Grassroots Pushback Against Trump And His Congressional Enablers

Early yesterday morning, the Wall Street Journal ran a piece by Reid Epstein, GOP’s Tough Task in House Races: Reach Beyond Trump’s Base, pointing out that endangered Republicans must find supporters who will vote for them even though they disapprove of Señor Trumpanzee. "One of the biggest questions facing House Republicans seeking re-election in November is this: How popular is President Trump in their district? In every competitive congressional special election since Mr Trump was inaugurated, the Republican candidate won or lost by a margin that mirrored the gap between the president's approval and disapproval ratings in the district or state at the time. DCCC chairman Ben Ray Luján was happy to remind them that "If you look at our battlefield, 55 districts, the president is underwater in every one of those 55 districts across America."

No normal Americans think he's doing a good job-- only he and his brainwashed imbecilic supporters-- about a third of the voting population-- do. The Republican operatives charged with keeping midterm losses to a minimum are already getting desperate. No one has ever seen such ugly, vicious campaign ads this early in the cycle. Paul Ryan's slimy corporately-funded SuperPAC is running TV and radio ads that are so negative and so filled with distortions and invective that it is obvious that they're made to just turn people, primarily independent voters, off from voting. In Iowa, for example, they hope to save the seats of 3 endangered Trump rubber-stamps-- Rod Blum, David Young and Steve King-- by ruthlessly exploiting the tragic murder of Mollie Tibbetts.

Yesterday, Rod Tibbetts turned the tables on them and burned their asses with an OpEd in the Des Moines Register: Don't distort her death to advance racist views. Republican racists ignored his requests to stop using his daughter's death to promote the vile, divisive, hate-filled agenda. He wrote that they have "chosen to callously distort and corrupt Mollie’s tragic death to advance a cause she vehemently opposed. I encourage the debate on immigration; there is great merit in its reasonable outcome. But do not appropriate Mollie’s soul in advancing views she believed were profoundly racist."

Please leave us out of your debate. Allow us to grieve in privacy and with dignity. At long last, show some decency. On behalf of my family and Mollie’s memory, I’m imploring you to stop.

Throughout this ordeal I’ve asked myself, “What would Mollie do?” As I write this, I am watching Sen. John McCain lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda and know that evil will succeed only if good people do nothing. Both Mollie and Senator McCain were good people. I know that both would stand up now and do something.

The person who is accused of taking Mollie’s life is no more a reflection of the Hispanic community as white supremacists are of all white people. To suggest otherwise is a lie. Justice in my America is blind. This person will receive a fair trial, as it should be. If convicted, he will face the consequences society has set. Beyond that, he deserves no more attention.

To the Hispanic community, my family stands with you and offers its heartfelt apology. That you’ve been beset by the circumstances of Mollie’s death is wrong. We treasure the contribution you bring to the American tapestry in all its color and melody. And yes, we love your food.

My stepdaughter, whom Mollie loved so dearly, is Latina. Her sons-- Mollie’s cherished nephews and my grandchildren-- are Latino. That means I am Hispanic. I am African. I am Asian. I am European. My blood runs from every corner of the Earth because I am American. As an American, I have one tenet: to respect every citizen of the world and actively engage in the ongoing pursuit to form a more perfect union.

Given that, to knowingly foment discord among races is a disgrace to our flag. It incites fear in innocent communities and lends legitimacy to the darkest, most hate-filled corners of the American soul. It is the opposite of leadership. It is the opposite of humanity. It is heartless. It is despicable. It is shameful.

We have the opportunity now to take heed of the lessons that Mollie, John McCain and Aretha Franklin taught-- humanity, fairness and courage. For most of the summer, the search for Mollie brought this nation together like no other pursuit. There was a common national will that did transcend opinion, race, gender and geography. Let’s not lose sight of that miracle. Let’s not lose sight of Mollie.

Instead, let’s turn against racism in all its ugly manifestations both subtle and overt. Let’s turn toward each other with all the compassion we gave Mollie. Let’s listen, not shout. Let’s build bridges, not walls. Let’s celebrate our diversity rather than argue over our differences. I can tell you, when you’ve lost your best friend, differences are petty and meaningless.

My family remains eternally grateful to all those who adopted Mollie so completely and showered us with so much care, compassion and generosity. Please accept our desire to remain private as we share our loss. We love Mollie with all our hearts and miss her terribly. We need time.

