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Jan 29, 2017 at 9:00 am | Print View

DES MOINES If Iowa Democrats are to reverse the lopsided electoral defeats they suffered in the past two elections, candidates should take at least one key page from their vanquishers playbook by covering more of the states ground, the Democrats new state party chairman says.

Democratic candidates for statewide office need to do a better job of reaching out directly to voters in more areas of the state, said Derek Eadon, a 33-year-old West Des Moines political consultant who earlier this month was elected state chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party. He replaces Andy McGuire, whose two-year term ended following the 2016 election.

We just have to be present and listen in these communities. We cant just have candidates going to some of these bigger areas, Eadon said in an interview with the Des Moines Bureau about the partys future in Iowa.

Its not a new thing. Candidates that have done well in Iowa have traveled extensively, he said. So its not necessarily a new model. But that will help.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and Gov. Terry Branstad, a pair of Iowa Republicans with a combined 64 years in statewide office, visit each of the states 99 counties each year.

Eadon said he thinks more of that style of campaigning may be necessary for Iowa Democrats to recoup the voters they lost in the past two elections particularly in 2016, when many rural voters who had supported former Democratic President Barack Obama voted for Republican Donald Trump instead.

Trump won 93 of Iowas 99 counties in November, including 32 that went for Obama in 2012.

I would encourage our candidates to travel the state as much as possible, listen to these folks, their concerns, and talk about ... how we are going to benefit their pocketbooks, Eadon said.

He takes over at a critical time for Iowa Democrats. In the 2014 and 2016 elections, Democrats lost to Republicans a U.S. senate seat, a U.S. House seat and the majority in the Iowa Senate.

The latter resulted in giving Republicans complete lawmaking control at the Iowa Capitol.

And that doesnt mention the state going to Trump over Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by 10 percentage points.

Eadon said despite all that, he remains optimistic for Iowa Democrats.

He said attendance has increased at party meetings after the November election. He was heartened by the 26,000-plus who attended a Des Moines rally that was part of the nationwide Womens March movement last weekend.

I think the rally here on (Jan. 21) was a good indication that energy is not going away anytime soon, Eadon said.

Eadon said Democrats must build a strong state party that can withstand mood swings in national elections.

I think we tended to get drowned out in that national message, that national race (in 2016). I think with the (state) party, we want to make sure that were having a positive culture, were extensively traveling and listening to Democrats, making sure that people feel like they have a place at the table.

In order to strengthen the state party, Eadon said he hopes to invest in the grass roots element of the party by tapping into the enthusiasm that was on display at the womens rally and on last Tuesday at the Capitol, where roughly 300 people came to voice opposition to legislation that would strip public funding to womens reproductive health care organizations that perform abortions or Planned Parenthood.

I think our volunteers are ready to take on leadership roles, he said. We want to empower them. We want to train them. We want to invest in local candidates.

Eadon said building from the ground up is necessary because the ranks of Iowa Democrats in elected office are increasingly thin. U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack is the only Democrat among the states six elected officials in Congress; the governor is Republican and the Democrats are in the minority in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature.

The problems also are at the local level, Eadon said, noting just 23 percent of elected officials in Iowas 3rd Congressional District are registered Democrats.

That means we dont have Democrats carrying the message, getting out the vote, Eadon said. Theres lots of opportunities to be involved.

The 2018 election provides Iowa Democrats their first opportunity to bounce back. Winning back the governors office which Iowa Democrats have held for only 12 of the past 48 years would be a monumental victory for the party.

Branstad is poised to become the next U.S. Ambassador to China, and most expect Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who steps into the office once Branstad leaves, to run in 2018. She may face a primary challenge; Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett has been considering a run.

Eadon again said the Democratic candidate for governor should travel all over the state. He said he thinks the candidate should focus on economic issues and call attention to Republicans legislative agenda at the Statehouse.

In 2016 we were playing a lot of personality politics, focusing on what Trump was saying. I think we need to do a better job of getting people to vote for Democrats the next few years, to show that were fighting for those folks, Eadon said.

One crucial job requirement of a state party chairman in Iowa Democrat or Republican is to ensure the state keeps its bird-dog seat in the presidential nominating process.

Trump has said he wants the Iowa caucuses to remain first in the GOPs nominating process, but the issue is more pertinent and more unsettled for Democrats.

The national party soon will elect a new chair, whose feeling on the nomination process will be critical; and Democrats could have the more competitive nomination bout in 2020, since Trump will be an incumbent.

Eadon said he will watch with interest to see who is elected as the Democrats national leader. One of the candidates, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, sent a letter this weekend to Iowa Democrats saying he would keep Iowa first.

One of the things Im very interested in is learning from the candidates where they stand on these issues, Eadon said. Its not something thats really prevalent in discussions currently, but we always have to be vigilant.

Eadon said he received a congratulatory phone call from Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann, and the two pledged to continue to work together to preserve Iowas first-in-the-nation status.

Im optimistic, but its just something that has not been brought up that much with the national party, Eadon said. Were still a few months away from figuring out how the chair will insert (himself or herself) in the process, if at all. So its a little bit of wait and see.

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New state chair says Iowa Democrats need to cover more ground - The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines