The Iowa delegation to the Democratic National Convention listens to Barack Obama on Aug. 20, 2024 at the United Center in Chicago. (Photo by Shaun Griswold/Source New Mexico)
Iowa Democrats say the national convention has motivated state party members leading into the 2024 election — an election that could prove crucial to their chances of regaining an early spot in the presidential nominating process.
Delegates from across the nation have spent the past four days in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention, rallying for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid against former President Donald Trump. The convention came after President Joe Biden’s decision to leave the race and endorse Harris.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said in a Thursday interview that Harris leading the ticket — and having Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz join her as the vice presidential nominee — has motivated Democrats across the nation, as well as in Iowa.
Iowa Democrats have seen some significant losses in recent election cycles. The state’s federal delegation is currently entirely Republican, and only one Democrat, Auditor Rob Sand, holds statewide elected office following the 2022 midterm elections. Hart attributed these losses in part to a lack of motivation among Democrats in the state, saying that many felt “disillusioned” by politics in recent years and have opted not to vote.
But she said that the “hope and optimism” shown at the convention shows that Democrats are inspired and ready to participate as they prepare for the Nov. 5 election.
“The energy here is just so overwhelming, and that hasn’t happened for so long, and so people are embracing it and celebrating it,” Hart said. “… What is also true is that people understand — they understand Michelle Obama’s message very clearly, that we that we’ve got to take that energy and we’ve got to go back to our home state, and we’ve got to do something. We’ve got to do something to make things happen, that truly are going to make Iowa a better state and going to make the United States a better America.”
The upcoming election may also play a significant role for Iowa Democrats looking at future presidential races. The Democratic National Committee approved major changes to the traditional presidential nominating calendar in 2022, booting the Iowa caucuses from its long-held first-in-the-nation position. In 2024, South Carolina kicked off the Democratic presidential nominating process, while Iowa released the results from its first mail-in presidential preference contest on Super Tuesday, March 5.
National Democrats encountered multiple problems with restructuring the calendar leading into the 2024 nominating cycle, as New Hampshire and Georgia’s Republican secretaries of state said they were unable to comply with the DNC’s plans for them to hold early nominating contests. Hart and other Iowa officials have said the DNC plans to revisit the calendar leading up to the 2028 presidential nominating cycle, and that Iowa will have a chance to compete for an early state position again.
Though discussions about the 2028 presidential election cycle — and Iowa’s role in the Democratic nominating process — have not yet begun, Hart said the state’s results in the 2024 election may make a difference.
“A lot rides on this election cycle, and the better we do here in 2024, the better opportunity we have to to get back into that enviable position again, as first in the nation,” Hart said. “And so we’re putting our total concentration into just that, into getting good results here in 2024, and then we’ll have a conversation and see where things are going forward.”
Though Iowa lost its coveted spot in the nominating cycle, Hart said high-profile Democrats have emphasized at the convention that Iowa is “very vital” in elections. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota were among the politicians who talked to Iowa’s delegation during the DNC.
Iowa voters will weigh in on races for state lawmakers and U.S. representatives alongside the presidency in November. Republican incumbents are favored by election forecasters to win in Iowa’s congressional races in the upcoming election. But Hart said the Harris-Walz ticket is a needed “push” to activate Iowa voters who may have otherwise sat out the election.
“That’s what we’ve been working on all along, is to lay the groundwork to put it in the the time and the energy, into the infrastructure of the party itself, so that we can get the vote out,” Hart said. “And now having this enthusiasm and excitement at the top of the ticket, it’s going to make our job that much easier and give us more of an opportunity to get more people to the polls, and get some of these down-ballot races to be more competitive.”
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