This is the inevitable outgrowth of hateful shallow misanthropes electing one of their own-- with help from America's arch-enemy-- to the presidency. We have to fight back. I'm not thrilled, for example, with 2 of the 3 Democrats running for those Iowa seats. The only one I feel is truly worth voting for is J.D. Scholten, Steve King's opponent. But the hell with purism in 2018. Trump is too much of an existential threat to our nation, our democracy, our families to worry about Democrats not quite good enough. We need to elect Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne as much as we have to elect J.D. Scholten. Trump and his enablers are going to destroy what Americans have been fighting for since the Boston Teas Party in 1773 and the battles at Lexington and Concord in 1775.

It was very gratifying yesterday to see at Axios that David Hogg, one of the leaders of the students responding to the Parkland massacre, has a tangible plan to make a real difference. What he's doing should be a model for grassroots action across the country. He's using Trump's truthful and sensible tweet against Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate election, by putting it on billboards all over the state.

David Hogg, a Parkland school shooting survivor and founder of the activist group Never Again MSD, has helped to raise close to $10,000 through GoFundMe to pin a 2016 tweet from President Trump attacking Sen. Ted Cruz on a billboard in Texas.

The big picture: The joint venture between Hogg and the liberal Mad Dog PAC highlights GoFundMe as one of the moment's hottest political fundraising tools. And it's a perfect example of Hogg's social media savvy, which he and other Parkland survivors have utilized to amplify their political message ahead of this fall's midterm elections.

Beto has his own campaign to win the Texas Senate seat, absolutely blowing up, money pouring in from all over Texas and all over the country. He and Cruz have each raised $23 million so far-- Beto's completely from individuals, primarily in small contributions. Most of Cruz's money comes from the very wealthy and from corporate support. His biggest contributor is Woodforest Financial Group, with loads of cash flowing his way from extreme right PACs and corporate entities like Lockheed Martin, Goldman Sachs, Quantum Energy Partners and the Wilks brothers (two religionist maniacs who only have one position: intense homophobia). As of the June 30 FEC reporting deadline Cruz had $9,299,365 on hand-- and Beto had $13,961,358. That's why Trump is rushing to Texas for one of his neo-Nazi rallies to raise him some money. You can contribute directly to Beto's campaign by clicking on the thermometer on the right.

Meanwhile, one of the many banes of Trump's increasingly miserable existence is planning a counter-rally in whichever city Trump holds his pro-Ted Cruz rally. Michael Avenatti isn't fooling around and playing nice with the would-be dictator and his rubber-stamps: "When they go low, I say, we hit harder."

What Happened In Iowa's Special Election Yesterday?

Yep, in Iowa too

The good news Tuesday night was that Democrat Phil Miller beat Republican Travis Harris for a state House seat that includes Van Buren County, most of Jefferson County and a bit of Davis County (House District 82). The special election was called after Democrat Curt Hanson died in June. It's considered a swing district with 6,611 registered Republicans, 6,257 registered Democrats and 5,738 voters without partisan affiliation. The district went for Obama over Romney, narrowly, but this year swung heavily for Trump--by a whopping 21.3% margin. (Bernie beat Hillary in the district's caucuses last year and probably would have beaten Trump. In Jefferson County Bernie took 654 votes toTrump's 223. Cruz won the GOP caucus but Cruz and Trump combined only took 493 votes and even if you throw in 3rd-place Rubio's 104 votes, Bernie still got more votes than all of them together!)

Tuesday's results were 4,021 votes for Miller (53.8%), a veterinarian who serves on the Fairfield school board, and 3,324 votes for Harris (44.5%). The 82nd is the reddest Democratic-held House seat in Iowa, having swung swung from a tiny 50-48% Obama win to 57.8-36.4% Trump triumph, and the Republicans had every reason-- on paper at least-- to think they would recapture it this week.

Jefferson County-- with the 2 biggest cities in the district (Fairfield and Vedic City)-- was where Miller lives and why he won, having beaten Harris there 2,792 to 1,200, giving him the margin he needed to withstand the GOP advantages in Davis and Van Buren counties. Absentee ballots favored Miller and Miller's field and GOTV operations were much stronger than the Republicans'. The Republicans put their money into ads absurdly trying to make a connection between Miller... and Nancy Pelosi, which independent voters laughed off, and in carrying on about a school board vote Miller took to allow transgender students to use bathrooms that aligned with their identified gender.

