James Q. LynchJames Lynch covers politics and state government. For nearly 30 years, he’s covered a papal visit, pork queen contests and presidential campaigns in Iowa. |
|
Email the author
Iowa 1st District Republicans see opportunity in open-seat race
Unable to defeat incumbent U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley in the past three elections, Eastern Iowa Republican were heartened by the prospect of an open-seat race when the Waterloo Democrat announced he would run for the Senate. However, open seat or not, the folks who handicap congressional races don’t see the 1st District race as much [...]
Cedar Rapids passes on lessons learned from 2008 flood
Five years ago, after surveying the flood water and the damage done, Cedar Rapids community leaders flew to Grand Forks, N.D., to seek advice. “Perseverance” was the basis of the advice from folks along the Red River who had suffered their own “Flood of the Century” in 1997. Recovery, they warned, might take 10 to [...]
Iowa secretary of state hopeful challenges incumbent’s integrity
CEDAR RAPIDS – The man who helped increase voter turnout by 43,000 Iowans over 2008 while leading Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign in Iowa thinks he can do better in 2014. “The Republicans are convinced 2012 was a fluke,” Brad Anderson, the Democratic candidate for Iowa secretary of state told a Cedar Rapids audience Wednesday. [...]
Governor, lawmakers brag about largest tax cut in Iowa history
If you remember nothing else about Senate File 295 know this: It’s the biggest tax cut in Iowa history. One after another, that’s the point Gov. Terry Branstad and other speakers drove home Wednesday at a bill-signing ceremony for the wide-ranging bill that provides tax relief to all classes of Iowa property — agricultural, residential, [...]
Braley launches Web site to help veterans get benefits
A decade-long deployment of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan coupled with an aging population of World War II and Korean War veterans has created an “embarrassing backlog” in veterans services, 1st District Rep. Bruce Braley said Wednesday. “Our veterans deserve the benefits they’ve earned putting their lives on the line for our country,” Braley [...]
Rep. Tyler Olson stepping down as Iowa Democratic chairman
CEDAR RAPIDS – Five minutes into Tyler Olson’s tenure as Iowa Democratic Party chairman, Sen. Tom Harkin announced he would not be seeking re-election in 2014. “That obviously changes the landscape significantly,” Olson said Tuesday, explaining his decisions to step down as party chairman five months into his term. Olson, a member of the Iowa [...]
Ames author plans to offer ‘second Bill of Rights’ as part of U.S. Senate bid
It irks Paul Lunde that he’s often left out of news stories about Iowa’s 2014 U.S. Senate race. However, the Ames author, attorney and substitute teacher, who in early May announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the seat now held by Democrat Sen. Tom Harkin, isn’t letting that lack of attention deter him [...]
Iowa lawmakers doubt proposed gas tax increase will be addressed in 2014
A quartet of lawmakers agreed Monday they need to raise the state motor fuel tax, but were pessimistic it will happen in 2014 – an election year. Three Democrats and a freshman Republican expressed disappointment in Gov. Terry Branstad’s apparent failure to hold up his end of a bargain calling for property tax reform in [...]
GOP Senate hopeful touts his Iowa roots
The first thing David Young wants you to know about him is that he’s an Iowan. “I am Iowa,” the Republican U.S. Senate hopeful says. Although he’s flattered that the Iowa Democratic Party has a website devoted to introducing him to Iowa, Young says it’s not necessary. Sure, he’s spent the past 20 years working [...]
Vernon formally joins race for Democratic nomination in Iowa’s 1st District
As expected, Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman Monica Vernon formally entered the race for the Democratic nomination to fill an open U.S. House seat in Iowa’s 1st District. “I’m running to bring my common sense approach to problem solving to Washington,” Vernon said in her announcement statement. “I’d like to help Congress move past the gridlock [...]
