Julie Stauch is a Democratic candidate for governor.
My team and I hit the ground running in June, and visited all fifteen Community College districts of Iowa. From the start, I made it clear: this campaign would be different. The old way of running campaigns isn’t working anymore, and I believe Iowans deserve a new approach.
Over the last three months, I’ve spent my time understanding what people across this state most want from their next governor. The core message I heard was that Iowans want leaders who will focus on the real problems they face. The people of Iowa are fed up with candidates not deeply engaging in conversation with them.
That’s why I’ve held 27 in-depth interview sessions across these districts, ensuring that every voice is heard and every concern is taken seriously. In fact, during the very first interview session, a woman wrote on her worksheet, “I feel like I’ve been heard for the first time.”
Last week, Woodbury County Supervisor Mark Nelson, a Republican, posted a Facebook video calling out Governor Kim Reynolds and Republicans in the Iowa legislature for focusing on things that do not help Iowans.
Today I’m writing an open summary of what I’ve learned from Iowans these past three months, how the Interview Sessions work, and how I plan to use this insight to build a true, strong network of supporters. Times have changed. We must be engaging with voters in more substantive conversations and we must adapt to those changes.
HOW DO THE INTERVIEW SESSIONS WORK?
Each session begins with the following questionnaire for participants to fill out.
What is your community known for?
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing your area?
What does a successful Iowa look like to you?
What worries you most about the future of Iowa?
What is standing in the way of achieving your vision for Iowa?
NOTE: We collect those worksheets and keep them as a reference of what people have said about their concerns.
I like to hear from every attendee, since each person’s perspective on the questions will have a unique twist, even if there is a common theme. I want to understand those twists, because there are solutions in each unique thought and feeling. Someone’s word choice can help further define the problem.
Then we move to small group discussions. One person is the driver of the conversations to keep things moving. I walk around the room and listen in on their conversations, helping me to understand the back story of their answers from how they discuss it with their peers and neighbors.
At the Ames Public Library on August 21 (photo by Laura Belin)
Once each group has reported a summary of their discussions, then I give a short explanation of who I am and why I’m applying for the job of Iowa’s next governor. Then I open up for questions from the group.
Because of the worksheet and discussion, people are primed to ask about their specific concerns and how I would approach problem solving in that area. It keeps the discussion focused on the problems they want solved.
At the Waverly Public Library on July 18 (photo provided by Stauch campaign)
WHERE DID WE CONDUCT THE INTERVIEWS?
As a statewide candidate, I’ve discovered that breaking Iowa down into Community College districts is one of the most effective ways to organize the sessions. It allows my team to make our way across the state more efficiently and still return for repeat visits in every district.
At The Landing Market in Decorah, August 1 (photo provided by Stauch campaign)
I think the same concept can work at any level. If I were running in a smaller district, I’d look for natural ways to divide it up that truly reflect the community. In some places, that might mean neighborhoods or local party groups. I believe wherever people are already gathering, that’s where the best conversations can happen.
At the Sac Community Center in Sac City on June 18 (photo provided by Stauch campaign)
WHY THIS APPROACH?
If every candidate in the state adopted this approach, Iowans would know who really wants to work for them, as any public servant should. We would weed out candidates who are solely seeking a new title for themselves, or raising their profile for the next title they want. As the video from the Woodbury Republican shows, we’d also have a real chance at a bipartisan coalition of leaders ready to get to work solving these problems. That’s what Iowans want and need from their leaders.
People do not trust the political parties, nor our governments. To build trust, candidates have to show up and have substantive conversations, engage fully in understanding people’s concerns and priorities, and demonstrate we have heard their concerns.
WHAT ARE IOWANS’ TOP CONCERNS?
These topics have come up most often at the interview sessions:
- affordable housing
- clean water
- public schools
- child care
- health care
- homelessness
- immigrant neighbors who are being stolen away
- food deserts
- OB/GYN deserts—lack of health care for women
- loss of personal income
- loss of hospitals
- loss of Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security
- air pollution
- loss of rights for various groups
- lack of elderly care
- “brain drain”
- eminent domain abuses
WHAT DO IOWANS WANT TO SEE FOR THE FUTURE?
Based on the initial conversations, these are the top six priorities. Eminent domain violations, while critically important, have only affected about half the state so far, but it’s still a terrible precedent and needs to be stopped right away.
