Gophers, Castros and a Booker: Iowa DNC Reporter’s Notebook, Day 3

A roundup of news from the Democratic National Convention:

UNITY BUT RIVALRY: Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman R.T. Rybak of Minnesota told Iowa delegates Wednesday he has 'huge respect for Iowa because I've campaigned there a lot.”

But there's a limit to political unity.

'I agree with every single thing Iowa Democrats believe in except the Hawkeye-Gopher game,” the former Minneapolis mayor said.

He also endorsed Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses.

'Iowa is very special. People ask me ‘Why does Iowa deserve this special status?'” Rybak said. 'Well, frankly, because they just do it better than everybody else.”

RIVALS UNITED: Democrats are showing signs of unity after a hard-fought campaign for the presidential nomination, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said the night after Hillary Clinton was nominated.

'There was a little bit of friction at times” between supporters of Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, said Booker, who delivered one of the prime-time convention speeches Monday night, 'but we all were here.

That's not happening in the GOP following its hard-fought battle for the nomination, he said.

'You saw that Ted Cruz and Donald Trump couldn't bridge their differences, couldn't come along,” Booker said. 'But on our side, you saw two people who fought hard against each other … bridge their differences, come together and point a direction for our country.”

Booker's biggest election concern isn't necessarily Trump, but turnout.

'If we see a lot of folks come out, we're going to have a vibrant democracy and the right thing is going to happen because I trust America,” he said.

SEEING DOUBLE: Iowa Democrats couldn't be blamed for thinking they were seeing double Wednesday when Joaquin and Julian Castro dropped by their breakfast meeting.

Joaquin, a Texas congressman, joked that it's easy to tell the identical twins apart because Julian, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 'is one minute older, but not as good looking.

Like other speakers who visit the Iowans, the Castros noted their connections to the state. Joaquin has been a guest at the Harkin Steak Fry and toured the Iowa State Fair. Julian mentioned he has visited the American Gothic House.

Compiled by The Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau