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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Democrats Failing To Make The Case Against Joni Ernst
Despite the national outrage over Senate Republicans’ healthcare bill, Senator Joni Ernst hasn’t suffered much fallout in her popularity numbers in Iowa, James Lynch of the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported yesterday. Looking at the Morning Consult Senate Approval Rankings that polls every senator, Ernst’s approval rating has remained steady at 47% from September 2016 to April…
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Nate Boulton Shines Light On Real Iowans Hurt By Mental Health Cuts
The drastic budget cuts to mental healthcare programs implemented by Governor Kim Reynolds and her predecessor look awfully bad on paper. But what are some of the real-life impacts that actual Iowans are seeing in their day-to-day lives? That’s something State Senator Nate Boulton sought to find out and highlight this week with a roundtable…
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More Iowa GOP Leaders Want Ben Sasse Banned From Iowa
If Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse plans on coming back to Iowa, he may want to plan a detour on a different route than the usual I-80 one. Republican Pottawattamie County chair Jeff Jorgensen declared today that the neighbor-state senator should stay far away from his county, home to Council Bluffs. “LET ME MAKE THIS AS…
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Abby Finkenauer Raises $155,000+ In Quarter For 1st District
State Representative Abby Finkenauer brought in an impressive fundraising haul for her first reporting quarter as a candidate for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, a key swing seat that Democrats hope to retake in 2018. Her campaign told Starting Line they raised over $155,000 from over 550 donors, the majority of which were in Iowa, this…
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John Norris Lays Out Vision For Iowa In Campaign Kick-Off
At a hot and sun-drenched campaign picnic in Urbandale at Living History Farms, John Norris drew a sizable crowd to his gubernatorial kick-off tour. With about 200 people in attendance, Norris’ event was the largest yet of the Democratic Terrace Hill hopefuls, as well as the most bountiful: a pot luck style meal filled the…
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Where You Can See John Norris On His Gubernatorial Kick-Off Tour
John Norris is launching his campaign for governor this weekend, touring the state on a six-day, 20-stop journey. It’ll be the culmination of months of preparation, and he’s expected to be a serious contender in the primary, in part thanks to his significant experience in Iowa politics and government. Norris was Tom Vilsack’s chief of…
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Troy Price Is Running For Iowa Democrats Chair
Longtime Iowa Democratic political staffer Troy Price announced this afternoon that he’s running to be chair of the state party, which was vacated when Derek Eadon resigned late last month. The election for the position will be on July 22 at the IDP State Central Committee meeting. Price would bring a wealth of experience in…
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Democrats Roll Out Plan To Protect Children’s Safety In Iowa
Following Governor Kim Reynolds’ appointment of Jerry Foxhoven to head Iowa’s Department of Human Services, Democrats have continued to press the agency to take larger steps to protect the safety of foster children. Foxhoven replaced Chuck Palmer, who resigned after controversy built over the death of two girls living with foster families. The department and…
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3rd District Candidate Heather Ryan’s Disturbing Past Comments, Videos
Des Moines political activist Heather Ryan, a candidate running in the Democratic primary for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, wrote a book four years ago in which she used the terms “ungrateful cunt” and “psychotic bitch” to describe individual women she worked with in the child pageant and reality TV industry. She also described two female…
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Iowa Democratic Leaders Embracing Progressive Healthcare Ideas
As debate in the country has raged on over Republicans’ terribly unpopular ACA repeal bill, those on the Democratic Party’s left have argued that now is the time to push for ideas like universal healthcare, single payer and/or a public option. They charge that the lack of a public option in Barack Obama’s ACA was…
