Shows / Iowa Down Ballot
Iowa Down Ballot
Professional political analysts discuss Iowa politics with refreshing, in-depth conversations.
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Episodes
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot 10/25/26
Please help spread the word about this podcast by sharing it with your friends on social media. Kathie and Laura welcomed back conservative blogger and…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot 10/17/26
With less than three weeks until Election Day and early voting already underway, we dug into a busy debate week. We started with President Trump’s two planned…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot 10/10/26
In the governor’s debate, Rob Sand and Zach Lahn shared a stage for the first time. With no time limits, we felt the moderators lost control early, and Lahn…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 10/4/26
This week we recorded on Saturday, a day late, to cover Friday’s special legislative session on the proposed $15 billion steel plant in Lee County. Lawmakers…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 9/26/26
We dug into the sudden Republican pivots happening six weeks out from the election. Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn, and Mariannette Miller-Meeks are all pushing back…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 9/19/26
Chuck Grassley turns 93, soon becoming the second longest-serving senator in U.S. history — though Eric argues the milestone doesn’t sidestep the harder…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 9/12/24
This week, we paused to remember September 11th, 25 years later. Kathie, Laura, and Ed each shared where they were that day. Kathie watched the towers fall…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 9/5/26
This week we dug into two big stories. First, the Des Moines Register’s new reporting on Derek Wulf’s farm finances: an active criminal investigation, a…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 8/29/26
We welcomed Ed Failor Jr. to the show for the first time — longtime Iowa Republican operative, former head of Iowans for Tax Relief — and put him through the…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 8/22/26
We started with the Cook Political Report’s new ratings: the U.S. Senate race moved from Leans Republican to Toss-Up, and the governor’s race moved from…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 8/15/26
We split up this week: Laura hit the Wing Ding in Clear Lake, Dave went to the Field of Dreams game. Both nights ran long. Wing Ding drew its best crowd since…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 8/9/26
We welcome first-time guest Shane Vander Hart this week. He writes at shanevanderhart.com. Please give him a follow while you’re there. We dug into school…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 7/25/26
Kathie’s team at Iowa Capital Dispatch broke a story on a 119-page study the Reynolds administration commissioned on letting community colleges offer four-year…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 7/19/26
Firstly, Kathie is on the road and fighting off some wildfire smoke in Chicago, which set the tone for a conversation about just how bad conditions got in the…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 7/12/26
This week’s episode got recorded Saturday morning instead of our usual Friday because there was just too much news going on Friday to keep up with, and a lot…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 7/4/26
Happy Independence Day! We start with a federal court ruling striking down Iowa’s SNAP food restrictions this week, so candy and soda are back on the table…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/27/26
Audio has leaked of RFK Jr. calling Libertarian candidate Rick Stewart, pushing him to drop out of the 2nd District race without ever making a concrete offer…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/20/26
Kathie got caught up on Derek Wulf as Lahn’s pick for Lieutenant Governor, this time noting his Ag Committee chairmanship could ease some rural skepticism…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/13/26
Zach Lahn named state rep Derek Wulf as his running mate, a cattle farmer and early Trump endorser, likely a move to shore up MAGA support after Lahn didn’t…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/6/26
Two big results: Zach Lahn edged out Randy Feenstra in the Republican gubernatorial primary — a surprise upset fueled by a dominant Polk County performance and…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/30/26
Pre-Primary Palooza: What to Watch Tuesday Night A new poll from JMC Analytics has Zach Lahn at 24%, Feenstra at 22%, and Steen at 15% — with 27% still…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5-23-26
We debriefed on the Gray Media/KCCI Republican gubernatorial debate, which Dave helped moderate. Four of five candidates participated — Zach Lahn, Adam Steen…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/16/26
We spent most of this episode breaking down Thursday night’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary debate between Zach Wahls and Josh Turek, moderated by our man…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/9/26
We made it through the Iowa legislative session — barely. The Republican leadership powered through last weekend in a marathon that didn’t wrap until Sunday…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/2/26
We’re recording on a chaotic Friday afternoon as the Iowa legislature pushes past its scheduled adjournment date with no clear end in sight. The big unresolved…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 4/25/26
The Iowa Legislature is officially in overtime, and we break down where things stand. A broad budget agreement is in place at roughly a 1.43% spending…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 4/18/26
Speaker Pat Grassley dropped a new property tax proposal this week — and we’ll be honest, it’s a lot. The three-pager is dense, and we’re still not sure we can…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 4/11/26
The Iran War Is Hitting Wallets Gas is up 21% — the biggest spike since 1967 — and diesel has jumped more than $2 a gallon. We dig into how the ongoing Iran…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 4/4/26
We had a packed week in Iowa politics to break down on this episode with our loyal guests and collaborators Laura Belin of Bleeding Heartland and Kathie…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 3/28/26
