Pat Rynard

Pat Rynard founded Iowa Starting Line in 2015. He still keeps a close eye on Iowa politics, his dog’s name is Frank, and football season is his favorite time of year.


Latest from Pat Rynard

  • Politics

    Buttigieg Rides The State Fair Bus, Meets Big Crowds, Eats A Lot

    Pete Buttigieg made his to way to the Iowa State Fair the way many regular Iowans do: on a DART bus. The South Bend mayor hopped on board at the downtown shuttle stop this afternoon, much to the surprise of fellow riders. Two of the people that Buttigieg sat down next to were already planning…


  • Politics

    Kamala Harris Wins Major Iowa Caucus Endorsement

    Photo: Kamala Harris’ first visit to the Asian & Latino Coalition meeting in October 2018. Senator Kamala Harris won the coveted endorsement of the Asian & Latino Coalition of Iowa this evening, beating out the field in a very sought-after contest. It comes on the heels of Harris’ five-day, river-to-river bus tour throughout Iowa, her…


  • Politics

    Top 10 Caucus Moments From The Iowa State Fair

    It’s going to be hard to ever top the past four days of politicking at the Iowa State Fair. About 20 presidential candidates in all roamed the fairgrounds from Thursday to Sunday, jumping into the media spectacle that is Iowa Caucus campaigning. Only Pete Buttigieg and Seth Moulton’s trips to the Fair remain. Starting Line…


  • Politics

    Early Scenes From The Busiest Political Fair Day Ever

    Innocent Iowans who merely wanted to attend their State Fair to eat some corndogs and drink lemonade in peace had to constantly dodge presidential candidates and their enormous press entourages today. Nine Democratic candidates in all are making their way around the fair, grabbing fried food, giving speeches and shaking hands. Team Starting Line is…


  • Politics

    Kamala Harris: All In For Iowa In Caucus, General Election

    In case you weren’t sure whether Kamala Harris was in Iowa this week, her gigantic bus, emblazoned with her name on the side that rolled through towns’ main streets was a helpful reminder. Harris is on a five-day tour of the lead-off caucus state, traversing the full length of Iowa from Sioux City to Burlington,…


  • Politics

    Klobuchar On Gun Violence: Cool Rhetoric, Fund Local Law Enforcement

    In a week that many candidates had planned to talk agriculture plans in Iowa, the latest mass shootings over the past weekend quickly shifted the debate. At individual campaign events, multi-candidate gatherings, the State Fair and now a hastily-assembled forum in Des Moines, the Democratic contenders are pitching their plans to halt the violence. Senator…


  • Politics

    Hitchhiking With The Candidates: Day 2, Gillibrand And Warren

    While the State Fair kicked off in Des Moines yesterday, I continued my hitchhiking trek across Western Iowa with the presidential candidates. In case you missed my first story, I discovered this week that several of the candidates’ events line up just perfectly where you can catch a ride from each to the next stop…


  • Politics

    Hitchhiking With The Candidates: Day 1, Delaney And Klobuchar

    It’s the first week of the Iowa State Fair, which means every single presidential candidate is flocking to Iowa. Even if you live outside Des Moines or Clear Lake, you may have chances to see four or five candidates around your hometown over just a few-day span. Which got me thinking. Could you literally just…


  • News

    Ross Wilburn Wins, Brings Diversity To House Beyond Just Himself

    Democrat Ross Wilburn scored a crushing victory in today’s special election for the Ames-based House District 46. It helped, of course, that he ran unopposed. After taking 97.4% of the vote tonight, Wilburn will join the Iowa House for next year’s legislative session, which will bring the number of Iowa’s black legislators up to five.…


  • News

    Iowa Republicans Need To Stop Immigrant Fear-Mongering

    Enough already. In yet another weekend where it seems like the country is coming apart, terrorist gunmen in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio massacred innocent people. Details are just starting to emerge about the Dayton murderer, but we already have a disturbing — and all too familiar — profile of the El Paso killer.…