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.
Pat Rynard
Latest from Pat Rynard
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Iowa Republicans Double Their Female Senators To… Two
Annette Sweeney won the special election tonight to replace former Senator Bill Dix, defeating Democrat Tracy Freese 56% to 44% in the heavily-Republican Senate District 25. She will be sworn into office in the near future, though it might not happen before the legislature adjourns for the year. Despite the Republican win, it was yet…
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Abby Finkenauer Raises Nearly Half Million In Latest Report
State Representative Abby Finkenauer will post another strong fundraising total for her bid to take on Congressman Rod Blum in Iowa’s highly-targeted 1st District. Finkenauer’s campaign tells Starting Line they raised over $480,000 in the 1st quarter of 2018, bringing her total raised during this cycle to $1.1 million. That’s more than Monica Vernon, the…
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Iowa Senate Primaries To Watch In 2018
While most of the attention will be focused on the governor’s race and congressional primaries for the next two months, key match-ups for the Iowa Statehouse will be decided on June 5 as well. While many primaries for the Iowa House and Senate are lower profile affairs than the heavily-targeted swing district battles in the…
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GOP Senator Waylon Brown’s Clerk Fired For Sexual Harassment
Yet another person in the Iowa Senate has lost their job over a sexual harassment matter. Senator Waylon Brown’s legislative clerk, Jake Dagel, was fired this week following a complaint made against him for sexual harassment. Secretary of the Senate Charlie Smithson confirmed the firing to Starting Line late this afternoon. “A credible complaint of…
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4th District Dem Leann Jacobsen Calls For Boycott Of Sinclair Stations
The fallout for Sinclair Broadcasting stations continue after a viral video showed them all reading from the same script about “fake news.” Leann Jacobsen, one of the Democratic candidates looking to take on Steve King in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, is calling for a boycott of all the Sinclair stations that cover the Western Iowa…
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EMILY’s List Endorses Cindy Axne In 3rd District Primary
Cindy Axne is getting a big boost in her bid to win Democrats’ nomination for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. EMILY’s List is announcing this morning that they’re endorsing the small businesswoman from West Des Moines. The backing from the influential national organization could give Axne an extra advantage in the Democratic primary that was recently…
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Democrats’ Race For Governor Still A Polite, Quiet Affair
Exactly two months remain until Democrats decide who they want as their gubernatorial nominee in an incredibly crucial election for the future of Iowa. The candidates continue to criss-cross the state and put in extremely long hours to raise money and meet voters, hoping to close the deal before Election Day arrives. But one thing…
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Ep23: Statehouse Round-Up With Iowa Representatives Ras Smith & Amy Nielsen
District 62 Representative Ras Smith & District 77 Representative Amy Nielsen join Iowa Starting Line Podcast host Pat Rynard to discuss what’s been going on at the Statehouse.
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More Long-Shot Candidates Should Run Like Austin Frerick
For all the drama that occurred with Theresa Greenfield’s ballot and signatures situation, little attention was paid to the other developments in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District race a few weeks back. Iowa political news was pretty wild for the entire month of March, and I didn’t get to nearly as many other topics as I…
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Ep22: Nate Boulton Interview & Possible Lt. Gov Candidates
Iowa Starting Line Podcast host Pat Rynard discusses possible Democratic candidates for Lt. Governor with former Jack Hatch campaign manager Grant Woodard, followed by an interview with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nate Boulton.
