Iowa needs her brilliance.

I am sure we can expect a new round of voter suppression next year.

but the first thought that I had when I heard that Reynolds won is that today's Iowans are a much meaner bunch that my memory recalls from my younger years.

Iowa seemed to turn into an asshole state when the new version of Branstad was unveiled in 2010. Doesn't look like there is any end to it either.

With privatized medicaid as the major issue I would have thought that enough Iowans would have enough compassion to throw Reynolds out on her ear and turn Medicaid back to the state for proper functioning. I was so wrong. This is a streak of meanness I am not familiar with.

So glad Sand won. Hopefully he will be keeping an eye on the out of control Medicaid situation.

When we moved to IA in 68, the state was pretty much a democratic stronhold.

In the 80 election the RW, with the strong aid of local Mormons, worked hard (and successfully) to get the state to oppose the federal passage of the ERA.

It was strange to watch long time IA republicans unable to figure out what was happening as the Religious Right took over their party. I grew up in OK in the 40s and 50s and had an 'instinctive' feel fof the RR machinations. As someone in OK once said 'You know it's election time when the politicians start showing up to church every Sunday.'

is going to own the Medicaid privatization and crap insurance policies. Mental health is also fixing to explode on her as well.

Yah for Blum and Rogers being gone. I walk by his house a couple times a week (also Williams house who is next door).

no so much. I think Cindy hit all District 3 counties several times. It would have been harder for Hubbell to hit all 65 counties as much as Cindy did, but I had a sense that Hubbell wasn't all out for winning his election. His naturally introverted character didn't seem right for politics. In contrast, Cindy was really out here hitting all the county bases and won.
Remarkably, I still can't understand how Axne and Finkenhauer could win for Dems and Kim Reynolds (R) take it for Governor. Do that many people really split their ticket? Seems schizophrenic to me.

It's pretty frustrating that Axne and Finkenhauer won but not Hubbell. But I think they both ran a much better campaign than he did. There seemed to be a lack of enthusiasm from the start as well as a few missed opportunities. Hope we learn something from this.

He is not a charismatic orator; he is a businessman and he is also not very photogenic. Also, I saw his cringe worthy debate performances, and quite frankly, Reynolds mopped the floor with him, especially during the first debate. Plus she was able to make the whole issue of Hubbell not releasing 10 years worth of tax returns into an effective foil throughout the campaign. Of course, you and I know, what's good for the goose.......etc.

On a slightly different note, a reason why Hubbell lost, and this will be discussed by pundits sooner or later, is that basically abortion was on the ballot. After I saw the editorial on the Des Moines Register's website, the one where the writer implores Reynolds to be a governor for all Iowans (Ain't gonna happen), a commenter basically posted that one of the main reasons he made a point to vote for Reynolds is because Reynolds made a very positive stand for the curtailment of abortion rights and signed the most restrictive abortion bill in the country into law. I believe this is what increased Republican turnout in the red counties to levels that overcame Hubbells early advantages in the metro counties.

I was hoping that his campaign could find a way a way in but it never materialized.

Every hour every day every year background radio speakers in coffee shops feed stores main street town square GOP Gospel is in the public's ears.

You cannot turn the dial on the radio without hearing a religious right blaring out the days propaganda. It's going to be tough for any of our politicians to get through.