Iowa

This week, President Trump renewed his commitment to questioning the integrity of our election system and the Senate left town on Thursday without reaching an agreement on a new stimulus bill, leaving millions of unemployed Americans in economic limbo. At the same time, the U.S. surpassed 150,000 deaths caused by the coronavirus as confirmed cases in many states continue to climb.

With less than 100 days until the general election, Jane Coaston, a senior politics reporter at Vox, and Tim Alberta, Chief Political Correspondent for Politico, share how voters are processing this moment and their options for November.

Joni Ernst is a Republican Senator from Iowa whose seat was considered relatively safe until recently. Today, she’s fighting off a challenge from Democrat Theresa Greenfield, an Iowan who like Ernst has farm-girl roots. Ernst describes how campaigning has shifted as a result of COVID-19 and what she thinks of the president’s response to the pandemic.

You can listen to Amy’s interview with Theresa Greenfield here.

Check out our ongoing coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here.

Check out our local leader series here.

Conventional wisdom had most people thinking that any gains that Democrats made in the Senate would be nominal. But, unexpected events over the last six months have turned a long-shot into the very real possibility that Democrats take control of the Senate in November. Seats that were formerly considered safe for the GOP are now in play as a result of the Trump administration’s failure to handle the coronavirus crisis and provide a national plan for recovery while simultaneously stoking racial tensions at a moment of national reckoning.

In Iowa, a state that President Trump easily won in 2016, Democrat Theresa Greenfield is challenging Republican Senator Joni Ernst, where the latest polling has her up by a few points. Greenfield shared her motivation for getting in the race and what she thinks Iowans want to see in Washington. 

Senator Joni Ernst will join Politics with Amy Walter next week.

Also, this week President Trump announced new guidelines for school reopenings. He said that public schools in coronavirus hotspots could delay reopening for a few weeks but ultimately that decision will fall to governors. As many schools across the country are expected to begin the academic year in the next month or so, school districts have been grappling with how to manage the reality of COVID-19 with the expectations for curriculum.  

In Iowa, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds recently announced limitations on remote learning and mandated that at least 50% of the time students spend on learning core subjects must take place in person. Grant Gerlock, a reporter for Iowa Public Radio, shares how schools are dealing with balancing the governor’s latest requirements against the well-being of their students and staff.

Guests:

Theresa Greenfield, Democratic Candidate for Senate in Iowa

Grant Gerlock, Reporter for Iowa Public Radio

This week, Politics with Amy Walter took a trip to Iowa to get a sense of how voters are feeling ahead of the upcoming caucuses. We asked politicians, economists, pollsters, and caucusgoers about what issues are important to them and which candidate could deliver the White House to Democrats. The issues of foremost concern included race, healthcare, labor protections, hyper-polarization, climate change, and defeating President Trump. 

J. Ann Selzer, whose poll is considered the “gold standard,” walks us through her latest data set and what to make of this incredibly close race. 

From Waterloo, we heard from Mayor Quentin Hart, who has endorsed former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Pastor Frantz Whitfield, a supporter of Vice President Joe Biden, about the calculus behind their endorsements.

Dave Swenson, an economist at Iowa State University, explained the economy of the state which holds an outsized influence on the rest of the primary season.

Against the background of impeachment, heightened tensions with Iran, and the Iowa Caucuses, Astead Herndon of The New York Times and Clare Malone of FiveThirtyEight join Politics with Amy Walter to provide an update on the state of the Democratic Primary.

Plus, Thanassis Cambanis of the Century Foundation analyzes the future of the US-Iran relationship in light of the assassination of Qasem Soleimani and Andrew Clevenger of CQ Roll Call provides context about the War Powers Resolution.

February 02, 2016: 1. They Came, They Saw, They Caucused in Iowa | 2. Road Warriors: Life on the Campaign Trail | 3. Will America Betray the Kurds Again? | 4. Don’t Freak Out, Yet: Apple May Replace the Headphone Mini Jack