Waltzing through Iowa
...and running for Congress
Tim Walz for president in 2028. Pete Buttigieg for president in 2028. Jennifer Konfrst for Congress in 2026. Sarah Trone Garriott for Congress in 2026. Austin Baeth for something in 2026.
Too soon? Of course. People to watch? I will be watching them.
Do Something, Dammit! — Walz, Minnesota’s governor, held a town hall in Des Moines Friday. Des Moines was not an accidental location. It’s Iowa’s biggest city and one of the easiest places where the Iowa Democratic Party could rally a good crowd.
Walz said that Americans want Democrats to “Do something, dammit!”
But what?
Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress (albeit with slim margins) and chose to continue the pattern of temporary agreements to fund the federal government. This time they did it while President Donald Trump/Elon Musk continue their unprecedented actions to dismantle policies, programs, agencies, and the workforce as the Republican majority steps aside to watch.
Congressional Democrats may have had some leverage in budget negotiations. No, they weren’t involved in the discussions. But they could have forced their way in by refusing to give the necessary support to get Republicans’ latest temporary spending resolution through the senate.
Stand Down — That could have forced a standoff: Force Republicans to accept some of their terms or temporary stop funding part of the federal government. Maybe Republicans would have eased up on cutting funding for environmental projects? Better supported wind and solar energy? No matter the demands, though, it would be a risk.
Republicans would blame Democrats if the federal government partially shut down. That could cause more economic harm. Investors are already not thrilling with what could be ahead.
Whom would the public blame if parts of the federal government aren’t working?
Senate Democrats chose to stand down and not take the risk.
Again, what should Democrats do to lead a resistance?
A Strategy — Strategy wise, it might make sense for someone like Walz to ask Iowa Democrats to put together a rally for him in Des Moines and then point out how many Republicans in Congress (Republican Rep. Zach Nunn represents the Des Moines area) avoid holding town halls amid tension (likely fueled/inspired by Democrats) where people in the audience vociferously show their outrage at the Musk/Trump actions.
Should Walz be that voice?
Walz’ Worth — It’s hard to make the case that Walz, the neighbor from one state north, benefited Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in Iowa last year since the combo got smoked in the state by Trump and J.D. Vance.
Much (all?) of that performance could be the result of Joe Biden’s refusal to leave the race sooner/border security failures, Harris’ weaknesses as a candidate, and Iowans’ dissatisfaction with rising costs.
For now, Walz and other Democrats (like Pete Buttigieg who just announced that he won’t run in Michigan next year for governor or U.S. senate) can take advantage of media early 2028 hype (which I’m guilty of doing right now) and provide an outlet for those who are pissed about what is happening since Trump returned to the White House.
The Third — While the calendar shows that it is still early to speculate about 2026 congressional races, it isn’t that early.
Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District leans Republican according to voter registration, but it is still a politically “purple” swing district. It is an uphill climb for Democrats to win the district considering how weak their party has been in most races for the past several cycles.
Rep. Nunn has worked to create a bipartisan reputation with numerous bills that include a Democratic member, exactly what a longtime Republican strategist told me that he would do after Nunn won the three-person primary in 2022. Not as easy to realistically paint Nunn as a far-right extremist in a competitive district as some other Republicans.
Nunn/Trump — Nunn’s future in 2026 could depend on how Trump leads the country until then. Trump has been an asset for Republicans at the ballot in the 2016 and 2024 presidential elections but appears to have been a weakness in the 2018 and 2022 mid-terms, as well as the 2020 presidential election.
Will Trump’s policies lead the country into recession later this year? Will he lower prices on food and fuel like he promised voters during the 2024 campaign and ease the angst of cost-conscience swing voters? Will Trump’s behavior exhaust voters like it did during his first term?
Tampon Tim — Nunn largely avoids the juvenile name-calling that has emerged among some in today’s politics. Although, he did parrot Trump’s “Tampon Tim” attempted emasculating label during Walz’s Iowa visit.
Trump used the nickname last year to ridicule Walz for providing free menstrual productions in school bathrooms. A reminder: Republican state Representative David Young has been leading a similar effort to provide those products to Iowa students.
“Tampon David?” “Tampon Kim” if the governor signs the legislation into law?
The Blue Alternative — After several weeks of conversations with activists/strategies/potential candidates, I wrote a story for TV on Democratic possibilities for a Nunn challenger. It made for an interesting dynamic that three serving as legislators right now are all considering a congressional run.
House Speaker Jennifer Konfrst and state Senator Sarah Trone Garriott sounded the most interested in putting together a campaign. State Representative Austin Baeth didn’t rule it out.
But he did become the first potential candidate I can remember to describe to me that a future office is a “shitty job” in his statement about conversations that he has had with family, friends, and advisers.
Here’s the full story (hopefully, “shitty” doesn’t describe my story, too:).
Inside Iowa Politics — What has Iowa’s former lieutenant governor Adam Gregg been doing since he quit his job? And why does his new role have him issuing warnings about using your mailbox and writing with a Sharpie instead of a pen?
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One thing I learned this past week surprised me about those new diet drugs…
Not sure if I could stick myself with a needle frequently to lose weight. But a lot of people are these days. GLP-1 drugs (Ozempic and the rest) limit your appetite by keeping you feel full longer.
A friend of mine lost about 70 pounds. Another lost close to 50. Neither suffered side effects.
The diet drugs are helping a lot of people lose a lot of weight and gaining the interest of researchers.
Dr. Glynn Tonsor, an agriculture economist from Kansas State University heads the Monthly Meat Monitor.