Iowa Democrats, feeling left out in the cold, see hope with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz

Iowa Democrats praised Vice President Kamala Harris’ pick of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate Tuesday as she looks to boost the ticket in the Midwest.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart praised Harris for turning to a Midwestern governor, military veteran and union supporter who helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for his state, including sweeping protections for abortion rights and generous aid to families.

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“Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is a great candidate for Vice President because he understands Midwest principles, how hard Iowans work, and the value of a dollar,” Hart said in a statement. “ … Walz is a former teacher who knows our young people are our greatest investment, and how important it is to make sure there are opportunities for folks of all ages to thrive no matter where they live.”

Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard and was a high school social studies teacher, football coach and union member before he got into politics.

In the days since President Joe Biden’s decision to bow out of the race, Hart said she has seen renewed enthusiasm across the party.

Iowa Democrats raised more than $25,000 during an “Iowa for Harris” organizing call Monday, hoping to seize on a groundswell of enthusiasm with a change atop the ticket to mobilize voters to support Harris and Democrats up and down the ballot in Iowa.

Posting to X (formerly Twitter), Deidre DeJear, who served as Harris’ Iowa presidential campaign chair in 2019, said roughly 1,000 participants joined the Zoom call. DeJear, a former Democratic candidate for Iowa governor who lost in a landslide to Republican incumbent Kim Reynolds in 2022, said organizers received nearly 100 volunteer sign ups and 400 individual contributions.

DeJear said half the money raised will go to the Harris campaign and half will be used to support Iowa Democrats running for office in the November general election.

Republicans criticize Walz’s record

Republican Governors Association Executive Director Sara Craig, who served as Reynolds' chief of staff, accused Walz of “supporting a failed economic agenda, overseeing drastic public safety failures, and advocating for dangerous, open border immigration policies.”

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"While Walz will try to sell himself as a relatable moderate, his record shows that he consistently backs the most liberal policies that national Democrats have to offer and will be in lockstep with the Democrat agenda that has already failed Americans,“ Craig wrote in a memo posted on the association’s website.

Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann accused Walz of not doing enough to protect Minnesota during the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd.

“A Harris/Walz White House means wide-open borders for terrorists and deadly drugs, the abolishment of private health insurance, a ban on fracking, reckless spending, and more crime in our cities,” Kaufmann said in a statement.

He and other Republicans attacked Harris’ record on border security during a campaign fundraiser Saturday in Cedar Rapids hosted by Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Marion.

The Harris campaign has said it has moved away from her interest in a single-payer health insurance system and no longer supports a fracking ban, CNN reported.

Loebsack: Walz can amply voice of Iowa Democrats

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Democratic former Iowa U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, of Mount Vernon, served with Walz in the U.S. House. Both were first-time candidates running in mostly rural districts who managed to unseat Republican incumbents in 2006.

Loebsack unseated popular 30-year Republican incumbent Jim Leach in what by all accounts was a long-shot campaign. Walz ousted six-term Republican Rep. Gil Gutknecht in a significantly rural congressional district.

Loebsack, who retired from Congress at the end of 2020 after 14 years representing Southeast Iowa, said he and Walz became “soul mates” and friends. He praised Walz for his “down-to-earth” personality, progressive policies and ability to relate to people.

Loebsack said Midwest Democrats have felt left out in the cold. National Democrats last year reshaped their presidential nominating calendar, booting Iowa from holding a first-in-the-nation caucus to select Democratic presidential candidates.

With Walz, Loebsack said he sees an opportunity to amplify the voices of Democratic lawmakers and candidates in the heartland, where voters flocked to former president Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 and propped up vulnerable Republicans down ballot.

But winning Iowa still would be an uphill battle. Iowa Republicans mounted a larger advantage over Democrats in voter registration totals coming out of the June primary, indicating growing strength of the party that has been dominating state elections.

“That may be impossible to win Iowa this time,” Loebsack said. “But as you know, the last Iowa poll had Biden behind by 18 points in Iowa. If we can narrow that margin significantly, then I think that is going to have positive effects,” especially in Iowa’s two most competitive U.S. House races in Iowa’s 1st and 3rd districts, where Democrats have outraised Republican incumbents.

Konfrst: Democrats get a ‘happy warrior’ in Walz

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Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said she believes Walz's Midwestern background and “happy warrior approach” will help the ticket.

She said Harris’ pick of Walz energizes Iowa Democrats and no-party voters who are “fired up” over protecting reproductive rights and public education.

“Tim Walz is the real deal: honest, down-to-earth, and pretty darn funny, too,” Konfrst said in a statement. “He shares our Midwest values and is a fighter for the things we care about. As Governor of Minnesota, Tim put people over politics and enacted policies that have changed lives.”

Konfrst met Walz last year as the keynote speaker of the Polk County Democrats annual steak fry fundraiser.

“What Kamala Harris has done here is choose someone who will be a great governing partner,” Konfrst told The Gazette. “ … I think she chose him because he's qualified, he's authentic, and he will be a great vice president. I think that this wasn't a political choice as much as it was a governing choice.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com