Iowa Down Ballot

The gavel drops to begin this year’s legislative session on this Monday, January 12th. We have a full breakdown of the changes in leadership to start off our discussion, as well as the incentives for the legislators to wrap up the session on time this year. Governor Reynolds and republican House Majority Leader Bobby Kaufmann quarreled over the governor’s veto of the eminent domain bill last year,...

We are glad to be back! Thanks to all of our subscribers, new and old, we are beginning our first post-hiatus show with a general preview of what our reporters think will be the headline stories of the new year. We all agree this 2026 election cycle may be one of the most exciting in decades with competitive primaries on both side of the aisle. With Governor Reynolds and Joni Ernst out of the race...

This will be our last episode before our Summer hiatus. We are hoping to be back with new episodes in the Fall, but we do need more financial support to defray the costs of production. If you are able, please consider a donation or paid subscription. We really enjoy doing the show, and believe that many of you find it valuable. On to the show! Christina Bohannon has officially declared her candida...

We start off with Gov. Reynolds’ veto of the eminent domain bill. We discuss the reasons for the veto, including what the governor said, and what she doesn’t want to say. Also, what kind of political ramifications might this end up unleashing between the governor and the republicans who helped pass the bill? This may also hamper the governor’s agenda, especially property tax relief, going into the...

The governor still hasn’t made a decision whether to sign the eminent domain bill, so not much to discuss concerning the state government this week. We focused mainly on the recent candidate announcement for US Senate on this week’s show (editor’s note Dave mentions at the top we’ll be discussing the governor’s race announcements as well but we spent too much time on the senate and we wanted to ge...

We start the show this week with good news for the Perry community as they continue to rebound from the Tyson plant closure. JBS USA has announced a new pork processing facility in the town, which could bring over 500 jobs; Governor Reynolds is still signing bills from the 2025 legislative session. One of those is designed to address the healthcare worker shortage in the state. We discuss what the...

Governor Kim Reynolds didn’t get to sign the bill she wanted addressing child care this legislative session so she’s decided to take steps on her own; Speaking of the governor, she was also a guest on Iowa Press this weekend and Kathie peeked at the transcript. She didn’t commit on signing or not signing the eminent domain bill and may be bailing on no state income tax; US District Judge Stephen L...

The 2025 session is in the books and we’ll focus on the last day (technically two days?). Firstly, the second day after pulling an all nighter is always worse than the first. Dave and Kathie get into the weeds on last minute negotiations and amendments that ended up in the final budget bill that officially passed before adjournment at 6:31am Thursday. The state will be over budget and we discuss h...

Starting off this week we have some fun personal experiences with pets during interviews, updates on the overtime legislative session and budget negotiations, and discussions about education funding and budget cuts. The group also addressed political maneuvering within the Senate regarding eminent domain restrictions (after multiple caucuses on Friday, the Senate didn’t debate eminent domain). Fin...

We start off this week with a prediction nailed by Dave. The 2025 legislative session was scheduled to end on Friday. That didn’t happen (as predicted). Now where do we go from here. Pat Grassley is trying to distance himself a bit from the governor on these budget talks, and the house and senate are currently about $36 million apart and the budget needs to be done for the legislature to recess; S...

The gang starts out this week with the mother/daughter lobbyist group B*****s Get Stuff Done (Yes, that’s their real name) claiming state representative Samantha Fett was a former stripper (an allegation Fett denies) and the ethics committee meeting concerning this controversy. Then, we move on to the anti-SLAPP law that has been sent to the governor’s desk that would help the freedom of speech an...

The team starts off by remembering Jay Byers, Simpson College president and former CEO of the Des Moines Partnership, after his passing on Thursday. Topics this week include; 52 unsolved cases will be printed on playing cards and distributed in the state’s prisons to generate new leads under Attorney General’s initiative; Bill allowing child victims to testify remotely advances in the Iowa House;...

We had a whole list of topics to discuss, and then that went out the window around 11:15 Friday morning! Pretty much just one story to cover this week. Our reporters react to the unexpected news that Governor Kim Reynolds will not run for reelection in 2026. How much of a surprise was this? Is Chris Cournoyer a possibility? Is Brenna Bird now a lock for the GOP primary? Will there be a serious pri...

