Stories

Despite the fact that Iowa’s defense of marriage act was passed with the help of Democrats in the state legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack, Republicans throughout the state are already connecting the dots between today’s court opinion legalizing same-sex marriage and the next round of elections in 2010.

Tim Palmer, Linn County’s newly elected Republican chairman, believes his party must do a better job at reaching out and “speaking the language” of all its constituents without neglecting tried-and-true techniques for traditional organizing.

Republicans, it seems, have all the fun.
Today, Sen. John McCain’s Iowa campaign “honored” Sen. Barack Obama with a “Star of Fame” to commemorate his status as a celebrity.  And tonight, their phone-calling volunteers will have to explain to voters why the dulcet tones of Barbra Streisand might be audible in the background of their calls.
The [...]

[Analysis] Although much has been made about the big increase in the number of Democrats who attended the Iowa Caucus on Thursday, Republicans were also surprised by the turnout.

Two months ago, a Mitt Romney victory in Iowa looked to be as close to a slam dunk as anything in politics. Romney held a big lead [...]

This story is a collaborative effort between Iowa Independent and Huffington Post’s OffTheBus Project.  As part of our investigation, OffTheBus members spoke with more than a third of Iowa’s Republican county chairs. The team was coordinated by Theresa Weathers and Steven Greenberg, and interviews were conducted by Kirsten Anderson, Mariangela Anzalone, Robin Carpenter, Adam Dancy, [...]

This story is a collaborative effort between Iowa Independent and Huffington Post’s OffTheBus Project.  As part of our investigation, OffTheBus members spoke with more than a third of Iowa’s Republican county chairs. The team was coordinated by Theresa Weathers and Steven Greenberg, and interviews were conducted by Kirsten Anderson, Mariangela Anzalone, Robin Carpenter, Adam Dancy, [...]

Last week, Iowa Independent released the first edition of our Democratic Power Rankings, attempting to answer the question, “If the Iowa caucuses were held tonight, how would the candidates place?”  Today, we unveil our rankings for the Republican field.

Although the Republican caucuses are somewhat simpler (and therefore easier to participate in) than the Democratic version, [...]

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 [...]

In what may be seen as a move to force him to declare his candidacy earlier than intended, Iowa GOP Executive Director Chuck Laudner said today that former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson’s name would be included on the August 11 Iowa Straw Poll ballot.  Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa has more here and here.

Thompson’s campaign [...]