CHICAGO — Iowa Democrats gathered here for the Democratic National Convention this week with a renewed sense of hope and optimism, hosting a stream of prominent national figures at an early morning breakfast meeting to help them celebrate the national ticket and motivate their base.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is among those expected to someday pursue higher office — was on hand along with Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.
“I want to talk to you, my friends in Iowa, because I know what it's like to be in a sea of red,” Whitmer said. “I know what it's like to have Republicans control the agenda. It ain't fun. But I am grateful for the work that you are doing on the ground. I know it matters, and I know it can make a difference.”
Gone are the days when such appearances automatically signified politicians’ future ambitions after the Democratic National Committee stripped Iowa of its first-in-the-nation caucus status . But Iowa Democrats greeted Whitmer enthusiastically nonetheless, giving her an ovation, snapping photos and cheering as she walked into the room.
U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar — familiar faces to many Iowa Democrats after their 2020 presidential primary campaigns that made them mainstays of the Hawkeye State — also attended the early morning delegate breakfast, helping to launch the third day of convention festivities.
Both greeted the group warmly, singling out the Iowans they recognized.
“I feel like I’m back with friends,” said Klobuchar, who hyped up Tim Walz, her state’s governor and Harris’ running mate.
“He understands Iowa, just like he understands greater Minnesota and everything about our two states,” she said.
Booker told the group about a time that Harris, the nation's first Black vice president, gave him a sheet of her official letterhead and urged him to write a letter of encouragement to somebody following the Senate's confirmation vote of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“I really believe that we all are here because we got love letters from our ancestors — people who wrote their letters, not with ink and pen, but they wrote their letters with tears. They wrote their letters with sweat. They wrote their letters sometimes in blood,” he said, bringing the room to its collective feet. “… And so now it is your turn, with 78 days to go. Like Kamala told me, write your letter. Let it be a letter that says, ‘I worked for reproductive rights.’ Let it be a letter that says, ‘No matter what the odds in Iowa, I didn't give up.’”
Iowa State House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, praised Booker, saying she met many of the people running for president in 2020.
“Only one has remained committed to this state, has believed in this state no matter what, and is still investing in House races in this state,” she said of the New Jersey senator.
Konfrst also helped rally the gathered delegates, telling them that she helped commission a poll in a “non-metro" state legislative district at the end of June when President Joe Biden was still running as his party’s expected nominee, and another in July after he had passed the baton to Harris.
“Kamala Harris is performing 18 points ahead of where Joe Biden was,” she said. “There is hope out there.”
She acknowledged that even with that improved performance, Harris is still likely to lose in that district to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump by about 10 percentage points.
“But that's all right, because the floor has been raised,” she said to knowing nods. “We know that the floor has come up, which means that we are going to flip seats.”
Retiring State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad , D-Des Moines, also spoke to the group, recalling his history as an activist and a lieutenant for the Black Panthers .
“I did everything in my power to keep from just bawling last night,” he said, recalling the emotional power of a convention gathered to nominate the nation’s first Black woman for president. “… I realized that all this time — from 16 years old, and I just turned 73 — so all these years, this has been my fight.”
He urged the group to continue that fight, bringing several in the room to tears.
“I say to you, don't give up. We got to keep fighting,” he said. “… Thursday night, we will make history that will go down in the record books. Because we won't understand the ripple effect that this is going to have on our great grandbabies. … Understand the depth of what's going on here. Understand what you're giving of yourself, and the history that you really making and the future that you really building.”
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She is also covering the 2024 presidential race for USA TODAY as a senior national campaign correspondent. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 'Don't give up': Iowa Democrats host Whitmer, Booker, Klobuchar at DNC to motivate base
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