The state House district is in the heart of Iowa's only congressional district (IA-02) still held by a Democrat (Dave Loebsack). It is a major 2018 target for the Republican Party, which feels that Trump's 49.1% win over Hillary (45.0%)-- a pretty massive swing from Obama's 55.8-42.7% win over Romney in 2012-- indicates that they can beat Loebsack. The special election last night is very likely to take some wind out of those sails. But if you'd like to help Loebsack-- or any of the progressive and populist Democrats in districts Trump won-- Blue America has a nice new contribution page for that, which you can access by clicking on the ActBlue thermometer on the right. And, remember, the average swing away from Trump for Republican candidates in special elections so far this year has been 13 points-- which, if that is what happens in the 2018 midterms, predicts the biggest ass-whooping the GOP has gotten since their agenda brought on the Great Depression at the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s.

Iowa's Senate Democratic Leader, Rob Hogg, was celebratory this morning and he sent out a list of upcoming events Iowa Democrats have scheduled for the next couple of weeks. Just in case you're visiting and want to meet some like-minded activist progressives...

• Thursday, August 10, 4:30 to 8:00 p.m.--Sen. Pam Jochum's "Cruising to Victory" River Cruise Fundraiser, Catfish Charlie’s, Dubuque
• Friday, August 11, 10:00 a.m.-- the national healthcare "Drive for our Lives" Bus Tour, comes to Mays Island, Cedar Rapids
• Friday, August 11, 54:00 p.m.-- Iowa Democratic Wing Ding, Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake, hosted by Hogg and Sen Amanda Ragan with special guest Eric Swalwell (D-CA), a native-born Iowan
• Saturday, August 19, 1:30 p.m.-- Cedar Rapids City Manager’s "1-Bag Challenge" Summer Cleanup Challenge, starting at 1:30 p.m. from the McGrath Amphitheatre, 475 1st St. SW.
• Sunday, August 20, 1:00 p.m.-- Scott County Democrats’ Summer Picnic, starting at 1:00 p.m. at the Duck Creek Lodge, 3300 E. Locust Street, Davenport
• Sunday, August 20, 5:00 p.m.-- Benton County Democrats’ Cookout and Fundraiser at Luzerne City Park, starting at 5:00 p.m.
• Saturday, August 26, 4:30 p.m.-- Calhoun County Democrats’ Fundraiser, 4:30 to 7:00 p.m., at the Lohrville EMS Building
• Sunday, August 27, noon to 2:00 p.m.-- Iowa River Forum in Hardin County at Pine Lake State Park, east of Eldora and south of Steamboat Rock, in the day-use shelter
• Sunday, August 27, 4:00 p.m.-- Poweshiek County Democrats’ annual picnic, 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. in Grinnell
• Wednesday, September 6, 4:30 p.m.-- Rob Hogg Fall Fundraising Kickoff, at the Sag Wagon, 827 Shaver Road NE, in Cedar Rapids

Iowa's Senate Race Gets A Jolt

As we've been saying lately, Chuck Grassley's policy of naked and hyper-partisan obstructionism against President Obama's SCOTUS nominee has changed the dynamics of the Iowa Senate race. Once thought a safe seat, Iowa is now in play. Remember, Obama beat McCain there 54-44% and then beat Romney statewide 52-46%. There's no reason to think that a good, inspiring candidate wouldn't have a legitimate shot against Grassley, especially if Trump or Cruz is on the top of the Republican ticket.

Problemo: Chuck Schumer. He and Tester had the lame idea of recruiting a corporate shill to run as a Democrat, even though 3 credible Democrats candidates had already been running for months. One, Robb Hogg, a progressive state legislator had managed to win the support of the entire Democratic political class and another, Thomas Fiegen, has managed to make himself the carrier of Bernie's political revolution in the state. But, leave it to Little Chucky Schmucky; he found widely disliked DINO, Patty Judge. She's the wrong candidate for Iowa in a year when Iowa voters are looking for authenticity and an alternative to a corrupted establishment that has proven itself to not give a crap about ordinary working families. Being recruited and pushed by Wall Street's top hatchet man in Congress, Schumer, is the kiss of death in Iowa.

Blue America has not chosen between Rob Hogg and Thomas Fiegen-- although Fiegen is on the Bernie Congress page and many of our members are contributing to him. I asked him to catch us up a little with the dynamics of this race since Grassley went off the reservation and Schumer found himself a Schumercrat to run. We have invited a Rob Hogg partisan to make the case for him and we hope to publish that in a few days.

