Free Republic

Next stop on Speaker John Boehner’s 2014 campaign tour: Iowa. The Ohio Republican will swing through the Hawkeye State on Sunday and Monday to attend campaign rallies and headline private fundraisers for three surging GOP House candidates — David Young, Rod Blum and Mariannette Miller-Meeks. ADVERTISEMENT On Sunday afternoon, Boehner will be in Urbandale, just outside Des Moines, to fire up supporters and campaign volunteers working to elect Young, GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley’s former top aide who’s running to replace retiring Republican Rep. Tom Latham in the 3rd District. The Republican hopeful is in a toss-up contest with Democrat Staci...

After watching the only debate between Fourth District Congressman Steve King and Democrat challenger Jim Mowrer, it is easy to see why King opted out of appearing with Mowrer at other venues, and even considered cancelling this one. King’s little-known opponent consistently attacked King during the hour-long event. (SNIP) He correctly pointed out that Mowrer’s son would be covered under Hawk-I, an insurance plan for children established by the Iowa Legislature when Steve King was a state senator. “By all measures that I can uncover, Mr. Mowrer’s children would be qualified for Hawk-I, so that exists, along with the high...

Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst has canceled a meeting with The Des Moines Register's editorial board, saying her time was better spent campaigning in Iowa. Editors at the newspaper said Ernst's campaign notified them Wednesday night that she wouldn't attend the Thursday meeting. Publisher Rick Green said he was disappointed. "Undecided voters I talk to want Sen. Ernst to break through the rhetoric and cacophony of campaign ads about hogs, Obamacare and balanced budgets. It's a time for sharing specifics," Green said in a statement. Ernst, a state lawmaker and lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard, is locked in...

Rep. Steve King, (R-Kiron) and Jim Mowrer, (D-Boone) Thursday, October 23 Storm Lake, Iowa

The Colorado secretary of state announced today that 332,050 Coloradans have cast ballots already, and out of that total, 145,824 are registered Republicans, and 105,401 are registered Democrats. That translates to a 43.9 percent to 31.7 percent advantage for the GOP. In 2012, as Barack Obama was winning the state 51 percent to 46 percent, Republicans led the 1.7 million mail ballots cast in 2012 by 37 percent to 35 percent. So Republicans should be expected to lead, but a 12-point lead is better news than a 2-point lead. In Florida, the news is also good for Republicans, but the...

It was just another routine photo-op at a Republican field office Tuesday morning until Mike Huckabee decided to improvise. In a cheeky attempt to bring himself level with Cody Hoefert -- the 7-foot-tall co-chairman of the Iowa Republican Party -- Huckabee pulled up a chair and began to climb atop it. He didn’t have to complete the physical joke to get the laughs he was looking for from the group of gray-haired volunteers who had assembled for his appearance with Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst. “Golly!” the 5-11 Huckabee marveled. “I’ve never felt like a shrimp like this before.”

IOWA CITY — Two weeks before Iowa’s high-profile U.S. Senate election, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s campaign may be planning for a recount. Ernst’s campaign filed open records requests this week with at least five Iowa counties, seeking materials that include training manuals, satellite voting locations, names of precinct ballot counters, recount procedures and any communications sent to her competitor, U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley. “I think they’re gearing up for a recount,” said Johnson County Auditor Travis Weipert, who received the letter from Ernst’s senior adviser Derek Flowers Tuesday. Recent polls show Ernst, a Red Oak Republican, and Braley, a Waterloo...

In the crucial battle for early voters in Iowa that could foreshadow which party has the edge in the midterm elections, Republicans led Democrats for the first time Wednesday, GOP officials announced. The Republicans closed the day with an advantage of 305 of combined early votes and absentee ballot returns, giving them an advantage they have never held in any Iowa campaign. An overhauled ground game that prioritizes early voting is a key part of the Republican strategy to boost state Sen. Joni Ernst over Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley in their close race for an open Senate seat. Republicans also...

The politically savvy state of Iowa prides itself on purple voting, boasting a congressional delegation evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. But this year, with a closely matched Senate race and three competitive House seats, the GOP sees an opportunity to turn the state a vibrant shade of red. Big bucks and big-name politicians are helping the effort. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was in Cedar Falls Wednesday, stumping for Republican businessman Rod Blum, who is running against Democratic state lawmaker Pat Murphy in the 1st Congressional District, which includes parts of eastern and northeastern Iowa. The seat is open because...

Like all Americans, I welcome the news that Dallas is reportedly Ebola-free weeks after a Liberian man infected with the virus came to Texas. The fact that the disease did not spread further is a testament to good luck and hard work by brave health care workers. But the fact that it spread at all is a stain on this Administration’s record and should concern every American. With Ebola still out of control in West Africa, this remains an urgent international health threat. Congress and the Administration must get serious before we have another outbreak in the U.S. The Ebola...

