Stories

The Republican Party isn’t big enough to “throw people overboard,” so while internal debate is healthy, the party must ultimately stick together, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty told a crowd of GOP activists in Des Moines on Saturday.

The Associated Press broke the news Friday morning that an aide close to Des Moines attorney Roxanne Conlin confirms she will formally announce she will seek the Democratic nomination for Senate next week.
The aide also confirms she will file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission next week.

Incumbents were sharply rebuked Tuesday night in elections all over Iowa, matching a national trend that’s giving Republicans a glimmer of hope going into 2010. Iowa’s municipal elections are non-partisan, so it will be hard for either party to claim victory. But after years of Democratic dominance of election night, an evening where most high-profile races saw incumbents roundly rebuked is being celebrated in Republican circles.

Gov. Chet Culver’s re-election campaign announced Tuesday it was launching its second television advertisement.
The ad will air in the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids markets as well as some cable around the state. It is titled “Stronger Than Ever” and focuses on the governor’s response to last year’s flooding and to the state’s economic downturn.

lthough former Gov. Terry Branstad thought meeting with leaders of Iowa’s social conservative movement could help his campaign by alleviating their concerns with his candidacy, the aftermath has not gone according to plan.
And for a candidate whose last political campaign took place long before the Internet age and the prevalence of the blogosphere, the reaction [...]

U.S. Rep. Steve King has no plans to run for president, but since he never had intentions to run for Congress, he refuses to rule out the possibility of a 2012 campaign.
The Kiron Republican told Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO-TV that he wants to be a part of the national debate over how to “refurbish [...]

More than 25 percent of funds raised by Rep. Tom Latham’s political action committee during the 2008 election cycle paid for trips to resorts around the country, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The Republican Party of Iowa will continue to lose elections if it empowers moderates who compromise on social issues, Bryan English said Monday on the blog of the Iowa Family Policy Center.
English, who serves as spokesman for the influential social conservative group, said the last thing the party needs is Republican wolves in  “conservative sheep’s [...]

“We haven’t had this type of work being done this early in the last three cycles,” said Tom Harrington, who chairs the Democrats’ 4th District Central Committee. “We’re hoping that by organizing early, helping find good candidates and having this infrastructure in place for them that it will be a big leg up over what past candidates have had.”

Former Arkansas governor and 2008 Iowa Caucus winner Mike Huckabee will return to the Hawkeye State June 10 to officially endorse and stump for likely GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bob Vander Plaats.
Called “An Evening of Politics In The Park,” the event will begin at 4:30 p.m. and the program will start at 5 p.m. at Arnolds [...]