The 2016 Iowa Senate Race
by Thomas Fiegen

Citizen frustration has reached a boiling point in 2016. It is clear that everything in Washington, D.C. is for sale to the highest bidder. The disparity between the top 1% and working people has pushed our country to the breaking point.

I have represented working people all of my life. I see the frustration every day. I know the rules are rigged against them. I also know how to change those rules. I have the heart, the knowledge and the experience to be the next U.S. Senator from Iowa.

If we are going to preserve our democracy, the first step the next Senator from Iowa must take is to end the legalized bribery we call campaign contributions. Chuck Grassley has repeatedly sold his vote to people like convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Check out Abramoff’s interview on NPR about his $100,0000 contribution to Grassley.



Neither Rob Hogg nor Patty Judge will end the corrupt money in politics. The truth is no status-quo politician will end a system they rely on.

Iowa’s next Senator will write the next Farm Bill. Consumers are demanding food that is sustainable, local, fresh, healthy, includes GMO labeling and removes poisons from our environment. I have the extensive ag background and the fire to get it done. Do we really want Chuck Grassley, who has allowed the unparalleled consolidation of our farms sitting there another six years? How about Big Ag Patty Judge, or bank and insurance lawyer Rob Hogg?

The next Senator from Iowa must make the economy work for the 99%. It starts with rejecting bad trade deals, then passing Glass-Steagall, getting aggressive about antitrust, passing a minimum wage increase, finding an affordable college/student debt solution and improving retirement security. I have a Masters Degree in economics and taught college economics for almost ten years. I will approach all of these issues with an unconditional loyalty to working people.

The next Senator from Iowa will "advise and consent" on court nominations. I have reservations about Judge Garland’s pro-prosecutor bias and deference to the Executive Branch. Patty Judge said, "I’m not the lawyer.  I don’t know anything about that." That attitude alone disqualifies her from being a Senator. Meanwhile Rob Hogg has spent his professional life representing banks and insurance companies.

It is time for a U.S. Senator from Iowa to demonstrate unconditional loyalty to the working people of Iowa. I am that U.S. Senator.

DSCC Wants To Shove A Republican Lite Corporate Shill Down The Throats Of Iowa Democrats

With hyper-partisan Republican obstructionism kicked up into full gear, several Senate incumbents who looked relatively safe, no longer are. Most Americans want the Republicans to go through the process of giving the president their advice and consent on his Supreme Court nomination rather than just declaring that they will not-- under any circumstances-- even consider anyone he nominates. And no incumbent previously deemed "safe" by the insiders is more likely to feel the sting of public anger on that than 82-year old Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

New polling from PPP shows that 56% of Iowans want to see the Dcalia seat filled this year and that 66% feel the Senate should see who the president nominates before making a decision on confirming or not. 45% of voters (and 48% of independent voters) say if Grassley refuses confirmation hears it will make them less likely to vote for him, while 31% approve of that behavior and 24% say it won't effect their decision whether or not to vote for Grassley. 54% of Iowans blame Grassley and Mitch McConnell for the gridlock.

As we saw on Friday, once Schumer got wind that there might be a real race, he immediately steamrolled over the three grassroots progressive candidates, Tom Fiegen, Rob Hogg and Bob Krause and rolled out his Beltway-centric vision of what a good candidate for Iowa would be: disliked Big Ag relic, Patty Judge. Ed Fallon, a radio host who's show airs in Des Moines and Ames, remarked, sarcastically, "What a relief! Wall Street now has an Iowa Democrat it can get behind for U.S. Senate." He seemed as pissed off as every other Iowan I've spoken to this week.

Patty Judge's entry into the race last week was greeted with extensive coverage by Corporate Media, who largely have blown-off the other three Democrats in the race. The Des Moines Register's headline, "Patty Judge challenges Chuck Grassley," says it all, ignoring the reality that Judge is running not against Grassley but against Rob Hogg, Bob Krause and Tom Fiegen in the Democratic Primary. The winner of that race gets to face Grassley in the general election this fall.

And it shouldn't be Judge.

