Iowa Democrats’ new leader braces for challenges

Troy Price is combining realism with optimism as he assumes leadership of the Iowa Democratic Party.

Price was elected July 22 as chairman of the state party. He replaces Derek Eadon, who was just elected in January but stepped aside due to health reasons.

The Iowa Democratic Party's leader, whomever it was going to be, faced a daunting task. Iowa Democrats are trying to rebound after consecutive disastrous elections for the party in 2014 and 2016.

Price gets the additional hurdle of starting on the job a half-year later than usual.

I visited with Price last week about the job with which he has been tasked, and during a 25-minute interview he was realistic about the challenges he and the party face but also optimistic about the opportunity Democrats have in the 2018 elections.

'There's a lot to get done. I would say that our party infrastructure is not where it needs to be right now,” Price said, adding later, 'The timing piece of it is a challenge. There's no question about that. We're jumping in the middle of this thing.

'But I'll say this: I'm confident we can get this work done because I've seen how hard our activists are working out there. I've seen how hard our party is working,” Price said. 'I've seen all this great energy and activism out there. We've got a lot of people who want to get to work.”

Price does not come into the job blind. He is a former executive director of the state party.

He said his first two tasks when he came on board were to strengthen that party infrastructure and to develop a message that the party can offer to voters in 2018.

The latter will be important as Democrats try to learn from their losses. One common criticism is Democrats didn't have a message that resonated with voters.

'The message of the party is fractured and has been over the last few cycles,” Price said. 'We have focused way too much on specific tactics or specific issue messages, not necessarily focusing on the overall message: why it is that people should vote for the Democratic Party, why it is that we deserve to be in government.

'People don't believe that we have their back. We have to do a better job of that, and we have to go out there and develop this message that says we're going to fight for you, we have always fought for you, and we will be there to fight for you in government. So give us a chance to do that.”

Iowa Democratic candidates in 2018 will use the 2017 legislative session as a rally cry against Republicans. The GOP-led Legislature and governor approved conservative legislation limiting workers' compensation and public employee collective bargaining, instituting voter ID requirements and defunding Planned Parenthood, among others.

But Price said Democrats must avoid focusing too much on railing against their opponents without offering their own vision and policies.

The 2018 election is critical for Iowa Democrats. It is their next opportunity to reverse the tide that has swept them in the past two elections. And with a victory in the race for governor - or, less likely, enough victories in state House or Senate races - they can limit Republicans' full control of the lawmaking agenda to just two years.

It is a big challenge for the party and a big challenge for Price. I asked him why he ran for chairman - why he ever wanted to face that challenge.

'I got into this because I believe in this party and I believe in the future of our party,” he said. 'I have been very frustrated with where our party has ended up in recent years.”

Erin Murphy covers Iowa politics and government. His email address is erin.murphy@lee.net.