Category: Living in Society

In Spring, when the world starts turning green, hope is everywhere. For a Democrat that means hope to advance our policies and aspirations in a society where corruption, greed, and large scale grifters would swindle from us the hard won freedom and tolerance we forged over the century after the Civil War. Each year it feels real and we engage in the next election cycle, hoping to do better, staying in the fight.

37 days from the primary, it’s time to choose. In November, I’ll support the Democrats on the ballot. There are contested primary races before then, and I don’t have much else to say about races where there is only one candidate.

U.S. Senate

It would be hard for me to be in anyone’s camp but Zach Wahls. I remember him setting up an apartment in Coralville as Chloe joined him, when Elijah was an idea. I remember his first campaign for state senate against Janice Weiner. The two of them were everywhere in the district, putting in the work. He attended an event we hosted in Solon and brought the president of the Solon Community School Board, which was a first for our local politics. That early period was important to my current support.

Zach’s support for Elizabeth Warren during her 2020 presidential campaign typifies the kinds of policies he supports: taxing the wealthy, consumer protections, and improved health care for all. On the issues, Zach’s policies align with mine and continue to do so. He would support Warren’s efforts to hold corporations to account, tax wealth, enforce strict financial accountability, put teeth into anti-trust regulation, protect consumers, determine a way to fix the gap in Social Security, and transition to Medicare for all. These policies are right for Iowa and the country.

During his tenure as Senate Minority Leader, Wahls was ousted in 2023, purportedly for firing two long-term Iowa Democratic Party staffers. I won’t rehash that, and note the unanimous vote of the caucus to remove him. Was the party better for re-hiring those two people afterward?

Here’s the thing. Wahls got too far over his skis and ahead of the caucus on this action. At the same time, isn’t pushing the party in a better direction what we want from leadership? I think it is, and that’s what Wahls offers in his run for U.S. Senate. We must be agents of change. He would be… and this is why I support Zach Wahls in the June 2 primary.

First Congressional District

I support Christina Bohannan for U.S. House in Iowa’s First Congressional District Democratic primary.

I am spoiled by having had access to Dave Loebsack from before he announced for the House, through winning in 2006, and during his subsequent tenure. After he retired, and Rita Hart lost to Mariannette Miller-Meeks by six votes, my part of the state in rural Johnson County has been dominated by Republicans. With Bohannan’s persistence, and despite her previous losses, we have a chance to change that. I am pragmatic enough to know this is not about policy, but about a Democrat winning in November. A lot is at stake in winning a Democratic majority in the U.S. House, and as Bohannan said, we should “put Iowa first.” Count me in.

Johnson County Supervisor—District Two

I support Jon Green for Johnson County Supervisor in District 2.

At the precinct caucus I said,

Jon showed up in our area, canvassed with me, and listened — which tells you exactly the kind of County Supervisor he is.

One of the hardest issues we face is the jail. Jon understands we need a solution that works for the county, for county employees, and for the people who are incarcerated there — and that means real leadership, not delay or division.

As chair, Jon has proven he can lead in difficult moments. He builds coalitions, believes in transparency and debate, and makes sure every voice is heard.

At a time when local communities are often caught between state and federal pressures, Jon will stand up for this county.

We need local leaders who understand not only what the law requires, but what the people demand.

Those early observations remain important to my endorsement.

With the Solon Area Democrats we arranged an early forum for all three candidates in the primary, the other two being Jessica Andino and Janet Godwin. They are both talented, accomplished people, and qualified to be a supervisor. However, after too many delays, it is time to build a new jail and Jon put the coalition together. We should enable him to finish this work after the push for the November ballot issue.

One more thing. The issue of changing the form of county government was promoted at the League of Women Voters District 2 supervisor forum April 18. I oppose the idea, which I first heard at the county convention from Sue Dvorsky. Jon opposes it, as well. Here is my thinking from the April 21, Cedar Rapids Gazette.

As mentioned at the top, I will support Democrats in November. We have to get through the primary first, without any self-inflicted wounds that give Republicans an advantage.

Editor’s Note: These endorsements are those of Paul Deaton, and not of Blog for Iowa or any of our great writers and supporters..

The period leading up to the June 2 primary is usually one of the quieter stretches on Iowa’s political calendar, and 2026 is following that pattern. Most candidates have entered their races, the filing deadline having passed in March, and ballots are largely set. For those facing competitive primaries, the work now is less about public engagement and more about methodical outreach—fundraising, calling through supporter lists, securing endorsements, and ensuring turnout operations are in place.

Meanwhile, many voters are focused elsewhere. Spring in Iowa brings farm planting, yard work, fishing, bicycling, and the general pull of being outdoors after a long winter, which tends to dampen political attention. Voter turnout for a midterm election is typically less than in presidential years.

The most visible local activity this week has come on the Republican side in southeast Iowa. Congressional candidate David Pautsch began deploying more yard and barn signs in his effort to unseat incumbent Mariannette Miller-Meeks as the party’s nominee. The increased sign presence stands out compared to his 2024 run, when such visibility was limited. Even so, the fundamentals appear to favor Miller-Meeks. Through her use of franking privileges and regular congressional newsletters, she has maintained consistent communication with Republican voters in the district. That kind of sustained visibility should translate into enough baseline support to withstand a primary challenge.

In the governor’s race, Rob Sand occupies a relatively quiet but advantageous position. Without a primary opponent, he is able to focus entirely on building a general election coalition. That means fundraising, message development, and outreach to constituencies that will matter in November rather than expending resources on intra-party competition. This kind of political space is valuable, particularly in a cycle where Democrats see a potential opening.

