Past Iowa Dem Party Chairs Weigh In On What Next Chair Should Focus On

Interviews with past and present Iowa Democratic Party Chairs provides a fascinating inside look at how they see the requirements of the job. Following the crushing Democratic election losses in Iowa, the role of the next IDP Chair will be crucial in rebuilding the Iowa Party. The new Chair will likely need to play a larger role since other Party leadership is gone. Democrats suffered a double blow. First by losing control of the Iowa Senate and then a second punch to the gut with the loss of our Senate leader, Mike Gronstal. Gronstal’s loss means the new Democratic leader, Senator Rob Hogg, will need a strong and professional partner in the new IDP Chair.

The Chairs were asked about some or all of the questions below. Nearly all of them talked about the essential role of fundraising by the new Chair. The Party simply can’t do any significant rebuilding without adequate finances.

One of the most glaring obstacles to any rebuilding is the continuing divide between the Sanders and Clinton factions of the Party. This deep split is very obvious in the State Central Committee membership. The SCC is the governing body of the Party and bringing the two factions together is essential to provide a united front.

The election losses in 93 of the 99 counties makes Iowa a very red state. Rebuilding rural Iowa for Democrats must be the primary goal of the SCC and the new IDP Chair. Developing a powerful and motivating message will be a key factor for the new IDP Chair as well.

The interviews included current IDP Chair Dr. Andy McGuire as well as former IDP Chairs Sally Pederson-2005, Scott Brennen-2007 and 2013, Michael Kiernan-2009, Sue Dvorsky-2010 and Tyler Olson-2012.

The questions included:

How important is fund raising and how much time should be devoted to it?
How will the new IDP Chair unite the Clinton and Sanders factions?
How do Iowa Democrats reach out to rural Iowa?
How will the election results affect the IDP Chair position?
How do we develop the Democratic message?
Should the Chair be a paid vs. unpaid position and is it a full or part time job?