U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said Thursday the National Security Agency’s programs to monitor Internet use and gather phone data may violate the Patriot Act, and he urged lengthy hearings into the matter. In a conference call with Iowa reporters, the longtime senator said he didn’t trust NSA claims the programs thwarted terrorist attacks. “I [...]

With the immigration debate heading to the U.S. Senate floor next week, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, joined three other Republicans to ramp up criticism of the legislation. In a five-page letter Tuesday, the lawmakers launched a broad critique of the bill, saying it fails to adequately protect the border, rewards lawlessness and endangers national security. [...]

Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz has become the latest high profile Republican to decline the chance to run for the U.S. Senate next year. Schultz, in a tweet this morning, said that he’ll run for re-election in 2014 instead. “I am humbled by all of the encouragement to run for Senate, but I love serving [...]

Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Tuesday she won’t run for the U.S. Senate, the latest Republican to take her name out of the running to replace Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. In an email Tuesday, Reynolds said she prefers to stay put, working with Gov. Terry Branstad. “Governor Branstad and I still have a lot [...]

A harsh critic of Democratic gun control proposals, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is leading a group of Republicans in writing their own proposal. A spokeswoman declined to release any details because the measure is still being written. “Senator Grassley, along with other concerned members, is putting together an alternative bill that addresses gun violence in [...]

A Senate committee approved a proposal Tuesday to greatly expand background checks on gun purchases, with U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, joining other Republicans in opposing it. The measure, which would require a background check for nearly all private gun sales, probably will not remain in its present form. Its sponsor, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., [...]

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Wednesday a bill to ban so-called assault weapons won’t get through the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he’s the top Republican. He didn’t commit, however, on the question of expanded background checks. On a conference call Wednesday, Grassley, the top Republican on the committee, said the ban is a non-starter. [...]

DAVENPORT — U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, returned to Scott County to give the first big speech of his Senate campaign last night, deeply praising the man he wants to replace and recounting the work he has done in Congress for everyday people. At the Scott County Democratic Party’s Red, White and Blue dinner, Braley [...]

  A Quad-City area man will be among those sitting with first lady Michelle Obama during the State of the Union address Tuesday. Lee Maxwell, a 22-year-old wind energy technician, grew up in Wilton, and Tuesday, he’ll get the chance to meet President Barack Obama and go to the White House, too, a rare opportunity [...]

Proclaiming he’s “ready to go,” U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, is telling supporters Thursday that he’s forming a campaign committee to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated in 2014 by Sen. Tom Harkin. Braley is sending the news in an email Thursday, saying it’s a “big responsibility” to try to fill Harkin’s shoes. [...]

  Iowa voters proved themselves once again to be one of the most motivated in the country. New analysis says only four other states had a higher turnout in their voting-eligible population last November. Nearly seven of 10 eligible voters cast ballots in the presidential race in Iowa, the fifth highest in the country, according [...]

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, accused President Barack Obama on Wednesday of trying to do an end run around the 2nd Amendment and existing law in opposing the White House’s new gun control proposals. Grassley’s forceful response is a sign of the obstacles the president faces in Congress as he seeks to deal with the [...]

  With results still coming in Tuesday night, President Barack Obama was leading Republican challenger Mitt Romney in Iowa, the state that launched the Democrat’s presidential ambitions and one of a handful of battleground states that held the key to his re-election. With 404 of 1,689 precincts reporting about 10 p.m., Obama led with 306,824, [...]

  DAVENPORT — With Election Day fast approaching, President Barack Obama sought to make his case for a second term in a speech Wednesday at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, arguing he has a plan that will “leave nobody behind,” while warning that Republican rival Mitt Romney is trying to dodge his past positions. The president [...]

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan will be in southeastern Iowa on Tuesday, a second day of campaigning in the state. On Monday, he’ll be in Dubuque. This will be the second time in a month that the Republican presidential ticket has been to the Quad-City region. Presidential nominee Mitt Romney was in Bettendorf on [...]

BETTENDORF, Iowa – Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, exalting the power of the individual, accused President Barack Obama of substituting government for freedom in a speech Wednesday at Bettendorf’s LeClaire Manufacturing. Romney was making his fifth trip to the state this year, a week to the day after the president traveled to Davenport to cap [...]

  President Barack Obama criticized Republican rival Mitt Romney and running mate, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, telling thousands of people at two rallies Wednesday in eastern Iowa that he has protected Medicare, but the Republican ticket would turn it into a voucher system and end the program “as we know it.” The argument over the [...]

UPDATE: President Barack Obama criticized Republican rival Mitt Romney and running mate, Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan, telling hundreds of people here Wednesday that he’s extended Medicare, but the Republican ticket would turn it into a voucher system and end the program “as we know it.” The argument over Medicare could be crucial, particularly in Iowa, [...]

Quad-City area Republicans sought Wednesday to push the idea that President Barack Obama doesn’t understand small businesses, seizing on a remark he made two weeks ago that’s become a flash point in the race with GOP rival Mitt Romney. Two Quad-City area businesspeople criticized the president’s remarks at a news conference in Davenport, one of [...]

Eastern Iowa will be a scene of the 2012 presidential campaign yet again next week, with Vice President Joe Biden planning a two-day swing through the area to campaign for President Barack Obama. It will be Biden’s second stop in the Quad-City region since March. The Obama campaign said Wednesday that Biden will be making visits [...]