(Des Moines, IA) Michael Reagan, son of President Ronald Reagan, was the special guest for the 2014 Iowa GOP Reagan Dinner held last night at the Embassy Suites in Des Moines. Reagan told over 450 Iowa Republicans that the party must reach out to groups that normally don’t vote for them in order to win elections in the future. “Conservatives, we have a bus,” Reagan said. “It’s not a large bus. We need to not throw people off the bus, but find ways to put people on the bus.” He encouraged Republicans to not fight among themselves, but to fight...

According to the latest USA Today/Suffolf University poll, pro-life Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has a narrow lead over pro-abortion Rep. Bruce Braley. Among likely voters, she leads Braley 47%-43%. Ernst is an officer in the Army National Guard and has successful presented herself as a potential leader for Iowa. But a new television ad released by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee attacks Ernst’s pro-life views. The ad features an Iowa nurse named Kim Tweedy who says she has worked on the sexual assault response team. joniernstTweedy says, “I’ve seen lots of cases, many of them are very brutal. It breaks your...

The political arm for House Republicans says it is making a play for Iowa's 1st and 2nd congressional district seats. The National Republican Congressional Committee said Monday that it's buying $1.3 million in television ad time in the two districts, with spots to begin airing Friday. The purchase, the first for the NRCC in both districts this campaign cycle, is a sign they think they can win both races, officials say. Tyler Houlton, an NRCC spokesman, said more than $900,000 is being spent in the 2nd District, with purchases in the Cedar Rapids and Davenport markets. Another $400,000 is going...

There is certainly plenty going right for the Iowa GOP in 2014: an unpopular Democratic president, a favorable political climate, and a popular GOP governor cruising to reelection atop the ticket. But as they are in Senate races across the country—Colorado, Alaska, North Carolina, to name a few—Democrats here are hoping smart tactics can offset a national mood that favors Republicans. And in Iowa, fears of the Democratic machine lurk not far below the surface. "Am I confident? Of course," Oman says. "Am I overconfident? Of course not." What the Republicans also have going for them this year is Ernst...

DES MOINES, Iowa—Marilynn Wadden, a retired elementary school teacher, was smiling as she settled into her seat at a Democratic field office here and began making calls for Senate candidate Bruce Braley. "We love this," Wadden says of the computer system that is doing the dialing for her. "It is just such a joy." Two years ago, when Wadden was making calls as a volunteer for President Obama, she had to punch numbers into the phone herself, write down voters' answers on paper, and then hand off the sheets to a data-entry team. "Now, we're kind of doing the data...

With less than four weeks until Election Day, the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s independent expenditure arm is shifting resources to increase its investment in six states, including South Dakota and Georgia. The NRSC has moved $1 million to South Dakota, plus another $1.45 million to Georgia. In South Dakota, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee made a $1 million television ad buy this week, on the heels of tightening poll numbers that showed its candidate, Rick Weiland, gaining ground. In Georgia, a new poll suggests a runoff is likely. The NRSC also is upping its investment in four other states: Alaska,...

The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee took the Obama administration to task Friday for its “irresponsible” plan to allow as many as 100,000 Haitians to immigrate to the U.S. without a visa. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said the administration’s Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program — which will allow thousands of Haitians awaiting a U.S. visa to enter the country and legally apply for work permits — is “an irresponsible overreach of the executive branch’s authority.” “Which countries are next on President Obama’s list?” Mr. Grassley said. “Will there by medical screenings before entry? Will work permits be...

Thanks to the indispensable John McCormack of The Weekly Standard for not allowing pro-abortion Iowa Democratic senatorial candidate Bruce Braley to run away from his record. In yesterday’s debate with pro-life Republican senatorial candidate Joni Ernst, Braley claimed “I have always stated, contrary to what Senator Ernst said, that I oppose all late-term abortions that aren’t necessary to save the life or health of a mother.” McCormack patiently explained how that is not accurate. brucebraleyFirst, as a member of the House of Representatives Braley voted against the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. H.R. 1797 would provide nationwide protection for unborn...

Republican Joni Ernst and Democrat Bruce Braley locked horns in their final Iowa Senate debate last night. Katie already posted video of Ernst's terrific rejoinder to Braley's lecturing on Iraq, and Conn is keeping tabs on auspicious-looking early voting trends. Two more clips for you. The first features Ernst pushing back against Braley's revisionism on Obamacare, which he's now claiming is flawed and in need of fixing. The Republican reminded her  opponent -- to whom Nancy Pelosi assigned the task of delivering one of the 'closing arguments' for the law -- that he's boasted in the recent past of having read every last word of...

<p>Last night trial attorney Bruce Braley and Iowa State Senator Joni Ernst squared off in a final debate before voters heads to the polls in November and choose their next U.S. Senator from Iowa.</p>