Iowa

Ralph Reed, founder and chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, interviewed 2024 presidential candidates at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s fall banquet in Des Moines Sept. 16, 2023. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

GOP presidential candidates focus on abortion, Israel, parental rights at evangelical event

BY: - September 17, 2023

Republican presidential candidates emphasized their support for abortion restrictions, parental rights and Israel while working Saturday night to win over evangelical Iowa caucusgoers. More than 1,000 people gathered in Des Moines for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition annual fall banquet. The conservative Christian organization has played an influential role in the Republican presidential race […]

Former Vice President Mike Pence, left, signs a baseball for a man who attended his campaign event July 5, 2023, in Sioux City. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Pence says he doesn’t buy argument that the rich don’t pay ‘fair share’ of taxes

BY: - July 6, 2023

LE MARS — Former Vice President Mike Pence told Iowa voters Wednesday that he “doesn’t buy” the argument that the wealthiest Americans do not pay their fair share of taxes. U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra and the Wells Visitor Center and Ice Cream Parlor hosted Pence and about 50 attendees at a meet-and-greet in Le Mars. […]

Iowa, New Hampshire Democratic presidential contests remain in flux after DNC panel meets

BY: - June 16, 2023

New Hampshire Democrats will have at least 90 more days to change when and how the state plans to hold its 2024 Democratic presidential primary after the national party approved an extension in a committee meeting Friday. Iowa, which proposed both a mail-in and an in-person caucus process, was found not compliant. But the state […]

Former Vice President Mike Pence launched his 2024 presidential campaign in Ankeny Wednesday, June 7. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Former VP Mike Pence launches 2024 bid, criticizes Trump’s Jan. 6 actions

BY: - June 7, 2023

Former Vice President Mike Pence announced his candidacy for president to a crowd at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, focusing on the differences between him and former President Donald Trump, who is also running again in 2024. While Pence praised the conservative successes he and Trump achieved in office, he said he is […]

Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst addressed bikers at Big Barn Harley-Davidson in Des Moines before their ride to the Iowa State Fairgrounds for her annual “Roast and Ride” fundraiser Saturday, June 3. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

GOP candidates compete for Iowans’ support at Sen. Joni Ernst’s ‘Roast and Ride’

BY: - June 5, 2023

Presidential candidates worked to balance promoting their ability to unify the country while highlighting their fight against the “woke” left as Iowans gathered Saturday for U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s “Roast and Ride” fundraiser at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey took their children to get ice cream and sit […]

Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson speaks with Iowans April 13, 2023 at VFW Post 9127in Des Moines. (Photo by Luke Clausen/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

On Iowa campaign tour, Asa Hutchinson says he’d ‘defer to science’ in abortion pill access

BY: - April 14, 2023

Amid multiple court rulings on access to medication abortions, Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson said “we should always be deferring to science and make the best decisions on health care based on professional judgments.” Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, was campaigning in central Iowa Thursday. Federal judges in Texas and Washington last week gave […]

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, second from right, speaks to Drake University College Republicans March 28, 2023 at the Drake Diner near campus. (Photo by Luke Clausen)

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson calls for armed personnel in every school

BY: - March 28, 2023

In the aftermath of a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, former Arkansas governor and potential presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson called Tuesday for armed officers in every school. Hutchinson, a Republican, made his comments during an event with Drake University students in Des Moines. “My belief is that every school should have armed personnel,” Hutchinson said. […]

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at a campaign event at Wofford University Feb. 28, 2020 in Spartanburg, S.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Democrats strip Iowa of first-in-the-nation prize, tap South Carolina for first primary

BY: - December 2, 2022

WASHINGTON — Voters in South Carolina would go first in picking Democratic presidential nominees, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia and Michigan if their states go along with a proposal a key Democratic National Committee panel approved Friday.  The Rules and Bylaws Committee’s nearly unanimous voice vote proposes moving the Democratic primary’s earliest election date […]

President Joe Biden addresses a crowd in Columbia, South Carolina, in February 2020. He recommended on Dec. 1, 2022, that the Democratic National Party replace New Hampshire as the first state to hold a Democratic presidential primary with South Carolina.

Report: Biden says South Carolina should be first primary state, Michigan first in Midwest

BY: - December 1, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is recommending to the Democratic National Committee that South Carolina become the first primary state in the presidential nominating process in 2024, and that New Hampshire and Nevada follow a week later — leaving Iowa out of the early lineup, the Washington Post reported Thursday night. Georgia and Michigan would […]

A diverse group of protestors hold signs calling for the cancellation of school loan debt

Biden student debt forgiveness plan on temporary hold after appeals court ruling

BY: and - October 22, 2022

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from carrying out its student loan forgiveness plan, until the court makes a determination on a request for an injunction brought by six Republican-led states, according to multiple media reports. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is giving the Biden administration […]

The facade of the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C.

11 states to share in $1 billion in funding for small businesses, entrepreneurs

BY: - October 11, 2022

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Tuesday that an additional 11 states will receive up to $1 billion to support small businesses and entrepreneurs.  Funding for the programs will come from the State Small Business Credit Initiative that Democrats reauthorized and expanded in their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan.  […]

Manchin seeks bipartisan ‘sweet spot’ for a new try at his energy permitting bill

BY: - September 28, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators from both parties said Wednesday they hope to negotiate an energy permitting reform bill yet this year, reviving efforts to streamline the process after West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III had to pull back his plan amid broad opposition.  The Manchin proposal was attached to a must-pass government funding bill […]