- clean water
- stronger public schools
- health care for all
- respect for all neighbors
- addressing poverty’s root causes, including food insecurity, lack of hospitals, better wages, and quality nursing home care for seniors and those unable to care for themselves
- healthy soil and clean air
LESSONS LEARNED, BEYOND THE TOP ISSUES
When it comes to Iowans’ concerns, there is no such thing as an “urban-rural divide.” The same points came up everywhere, although not in precisely the same order. Most commonly at the top were clean water, public schools, and health care. Otherwise all listed above were included.
Clean water: Our soils and grasslands have filtered our water for thousands of years, and they are in crisis. This destruction is a key factor impacting clean water in Iowa.
No one wants our public schools destroyed. Zero, Nada, none. There is a high level of anger associated with the intentional decline of Iowa schools, and the impact of education quality on the community.
While only a few people used the word “poverty,” the issues of poverty were alluded to in multiple ways, proving to be a fear and concern across the state. The way the problem is described tends to fit localized challenges: loss of property due to high property taxes, loss of income, job stability, wage equality, and increased debt. In some ways the conversations about living spaces for homeless people also might fit into the fear of becoming homeless, and options for our vulnerable neighbors.
Eminent domain abuses are high concerns in the area where the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions CO2 pipeline would be located. This issue extends from southwest Iowa stretching diagonally to northeast Iowa, and all points north of that line. Generally, people speak about the abuse of giving private land to private, for-profit companies.
More often than not, the solutions offered by elected leaders (even with good intentions) are too narrow, ending up with a one-size-fits-all solution. A diverse state needs diverse options to make a lasting impact.
The people of Iowa feel we cannot wait for someone else to come along and solve our problems. It is on all of us to commit to making this state the kind of place we want it to be, which means we must have new leadership in all elected offices.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The next step for my campaign will be another round of interview sessions focused on what success looks like for each localities’ top concerns. I want to ensure our next discussion will help identify what needs to be included in future solutions and where the need is for those solutions. Those conversations will begin in early to mid-September.
We have to rebuild trust to keep our democracy alive and whole. It is distrust that gave Kim Reynolds and Donald Trump power. Let’s end that cycle of distrust. It begins by engaging with the people of Iowa.
In the course of these conversations someone brought up future debates with my opponents, to which I replied, “Band kid here, not debater.” Music has always been a joy and a balm in my life. Which brings me to the close for this document.
Below you will find the lyrics and a link to a song written and sung by Dan Fogelberg in the early 1990’s called “Blind to the Truth”. Every word of the song is magnificent, but there are two verses in bold that refer to Iowa right now. We must act now. I hope you will join me in seeking out and solving these problems.
“Blind to the Truth,” by Dan Fogelberg
Lyrics:
In the overcrowded cities where the nights are bright as day
You spend your weekly paycheck and turn your eyes away
From the crisis we’ve created with our self-indulgent ways
Living like there’s no tomorrow, well that just might be the case
Now they’re tearing down the forests and the jungles of Brazil
Without a second thought about the species that they kill
But extinction is forever and still the forests fall
And push it ever closer to extinction for us all
But you’re so blind to the truth, blind to the truth
And you can’t see nothing
Cause you’re so blind to the truth, blind to the truth
And the judgment day is coming
Now the politicians bicker on the early evening news
Pledging their allegiance to whoever they can use
The corporate bosses snicker as they watch the profits soar
They don’t care what they make next month just as long as it is more
They take our farms and marshlands, drive nature to the wall
Just so they can build another Goddamn shopping mall
And it doesn’t seem to matter if they cannot see the stars
As long as they can keep on building obsolescent cars
They’re so blind to the truth, blind to the truth
No they can’t see nothing
They’re so blind to the truth, blind to the truth
But the judgment day is coming
Now you cannot drink the water and you cannot breathe the air
The sky is ripping open and you still don’t seem to care
The soil is tired and toxic and unable to provide
The clock is running out and there is nowhere left to hide
Now there’s laws that we must live by and they’re not the laws of man
Can’t you see the shadow that moves across this land
The future is upon us and there’s so much we must do
And you know I can’t ignore it and my friend neither can you
Unless you’re blind to the truth, blind to the truth
And you can’t see nothing
You’re so blind to the truth, blind to the truth
But the judgment day is coming
Editor’s note: Bleeding Heartland welcomes guest posts about the 2026 elections by Iowa Democratic candidates or their supporters. Please read these guidelines and reach out to Laura Belin if you are interested in writing.