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
-
Progressives Pick Up Important Local Seats In Iowa’s Municipal Races
Iowans went to the polls yesterday in municipal races for city council and mayoral seats around the state, the second big election date since the 2016 election. Enthusiasm for local campaigns have been up in Democratic circles since Donald Trump’s elections, and many races that often only see one or two candidates were packed with…
-
Josh Mandelbaum Wins Big In DSM With Water Quality-Focused Campaign
In one of Iowa’s most-watched municipal races on Tuesday, environmental attorney Josh Mandelbaum won the Des Moines City Council Ward 3 seat in convincing fashion, taking 56% in a three-way race. Former council member Mike Kiernan received 34%, while Democratic Socialist and Somali refugee contender Abshir Omar Mahamed got a respectable 9%. Mandelbaum (who announced…
-
Two State Sex Harassment Scandals, Two Different Reactions
A sexual harassment scandal at the Kentucky Statehouse has rocked the state’s politics in recent days, resulting in a top Republican lawmaker stepping down from his leadership post. House Speaker Jeff Hoover resigned from his position (though not from the Legislature) this weekend after backlash grew to news that he had made a secret settlement…
-
Reynolds Admin Officials Lobbied Against 9/11 Victims For Saudi Arabia
There was an overwhelming amount of national and Iowa news this past week, from the Trump campaign indictments to Sam Clovis’ withdrawal from the USDA position to AmeriHealth Caritas leaving Iowa’s Medicaid system to the Texas church shooting. And then there was one story that surfaced this past Thursday from the Associated Press’ Ryan Foley…
-
Three Years From Joni Ernst’s Reelection, No Clear Dem Plan To Defeat Her
Just under three years from now, Senator Joni Ernst will face the voters of Iowa again in 2020. If you had to make a bet, most at this point would guess Ernst cruises to a reelection victory. Many rank-and-file Democrats enjoy mocking her and can’t fathom why she’d be popular, but most serious people realize…
-
Windsor Heights Council Candidate’s Past, Social Media Posts Cause Concern
The municipal races for city council and mayor are fast approaching this Tuesday, with voters in Windsor Heights seeing a crowded field of candidates running. Nine people are running for the three at-large council seats. One in particular has been drawing criticism online for his past posts on social media, as well as a recent…
-
Pour One Out For Sam Clovis. He Done.
Iowa’s Sam Clovis will not be the USDA’s top scientist. Clovis withdrew his name from consideration this morning after it was revealed earlier this week that he had encouraged Trump campaign staffers on their outreach efforts to Russian contacts. He still has a job in the administration as the senior adviser to the White House…
-
Kim Reynolds Decries Lack Of Civility, Names Steve King Co-Chair Next Day
Why, oh why, is politics so nasty? That was Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ lament yesterday when she was pressed by reporters about why she said at her recent fundraiser, “The liberals are unhinged and they are out for us.” Her stated excuse for the highly-provocative line was that online commentators had attacked her grandchildren in…
-
New Poll: Many Iowans Still Have No Opinion On Kim Reynolds
The political news site Morning Consult has their new round of gubernatorial polls out from all 50 states, and there’s good and bad news for Iowa’s Kim Reynolds. The poll found she had 45% job approval, 27% disapproval, with another 30% listed as Don’t Know/No Opinion (that, uh, adds up to 102%, so I’m guessing…
-
Could Iowan Sam Clovis’ Actions Take Down Donald Trump?
In the middle of today’s stunning news of indictments and guilty pleas in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election collusion, a familiar name popped up this afternoon that Iowa politicos know all too well: Sam Clovis. The former conservative radio talk show host and Morningside College professor has been identified by Yahoo News as the…
