Iowa Democrats vow to have candidates in almost every race in the state in the 2024 election

Iowa’s Democrats have vowed to have a Democrat running in as many state House, Senate and local races as possible during the 2024 election.

The goal is to have a Democrat facing off against a Republican in almost every election in the state, Democrats said during a fundraising dinner on Saturday. While the primary has passed, parties can still nominate candidates by convention.

As part of the effort, Democrats announced Phil Wiese will run against state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, of Wilton, in the 82nd District.

Wiese, 43, said an official announcement will be made Tuesday in Tipton.

Wiese farms just outside of Blue Grass and is a sales specialist at Premier RV of Blue Grass.

The announcement was made during the Scott County Democrats’ annual Red, White & Blue fundraising dinner, held Saturday at the Rogalski Center at St. Ambrose University in Davenport.

“I’m running because I believe politics in Iowa need to be more respectful and less divisive,” Wiese said.

He said Kaufmann's policies were "anti-women," discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community and worsen the public education system.

“I’m running for the Iowa House to end the culture wars and work for hardworking Iowans,” Wiese said. "I’m running so no Iowan is left behind.”

Wiese’s announcement came as Kay Pence, Scott County Democratic Chair, told a crowd of about 250 that the Democratic Party throughout the state will be working to fill almost all election vacancies before the August deadline to ensure that there is a Democratic candidate running against almost all Republican candidates.

State Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, of Windsor Heights, the Iowa House Democratic leader, told the audience there is work to be done this election season.

“No path to the majority in the Iowa House exists without Scott County,” she said. “We need you, we need more of you and we’ve got to get to work.

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“The contrast couldn’t be clearer between what Republicans are offering for Iowans and what Democrats are offering for Iowans,” Konfrst said. “We’re introducing legislation in the House to lower costs for Iowa families, to defend reproductive freedom, to legalize marijuana for adult use and defend public education. What they’re doing is hurting our state in ways that are quantifiable and it’s our duty to tell people.”

Konfrst said that in 2022, 92,577 Democrats did not vote. While that is a disappointing number, she said it also is an opportunity for the Democrats. “That’s 92,577 people who already are with us. We’ve just got to get them to vote.

“We’re a purple state,” she added.

With a focus on door knocking, raising money and messaging on topics like education and abortion, Konfrst said Democrats will be able to win more seats in the Statehouse and "surprise Iowa on election day."

With only 150 days until election day, she said, “there is not a day to waste.”

Iowa Senate Democratic leader Pam Jochum, of Dubuque, said Senate Democrats have been working to recruit Democrats to run in the Senate districts where no Democrat ran in the primary.

“We have recruited 80 percent of those seats right now and we plan to have the rest of them recruited before the Aug. 15 deadline,” she said.

Jochum said that Konfrst is doing the same in recruiting House candidates.

“This is the first time in years that the House and Senate Democrats have filled this many seats to hold the Republicans accountable and give voters a real choice in this state,” she said.

Jochum said Senate Democrats have contacted 21,000 “persuadable voters,” that resulted in 4,500 conversations, 32 percent of which “have already identified themselves as a Democrat, with 66 percent of those saying they haven’t decided.”

Only 2 percent identified as Republican, she added, “so there is hope.”

The party also has mailed postcards to 10,833 inactive Democrats asking them to reengage with the party, Jochum said. “We’re moving in the right direction.”

Rita Hart, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, told the audience that Scott County is crucial to the Democrats performing well.

“Scott County has always been a Democratic stronghold along with many of the counties up and down the Mississippi River, and we have not performed well over the last few cycles,” Hart said.

But this election, Hart said, Scott County is ready to step up “and turn that around.”

“As you can see, we have a lot of candidates running,” she said. “They recognize that they are not being well represented and they are angry about certain things.”

The Republican-controlled legislature has become too extreme, she added.

To get a Democrat to run in every open seat in the state is an ambitious plan, Hart said.

“Democrats are not fired up emotionally and believing that they’re going to turn this state blue on a dime," she said. "What they are is determined. They are very determined to get better leadership, get better representation.”