Party organizational activity continues in the background. District conventions on May 2, followed by the June 13 state convention are approaching. These gatherings tend to be dominated by party insiders and activists. They play a role in shaping party platforms and selecting certain nominees, yet they rarely capture broader public attention during this phase of the cycle.

While those outside political inner circles often overlook its activity, the Iowa Legislature continues to shape much of what affects Iowans day to day. Lawmakers are now working past the traditional 100-day session mark, moving into overtime as they negotiate final pieces of the state budget. This extended timeline reflects unresolved disagreements—primarily within the Republican majority itself.

Although Republicans control both chambers, they have not been aligned on spending priorities and policy details. Differences between factions—ranging from traditional conservatives to those pushing for sharper policy shifts—have slowed final agreements. That internal negotiation tends to happen largely out of public view, giving the impression of inactivity when most of the work is happening behind closed doors.

For most voters, the details of budget targets or policy language remain distant concerns, especially this time of year. Nonetheless, the outcome of the session will set the fiscal and policy baseline that candidates from both parties will campaign on through the summer and into November.

At the national level, Iowa received attention when the Democratic National Committee agreed to consider the state’s case to regain early-state status in the 2028 presidential nominating calendar, potentially even returning to first-in-the-nation. For now, this is more background noise than an active political force. The decision ultimately hinges on whether the DNC is willing to reverse its post-2020 shift away from Iowa. While some state Democrats actively make that case, it has not yet translated into widespread grassroots discussion. There may be developments in May, but there is just as much chance the issue remains unresolved for some time.

Stepping back, the larger landscape remains defined by a mix of opportunity and constraint. Democrats view 2026 as a cycle with unusual openings, driven in part by open seats and voter dissatisfaction. At the same time, Republicans retain a structural advantage in statewide races and voter registration. Any internal divisions that emerge in Republican primaries could have downstream effects, but for now, the balance of power has not fundamentally shifted. The weeks ahead are less about dramatic change and more about quiet positioning before the electorate engages closer to the primary.

Spring is also a great time to engage in the political process by attending a fund raiser or by volunteering for a candidate in an important primary race. Don’t have a candidate? The county party always needs your help.

Spring has sprung, and with it, opportunities to engage in the political process wait for your attention. Put it on your daily planner: do one thing each day to stay engaged in the political discussion that could change Iowa’s politics. Then, take a walk to consider that life is better than what our Republican politicians make it with their governance.

At a political event in rural Cedar Township one attendee said to me Phil Hemingway had a good chance of winning the supervisor election in District 2 of Johnson County. The Republican may win that township. Trump won the area in 2024, and Mariannette Miller-Meeks won there in 2022, including in my precinct, also located in the northeast corner of liberal Johnson County. There is more to the story.

Hemingway has run for office so many times I lost count. He hasn’t changed much, if anything in his policy positions and campaign rhetoric. I’m confident Republicans like him for that, yet his brand of what I will call “doctrinaire consistency” indicates he is out of touch with Johnson County voters. This is evidenced by his repeated losses while running for supervisor.

If he were a serious candidate, there would be some evidence of modifying his message to accommodate voter feedback. Instead, he relies upon a familiar set of policy positions and critiques of government that remained unchanged over multiple campaigns.

Things do change in Johnson County. Not least of the changes was a law Republicans like Hemingway helped craft that divided the county into supervisor districts. The idea was rural parts of the county would get better representation. While he may have made his colleagues happy by his contributions to bringing this policy idea into law, there is little evidence it will work, based on the districts created by the Legislative Services Agency.

The precinct level voting across District 2 show a consistent pattern in both 2022 and 2024. (Data is publicly available on the Johnson County Auditor website). While Republican candidates perform strongly in rural townships—Cedar, Fremont-Lincoln-Lone Tree, and Big Grove-Solon Annex—the margins are not large enough to offset overwhelming Democratic advantages in Iowa City precincts. In other words, all the work done by Hemingway and others to create this supervisor district election was for naught.

A review of Hemingway’s public record—especially in light of his 2021 defeat to Jon Green—shows a political persona defined more by consistency than evolution. Across multiple campaigns and in his earlier service on the Iowa City school board, Hemingway maintained a stable set of themes, rhetorical habits, and political positioning. What has changed since 2021 is limited.

The Cedar Township event attendee next said to me, “Well, he was elected to the school board.” Indeed he was. I first encountered Hemingway at the Iowa City Community School Board meetings where I was a reporter for the North Liberty Leader. I remember him as something of a gadfly who liked to hear himself speak and frequently asked questions at the public meeting. I saw no questions of his had substantial impact on the board’s actions.

I was finished at the North Liberty Leader when Hemingway was elected to the school board. There is some public record of his proposals related mainly to budget. Sometimes he made vague assertions about policy, as many Republicans do. Because his was a minority view, the board continued to do their work without taking him seriously. I would like to know how many 6-1 votes there were with him being the one. Others tell me there were more than a few.

Data and math kill his chances in the upcoming supervisor election.

The distribution of votes across District 2 raises a structural problem for a candidate like Hemingway. His base of support is geographically concentrated and numerically limited, while the opposition vote is both larger and more efficiently distributed across the district. Under these conditions, repeating the same campaign strategy is unlikely to produce a different outcome.

Hemingway continues to use the same tools he has from his earliest campaigns, expecting different results. He should put away his hammer if he wants a chance at winning because every problem is not a nail.

The creation of supervisor districts was intended, in part, to amplify rural representation. However, District 2 illustrates the limits of that approach. Even with rural precincts grouped together, the inclusion of multiple high-turnout Iowa City precincts creates a built-in advantage for Democratic candidates. The result is not a competitive balance, but a district where electoral outcomes are relatively predictable.

I predict the winner of the June 2 primary between Democrats Jessica Andino, Janet Godwin, and Jon Green will also easily win the November general election.