The Iowa Republican gubernatorial race delivered a week’s worth of drama that we could barely contain in a single episode. Dave , Laura , and Kathie break down…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 3/21/26
We recorded this one ahead last Friday so Dave can spend some well-earned spring break time with his family. Last week we got into the candidate filing…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 3/14/26
The filing deadline for deadline for federal and statewide races was yesterday March 13th. We have who’s in and who’s out (as of recording time) and what that…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 3/7/26
Firstly, thanks to all of you that share and post and like and comment. We’re not your typical fire breathing podcast that’s just out for clicks, so it’s been…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 2/28/26
We start this week with words of support for Dave’s colleague at WHO-13 Jeriann Ritter who recently shared her battle with an aggressive form of ALS. Our…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 2/21/26
We start this week’s conversation with quick reaction to the US Supreme Court ruling that strikes down President Trump’s blanket tariffs. Then, we’re on to…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 2/14/26
We’re less than a week away from the first funnel week in the Iowa legislature, so Kathie thought it would be fun to talk about our ‘favorite’ bills so far…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 2/7/26
It was a busy week in the Iowa Legislature, and the team starts with the House education committee grilling Des Moines Public School officials on their hiring…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/31/26
We start this week’s discussion with a recap of President Trump’s visit to Clive on Tuesday. Trump spoke for a little over an hour, and stressed the importance…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/24/26
Hope you’re staying warm and safe wherever you may be. Iowa lawmakers wrapped up their second week of work on Friday, and a bill banning carbon pipeline…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/17/26
We spend the bulk of the show with Governor Reynolds’ penultimate condition of the state address. Protestors in the rotunda made their presence felt during the…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/10/26
The gavel drops to begin this year’s legislative session on this Monday, January 12th. We have a full breakdown of the changes in leadership to start off our…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 1/2/26
We are glad to be back! Thanks to all of our subscribers, new and old, we are beginning our first post-hiatus show with a general preview of what our reporters…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/21/25
This will be our last episode before our Summer hiatus. We are hoping to be back with new episodes in the Fall, but we do need more financial support to defray…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/14/25
We start off with Gov. Reynolds’ veto of the eminent domain bill. We discuss the reasons for the veto, including what the governor said, and what she doesn’t…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 6/7/25
The governor still hasn’t made a decision whether to sign the eminent domain bill, so not much to discuss concerning the state government this week. We focused…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/30/25
We start the show this week with good news for the Perry community as they continue to rebound from the Tyson plant closure. JBS USA has announced a new pork…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/24/25
Governor Kim Reynolds didn’t get to sign the bill she wanted addressing child care this legislative session so she’s decided to take steps on her own; Speaking…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/17/25
The 2025 session is in the books and we’ll focus on the last day (technically two days?). Firstly, the second day after pulling an all nighter is always worse…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/10/25
Starting off this week we have some fun personal experiences with pets during interviews, updates on the overtime legislative session and budget negotiations…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 5/3/25
We start off this week with a prediction nailed by Dave. The 2025 legislative session was scheduled to end on Friday. That didn’t happen (as predicted). Now…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 4/26/25
The gang starts out this week with the mother/daughter lobbyist group B*****s Get Stuff Done (Yes, that’s their real name) claiming state representative…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 4/19/25
The team starts off by remembering Jay Byers, Simpson College president and former CEO of the Des Moines Partnership, after his passing on Thursday. Topics…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 4/12/25
We had a whole list of topics to discuss, and then that went out the window around 11:15 Friday morning! Pretty much just one story to cover this week. Our…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 4/5/25
* Three of the top political reporters in Iowa are back with a lot more to discuss this week. First off a grateful Dave thanks pinch-hitter Erin for sharing…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 3/29/25
Another episode with a ton of information on what’s happening at the Iowa Capitol. This week’s topics include; Is property tax reform legislation going to come…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Guest Host Zachary Oren Smith 3/22/25
The gang started with some helpful tips on decompressing after a long week, then right in to the past week at the Iowa Statehouse. Topics include; Bipartisan…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Guest Host Zachary Oren Smith 3/15/25
This week the team discusses first-hand accounts from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s rally in Des Moines, three Iowa democrats are ‘considering’ running against…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 3/8/25
A lot of Iowa legislative conversation of course. Topics include; breaking down funnel week (including a great Easter analogy from Kathie), new property tax…
Iowa Down BallotIowa Down Ballot with Dave Price 3/1/25
A lot of discussion on the Iowa legislature removing gender identity from the Iowa civil rights code including; what was in the bill, why move it through so…
Iowa Down BallotSPECIAL EDITION: Iowa Down Ballot visits Simpson College
The voices of Iowa Down Ballot have been taking a well-deserved post-election break. But they decided to join the fine folks at Simpson College to talk…