CHICAGO — Iowa Democrats have a renewed sense of excitement and optimism as a joy-filled and exuberant Democratic National Convention wrapped up Thursday night in Chicago.
Iowa’s 46 delegates traveled to the convention this week to cast their votes for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as the party rides a wave of newfound excitement after President Joe Biden announced he would not continue his reelection bid a little more than a month ago and tapped Harris as his replacement.
Iowa’s delegation announced they would commit their delegates to Harris just one day after Biden’s exit. Iowa joined dozens of other states in pledging their delegates to Harris and on Thursday Harris accepted the party’s nomination for president.
State Rep. and Iowa DNC delegate Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, said that the energy inside the United Center, where the convention was held, was electric.
“There’s a lot of excitement in the air,” Zabner said. “I think folks understand the stakes of this election, but also the opportunity we have to make history with Kamala Harris.”
If elected, Harris would be the first Black woman of South Asian descent to be president.
Zabner said that he thinks the excitement around the Harris-Walz ticket could make a difference for down-ballot races throughout the state.
“I’m already hearing that from my colleagues in tough races, from our challengers, that they’re feeling the excitement, and it makes a big difference,” Zabner said. “I mean, our challengers, our key legislative candidates, are all going to have to run ahead of the top of the ticket, and I expect them to, but it helps when the top of the ticket is a little higher up.”
The convention is also a time to hear from other state party leaders and bring those lessons back to Iowa.
Anna Banowsky, a candidate for Iowa House District 92, said she has enjoyed talking to other rural Democrats from red states about strategy and messaging.
“I’ve talked to people from other red states that have similar issues to what we’re seeing in Iowa,” Banowsky said. “Finding relationships with other delegations that have gone through similar, or are going through similar, has been very helpful to kind of piece out where we go from here on a state level.”
This convention was the first where Iowa didn’t hold its coveted first-in-the-nation caucus status, but Iowa Democrats are still optimistic about regaining the status in coming years.
Ed Cranston, the Chair of Johnson County Democrats, said that he is hopeful that Iowa can regain its position as a litmus test for candidates. Cranston pointed to Barack Obama’s success in the state and how it launched him to the presidency.
“It really tests their mettle,” Cranston said. “They have to talk to people — they can’t just do it by ads.”
Cranston said that despite the loss of the first-in-the-nation caucuses, Iowa Democrats have come up with creative solutions and are still getting out the message for candidates within the state despite the lack of campaign appearances in the state.