Her long history of support for Corporate Ag's agenda has hurt and continues to hurt Iowa farmers, our environment, our rural communities. I served with Judge at the Statehouse. I fought her anti family farm agenda when she was Secretary of Agriculture. I ran against her in what was then a five-person primary for Governor in 2006. Patty Judge and I go way back. Her allegiance lies with Big Money, and that reality will become clear as this race heats up.

For now, don't let Corporate Media fool you into believing Judge is the de-facto nominee, the only one who can beat Grassley. It is, alas, easy to be fooled, as I discovered running into a friend of mine yesterday. He's bright, progressive, very active in Democratic politics. Yet he told me he was supporting Judge. When I pointed out that Judge was horrible on issues he and I cared about, he agreed, but said he would vote for her because she was the most "electable."

How many more times will we fooled on the question of "electability?" Barack Hussein Obama-- by virtue of his name and skin color-- was initially deemed to be thoroughly unelectable. A few shoe-in, absolutely-the-most-electable candidates in recent Iowa history? Jim Ross-Lightfoot, Governor. Jim Nussle, Governor. Bruce Braley, U.S. Senate. Staci Appel, U.S. Congress. Yup. All were presented by Corporate Media and their Party Establishment as so "electable" they didn't even get primary opponents. All got their clocks cleaned in the general election.

What voters want is someone with a solid track record to assure us they will challenge the status quo and stand with people against special interests. Among the four Democrats running for the U.S. Senate nomination, there's no-one more tightly bound to the status quo than Patty Judge.

 If you'd like to help Bernie supporter Tom Fiegen replace Grassley, you can contribute to his campaign here, an ActBlue page dedicated to progressive congressional candidates running on Bernie's issues.

Little Chucky Schmucky Finds Another Race He Can Screw Up-- This Time In Iowa

Patty and Chucky

The DSCC deemed Iowa a lost cause this cycle, despite the fact that Obama won the state in 2008 (54-44%) and 2012 (52-46%). So they didn't both recruiting a candidate and just shrugged their shoulders and ignored the 3 progressives who jumped in, legislators Tom Fiegen, Rob Hogg and Bob Krause. But when the incumbent, 82-year old Republican Chuck Grassley chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, threw a tantrum and said he will refuse to hold hearings on any nominee who President Obama nominates, regardless of their qualifications, public opinion in Iowa started turning against him enough for the DC Dems to notice. Grassley has been in elected office since 1959 and in DC since 1975 but Chuck Schumer decided he was invincible... until the GOP contretemps over Scalia's death.

Instead of embracing one of the local candidates, Schumer big-footed in with a corporate shill more to his liking, a much-disliked former Lt. Governor, Patty Judge. Most Democratic activists consider her a DINO or a Republican with a "D" next to her name. One told me she's "pro-industrial agriculture and pro-GMO, as anti-labor as a Republican and in favor of the corporate trade agenda [like NAFTA and the TPP that Iowa Democrats hate]. She's not a climate change believer/advocate, except to promote corn ethanol and sees widely viewed by Iowans as having a very abrasive personality. As Lt. Governor, she ran the executive branch but when she ran for governor in the Democratic primary she got zero traction. Culver picked her as his running mate and she gladly took the lifeline. They spent the entire 2010 election apologizing for their arrogant (and wrong) decisions. The television commercials were all apologies. They started the race over 20 points behind and lost by a little over 10 points. Even though Terry Branstad has been a disaster, there's no love for Culvern or Judge except in the industrial ag sector. If she manages to get the signatures she'll have lots of Monsanto money and big ag money."

Clearly, Schumer and his pathetic DSCC puppet Tester are hedging their bets or think they can scare Grassley, who's probably laughing at their efforts. The effort kind of reminded me of Romney barking at Herr Trumpf yesterday, the establishment's last stand. Democrats promoting her think she can appeal to the center/right, but that's now the Republican Party in Iowa and pretty much devoted to Grassley.

One immediate challenge for her-- to qualify for the ballot Judge needs to gather more than 2,000 signatures, and get them from at least 10 different counties-- and she has two weeks to do it; deadline is March 18. Wednesday Fiegen turned in almost 10,000 signatures from every corner of the state. He's a supporter of Bernie's and endorses the economic reforms Bernie has been calling for, including campaign finance reform, breaking up the big banks, raising the minimum wage, student loan reform and Medicare for all. "I am a candidate with no super-PAC. I don't want their money. That's because I don't represent billionaire interests. I represent working Iowans. Our system has fallen far out of balance and it's time to fix it."

