I haven't posted on here in quite a long time, but some of you know me. I work for Iowa House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. We wanted to let you all know that some of our candidates are getting up on network TV in the final two weeks of the campaign and wanted to let you know where you can see the ads.
You can also learn about all of our great House candidates on the House Democratic Caucus blog.
There are two places you can view the TV spots:
First, www.youtube.com/iowahousedemocrats
Secondly, you can find us on Facebook
The Republican machine has gone “all in” on the Iowa House. Senator Wieck (Senate Minority Leader) has all but given up on picking up seats in the Senate and with Harkin not having a credible opponent it's all about the house.
So, if you are interested in helping out a local House Democratic candidate – please contact your local Democratic central committee or the Iowa Democratic Party. They can direct you to where you need to go. Plus, you can contribute the House Truman Fund via ActBlue.
UPDATE from desmoinesdem, with a question: According to Marc Ambinder, the Democratic National Committee is considering spending money in some key state legislative races. Anyone know if the DNC is getting involved in any Iowa House races?
4 Comments
I bumped this diary
because I didn’t realize you’d posted it right before I put up my piece this morning.
I agree that the Iowa House races are critically important.
Personally, I favor donating to individual candidates rather than the House Truman fund. Depending on what issues are important to you, the House leadership may or may not be willing to move on what you care about.
I prefer to support candidates who will work toward progress on the issues that are highest priority for me.
When Pat Murphy and Kevin McCarthy get behind more good environmental bills and/or the VOICE act, I will start contributing to the Truman fund again. I have donated in past years.
desmoinesdem Wed 22 Oct 12:47 PM
...I agree to a certain extent...
DesMoinesDem – thanks for keeping the diary on the frontpage. It’s much appreciated. I agree that it makes sense for people to donate to individual candidates as often as possible – it definitely makes for a direct connection between your activism and candidates you support.
The difficult thing is – we use the Truman Fund as a means to pool resources and buying power and when we are talking about raising $$ two weeks out from election day it’s ALL about buying TV time.
So, for example – if you support John Beard (a strong progressive who supports VOICE, and has campaigned on the issue) the best way to increase the ratings points he has on TV is to give to the Truman Fund who purchase TV time.
If you support Phllis Thede, who is an AFSCME member and a central committee member (and running hard against Jamie Van Fossen) the best way to maximize your dollars is through the Truman Fund.
If you support electing more Democrats who can change the make-up and partisanship of key House committees on issues like VOICE, then contribute to the Truman Fund.
mark-langgin Wed 22 Oct 1:38 PM
but how do I know
that tv time will be purchased in specific districts to benefit the candidates I support, and not in districts of Democrats who will stand in the way?
desmoinesdem Wed 22 Oct 2:26 PM
Look at the "in kind" expenditures on the IECDB
Check out the “in kind” expenditures on the campaign finance reports. For example, Kevin McCarthy (who supports campaign finance reform, just not VOICE as drafted the last 2 years) is a strong proponent of John Beard. John is the right guy for the district, a good progressive, and supports VOICE.
You’ll notice $87,000+ of “in kind” contributions by the Iowa Democratic Party to John. House leadership has no “litmus test” for the candidates they support. They support good candidates who fit their districts and work hard to represent their constituents.
Jerry Sullivan is another great candidate (from Windsor Heights) who has been supported by the ENTIRE House caucus – liberals & conservatives alike.
I would argue that giving money directly to candidates is absolutely the way to go – up to a certain point. At a certain point it should be all about increasing margins in the legislature and winning as many seats as possible. Pooling resources is an important means to an end we all support. Maybe it’s not pretty, but it has proven to be effective the last three cycles.
mark-langgin Wed 22 Oct 3:36 PM