for public office.  He challenged four-term U.S. Rep. Greg Ganske for the right to run against U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa's Democratic incumbent. Ganske [...]

This is just too funny to pass up. The Hill's pseudo-blog, "Under the Dome," reports (in the third story down) that Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley is lobbying on behalf of former Iowa congressman and failed gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle in his struggling bid to become White House budget director. Grassley said he considers Nussle as [...]

Everyone knows that social conservatives will come out in droves on the night of the Iowa caucuses. But a growing group of overlooked foot soldiers in this movement will also shape its outcome without even casting a vote. They can’t—they’re teenagers. But they are being trained to wage the political battles of the future for [...]

Iowa Christian Alliance (ICA) president Steve Scheffler sent an email to supporters criticizing former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain for skipping last month's candidate forum sponsored by ICA and Iowans for Tax Relief, First Read reported today.
Iowa Independent has obtained a copy of the email, which notes:
While the other [...]

At the Iowans for Tax Relief/Iowa Christian Alliance candidate forum last month, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney dodged the question of whether he would support the so-called Fair Tax, eliciting a "cool response" from the crowd. In an interview today with Iowa Independent, Romney spokesman Tim Albrecht declined to comment on the Fair Tax. But [...]

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has stepped up his Iowa courtship in the last few days, by releasing radio ads here (and in New Hampshire) and by announcing a new list of supporters from southeastern Iowa.
His pitch to Iowans continues to focus on the economy and security, while mostly ignoring the hotbed issues important [...]

[Commentary] John Edwards got some decent press yesterday in the paper of record. The former North Carolina Senator's Iowa chances were examined by the New York Times in a story titled "A Candidate Tends His Field of Dreams." The story is noticeable for its clear-eyed assessment as well as the absence of some damaging Edwards [...]

The culture, more than the caucuses, is the focus of the Iowa Family Policy Center (IFPC), according to its president, Chuck Hurley. This seems to differ from other organizations such as the Iowa Christian Alliance, Concerned Women for America of Iowa, Iowa Right to Life Committee, or the Network of Iowa Christian Home School Educators [...]

Iowa GOP Executive Director Chuck Laudner announced Thursday that former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson's name would be on the Ames Straw Poll ballot on Aug. 11.
In an interview with Iowa Independent, Burson Snyder, a Thompson spokeswoman, declined to comment on Laudner's decision. "As you know Senator Thompson is not a candidate yet. He’s still testing [...]

For much of the pre-caucus season, it seemed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was not really playing to win in Iowa. He made waves when he announced he was skipping the Ames Straw Poll and most commentators seemed to agree that Giuliani’s support for abortion rights would doom him in a state where social [...]