Deidre DeJear worked on her first campaign while she was still in high school. Her grandmother, Mattie Washington, was running for a seat on the Election Commission in Yazoo County, Mississippi, and a young Deidre Howard spent the summer of her sophomore year helping with the campaign. Washington already had a long history as a […]
Ras Smith
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‘There are barriers that one campaign cannot overcome’: Ras Smith ends his run for governor
Rep. Ras Smith announced on Wednesday morning he had suspended his campaign for Iowa governor. In June, Smith became the first Democrat to launch a campaign for his party’s 2022 nomination. Smith began with an optimistic tone that colored his six-month-long campaign, appealing for unity across social and ideological divisions based on shared experiences as […]
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Democrat Liz Bennett kicks off campaign for state Senate, reflecting on the less-divided Iowa of decades past
“I’m running for state senate to make sure that every single Iowan gets a fair shot in Iowa,” Liz Bennett told the people crowded into a room at The Bohemian in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday night for her campaign kick-off event. The Cedar Rapids Democrat is in her fourth term representing Cedar Rapids in the […]
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Rally against voter suppression Saturday will gather activists, elected officials and candidates on the Pentacrest
There will be a rally on the Pentacrest in Iowa City on Saturday protesting attempts at voter suppression that proliferated in the wake of the 2020 election, as well as constant lies about voter fraud spread by Donald Trump. “Between January 1 and July 14, 2021, at least 18 states enacted 30 laws that restrict […]
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‘Iowa is worth the work’: Deidre DeJear officially launches her campaign for governor
Deidre DeJear made it official on Saturday — she is running for governor of Iowa. DeJear’s announcement came just over a month after she announced a listening tour of the state to help her decide whether to run, and three years after her first campaign for public office. DeJear made history with her 2018 run […]
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Deidre DeJear announces she is ‘exploring a run’ for governor
Deidre DeJear, who made history in 2018 as the Democratic nominee for Iowa Secretary of State, announced on Monday she is “exploring a run for Iowa Governor.” “Over the last few years, Iowa had experienced the pandemic, the derecho and deep economic pain for those living paycheck-to-paycheck and crop-to-crop,” DeJear said in a video posted […]
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Iowa Democrats talk politics, hint at future campaigns at a party for Rep. Christina Bohannan
There was a happy, upbeat atmosphere at state Rep. Christina Bohannan’s combination 50th birthday party and campaign fundraiser at The Celebration Farm on Friday night. But that didn’t stop the evening’s honoree from acknowledging an unhappy fact at the beginning of her speech welcoming party-goers. “This has been a tough year for Iowa Democrats,” Bohannan […]
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State Rep. Ras Smith is running for governor
Rep. Ras Smith announced on Tuesday he is running for Iowa governor in 2022. “Iowans deserve a governor who will embrace the challenges of today as opportunities to lead tomorrow,” the Waterloo Democrat said in social media posts announcing his candidacy. “A governor that, when the days get long, will have your back. We deserve […]
