Greetings all. Excited to share a recording from today’s live discussion with our good friend Rita Hart, Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party.
Here’s some of what Chair Hart told us when she reported in to our community this summer:
And so now, here we are, Simon I've been saying it for months, and you've been saying it with me. All eyes are on Iowa. And that is really true right now. We have got a real opportunity here to do something quite outstanding and to give the rest of the country hope. Because this isn't just one candidate who has an opportunity to flip a seat from red to blue in the state of Iowa. We have a ticket of candidates.
This is the first year since 1968 that we've had an open governor's race and an open U.S. Senate seat with two terrific candidates to step up into these spaces.
From our conversation today:
We've got a couple weeks left here and every day matters. We've got to drive this vote in. We cannot expect that because the polls are good and because people are saying this is going to be good for us that we have a handle on this until every vote is cast. So we're taking that very seriously. I can tell you that there's a lot of momentum. Our early voting did start on the 14th. We've got very hefty numbers there. We're really pushing to get even larger numbers. In fact, today I'm at the University of Northern Iowa campus.
More from Chair Hart:
Last year when we had our special elections we were able to to flip some seats by more than 20 points. We know that we can win anywhere in the state of Iowa if we have candidates that people can trust. That they feel are listening to them, are centered on actual solutions to the problems that exist. And that we have an organizing effort and the resources to continue that effort right until the end.
Iowa has become one of the most important battlegrounds of the cycle. We have the chance to win the governorship, a Senate seat, 3 US House seats, and make huge gains downballot. Polls show Rob Sand and Josh Turek ahead. Cook just moved Christina Bohannan (IA-1) and Sarah Trone Garriott (IA-3) to “Lean Dem” - a big deal in these two Republican held districts. To understand how abandoned and betrayed even Republican voters feel about Trump and the state Rs watch this incredible video from MS Now. Ten 2024 Trump voters. They are asked how many are leaning towards Rep. Ashley Hinson, a sitting Member of the House and the GOP candidate for Senate. Not a single one raises their hand. It’s literally jawdropping:
This is a year of extraordinary opportunity for us in Iowa. Help Rita and the good Democrats of Iowa seize it today by donating to our Winning Iowa Fund which splits a contribution three ways - Josh Turek for U.S. Senate, Rob Sand for Iowa Governor, and Rita Hart and the Iowa Democratic Party. This community has invested more money in Iowa than any other state this cycle and now we need to finish the job, together! - Simon
Bio - Rita Hart, Chair, Iowa Democratic Party
Rita Hart was born in 1956 in Charles City, Iowa. She earned an Associate of Arts degree from North Iowa Area Community College, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Iowa. She worked as a middle school and high school English teacher for more than 20 years.
Hart served in the Iowa State Senate from 2013-2019. She was the 2018 Democratic nominee for Iowa’s lieutenant governor and the 2020 Democratic nominee for the U.S. House for Iowa’s 2nd congressional district.
In January 2023, Hart was elected chair of the Iowa Democratic Party.