* Three of the top political reporters in Iowa are back with a lot more to discuss this week. First off a grateful Dave thanks pinch-hitter Erin for sharing his office space in Des Moines and then we’re off to the races. Topics this week include; The impact of Trump’s tariffs, especially on the state of Iowa; Each of our panelists attended the legislative leadership avails (minus Governor Reynolds...

Another episode with a ton of information on what’s happening at the Iowa Capitol. This week’s topics include; Is property tax reform legislation going to come together yet this year, and if it does, in what form? Hands-free driving *finally* passes (and some good background on why it took so long to join most of the rest of the country), AG Bird sues the Winneshiek Sheriff and what the latest is...

The gang started with some helpful tips on decompressing after a long week, then right in to the past week at the Iowa Statehouse. Topics include; Bipartisan support for the governor’s cell phone ban in schools, possible moratorium on economic development to the state’s largest counties, changing the definition of school bullying, floor manager of the DEI bill in the Iowa House, Rep. Henry Stone,...

This week the team discusses first-hand accounts from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s rally in Des Moines, three Iowa democrats are ‘considering’ running against Zach Nunn in congress, a possible spending deal in the US congress, and the Iowa legislature most likely tapping into reserves to make this year’s budget. Get full access to Iowa Down Ballot at iowawriterscollaborative.substack.com/subscrib...

A lot of Iowa legislative conversation of course. Topics include; breaking down funnel week (including a great Easter analogy from Kathie), new property tax reform bill takes shape, Laura and Kathie mention some bills they’re keeping they’re eyes on, Brad Zaun gets a spot in the Trump administration, and a cool story remembering former Iowa Senate President Jack Kibbie. Get full access to Iowa Dow...

A lot of discussion on the Iowa legislature removing gender identity from the Iowa civil rights code including; what was in the bill, why move it through so quickly, coverage of the counter protests, and where we go from here. Also some national budget discussion. Get full access to Iowa Down Ballot at iowawriterscollaborative.substack.com/subscribe

The voices of Iowa Down Ballot have been taking a well-deserved post-election break. But they decided to join the fine folks at Simpson College to talk politics, the election and Iowa’s political future. On this episode of Iowa Down Ballot, moderator Dave Busiek talks with a panel of longtime Iowa journalists and a Simpson College analyst about the 2024 election. Now that the dust has settled, how...

Going into Tuesday, Iowa Democrats had a lot to be excited about: some competitive seats in Des Moines, two “toss-up” congressional seats, and an Iowa Poll that suggested big wins for Democrats. But not all the glitters is gold. It’s sometimes deep red. On this episode of Iowa Down Ballot, moderator Dave Busiek talks with a panel of longtime Iowa journalists and analysts about how 2024 shook out i...

To endorse or not to endorse… would be the question. But two weeks out from an election, and the answer seems pretty crystal. The The Washington Post has stepped in it. The loss of 250,000 subscribers is nothing to sneeze, even for the masthead’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos. On this episode of Iowa Down Ballot, moderator Dave Busiek talks with a panel of Iowa political journalists and analysts ab...

We are two weeks away from Election Day. In Iowa, early voting has already begun. And this week, we got a side-by-side look at the candidates in the  “toss-up”  race for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District seat. Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democratic challenger Christian Bohannan squared off over during a televised debate Monday. On this episode of Iowa Down Ballot, m...

This week, early voting by absentee ballot begins. This is true in Iowa and is showing some signs of real enthusiasm in states like Georgia. Many of Iowa’s politicians have decried early voting citing debunked or overstated instances of fraud. None-the-less Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn was at the Polk County Auditor’s Office Wednesday bright and early to tell his constituents to get th...

Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District is a “toss-up” according to elections raters like Cook Political Report. And Tuesday night on KCCI-TV, Incumbent Republican Zach Nunn and Democratic challenger Lanon Baccam squared off in a debate. On this episode of Iowa Down Ballot, moderator Dave Price talks with a panel of longtime Iowa journalists and analysts about how they did in one of these rare side-by-s...