POLITICS

Sen. Joni Ernst’s 2014 campaign paid the largest civil penalty ever levied by the Federal Election Commission against an Iowa politician, according to previously unreported commission records. In 2017, the FEC found Ernst’s first campaign for Senate broke the law by “knowingly accepting excessive and prohibited contributions, and by failing to timely refund excessive and…

Many, if not all, of the Democrats campaigning for president have done some down-ballot party building over the course of their careers. Several of them, including Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Kamala Harris, told stories on the trail about being in Iowa to knock doors for Barack Obama during his first White House run. We…

Sen. Joni Ernst will make yet another choice, likely this week, on a judicial appointee with limited credentials and a controversial ideological background. Lawrence VanDyke has been nominated for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the second-highest level of the federal judiciary and where the majority of contested laws and policies are decided. Progressive judicial…

The American Democracy Legal Fund sent a letter today to the Federal Election Commission urging the government agency to investigate allegations that members of Sen. Joni Ernst’s campaign violated election laws by coordinating with “dark money” group Iowa Values. The request for an investigation comes in light of a Friday Associated Press article detailing Ernst’s…

Sen. Joni Ernst’s reelection efforts took a hit today in the midst of revelations her campaign may have illegally coordinated with the “dark money” group Iowa Values. But this isn’t the first time Ernst has skirted the bounds of campaign finance laws. In the fall of 2014, during Ernst’s initial run for the U.S. Senate,…

Condemnation came swiftly Friday morning as news broke of Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s connection to the “dark money” group Iowa Values, and how it has helped raise money to bolster her 2020 reelection effort. The Associated Press reported today on material it obtained revealing the group has done more than simply raise money and push…

Eddie Mauro, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, has made his first TV ad buy of the 2020 cycle. The campaign will spend about $105,000 on digital and TV ads set to start airing today. The ads will run for three weeks, according to the campaign. “Cool Under Fire” weaves in footage from Sen.…

New ratings recently released on the competitiveness of U.S. House districts reflect positive momentum for Democrat J.D. Scholten and spell trouble for Congressman Steve King. Inside Elections moved the race for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District from “Lean Republican” to “Tilt Republican.” “With a combination of Republicans’ self-inflicted wounds, slow recruiting or suburbs continuing to shift against the…

U.S. Senate candidate Theresa Greenfield has collected more endorsements from current Iowa legislators than her three primary opponents, bringing her total this year to 23. Greenfield leads the field in fundraising and endorsements, earning the support of groups like NARAL Pro-Choice America, League of Conservation Voters, AFSCME Council 61 and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.…

Republican House candidates Bobby Schilling and Mariannette Miller-Meeks responded to criticism Tuesday condemning their participation in a Bettendorf political forum that featured far-right anti-Semite Nick Fuentes. Fuentes, according to the Quad-City Times, was the final speaker Monday night at the Scott County Teenage Republicans’ “Immigration Forum.” Fuentes attended the 2017 Unite the Right rally in…