Fiegen is counting on support from grassroots Democrats while Judge and Hogg will be in a battle as proxies for, respectively, the DC and Des Moines establishments. She's got Schumer and Tester and whoever Schumer can round up to endorse her, while local grandees like Iowa Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronsta and Iowa Senate President Pam Jochum say their support for Hogg is solid and something to the effect of 'Schumer should go tend to the folks in New York's Southern Tier who would probably skin him alive if they ever got their hands on him,' only more colorful.

Time For Iowans To Retire Grassley? Meet Rob Hogg

Iowa's senior U.S. senator, Chuck Grassley, has been in Congress since 1975. Before that he was a state rep for 15 years. He won his U.S. Senate seat in 1980, and if he wins in 2016 and serves out his full term he will be 88. He's had an honorable political career, and although no one likes to talk about it above a whisper, he slips into senility more and more frequently, often very publicly. Iowans admire and respect him, and recent polls show he's the best liked of the state's political leaders. He has a 53% approval rating.

Obama carried Iowa in 2008 (54-44%) and again in 2012 (52-46%). A good Republican year, a bubbling Senate candidate and an incompetent gubernatorial candidate turned Iowa pretty red in 2014. And with Chuck Schumer's DSCC obsessed with preventing Alan Grayson and Joe Sestak from winning Senate seats in Florida and Pennsylvania, the DSCC has Iowa on a back burner.

Yet, the state has a potentially exciting new Democratic candidate very actively mulling a bid against Chuck Grassley.

Rob Hogg, a state senator from Cedar Rapids who has served in the Iowa Legislature since 2003, announced the formation of an exploratory committee to consider the race last week. If he enters the race, it will create a clear generational choice for Iowans between Hogg, age 48, and Grassley, age 81.

Hogg (pronounced “hogue,” like “vogue”) is a fourth-generation Iowan who, like many other young Iowans, had left the state, before he and his wife, Kate, returned home to raise their children.

In 2002, he ran for and won a state House seat previously held by a Republican legislator who was seeking another office. In 2006, Hogg broke a 25-25 tie in the Iowa Senate when he replaced another Republican, who retired from public service.

Hogg is recognized in Iowa as the leading advocate for climate action, in part because of his experience representing Cedar Rapids during the unprecedented flood of 2008, which caused $5 billion in damage in Cedar Rapids and $10 billion in damage statewide, the most expensive disaster in Iowa’s history.

He has organized Iowans across the state to get more involved in climate advocacy, including groups like Iowa Interfaith Power and Light and Citizens’ Climate Lobby. In 2013, he wrote a book, America’s Climate Century: What Climate Change Means for Americans in the 21st Century and What Americans Can Do About It.

As a climate advocate, Hogg emphasizes that there are solutions that work, and must work-- for our economy, our health and our environment. He cites as examples the job and economic benefits of the rapid growth of wind and solar industries in Iowa, both of which have been helped by legislation he authored, as well as investment in better water-management infrastructure.

In the legislature, Hogg has also been a strong leader for education, from early childhood through college and job training. It runs in his family. His mother was a schoolteacher, and his father taught math and statistics at the University of Iowa for 51 years. His grandfather, Mason Ladd, was a longtime dean of the University of Iowa Law School. In 2011, Rob was honored as a Friend of Education by the Iowa State Education Association.

Hogg believes that education and training are just part of what government should do to help foster a vibrant, full-employment economy that works for all Americans. He helped pass a higher minimum wage, and supports doing it again. He helped pass state civil rights protections to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and supports doing it nationally.

He also opposed a $4 billion commercial-property tax cut because, he said, it would deprive government of the resources it needed to meet its obligations for education, public safety, mental health and disaster preparedness. Overall, he has a 98% lifetime voting record from the Iowa Federation of Labor.

In 2013, Hogg pushed for Medicaid expansion in Iowa, which the divided government was able to accomplish with the passage of the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, to cover over 100,000 Iowans. As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he led the fight to maintain and expand mental health services, which he sees as a critical community safety issue in Iowa and across the country.

If Hogg gets in the race, there will be an additional reason to watch Iowa in 2016, because he just might be able to pull off the upset win over Grassley, who has not faced a younger candidate, representing the next generation of leaders, in any of his prior reelection campaigns.

For more information, visit www.robhogg.org. This is one we'll be watching in greater depth as 2016 approaches.