DUBUQUE CO., Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa Republicans will see an increase in dominance when lawmakers convene for the 2025 legislative session on Monday.
Some Iowa Democratic chairs say the next step for them is the caucus. The Democratic Party Caucus doesn’t only happen during election years to decide Presidential nominees. Each party also holds “off-year” caucuses, which are mostly where party business is discussed and leadership roles are decided.
“We put our best foot forward,” said Dubuque County Democratic Chair Matt Robinson. “The election results might not show that.”
Robinson admits his party lost badly in November, including the defeat of state representative Chuck Isenhart, who was seeking his seventh term in the Iowa House.
“Obviously, we’re discouraged,” he said. “It was a tough election cycle.”
While Republicans are getting ready to get to work at the State Capitol, Robinso says his focus is on the upcoming “off-year” Caucus in March and more specifically, the message the party needs to send to voters going forward.
“For me, I think working-class messaging is going to be a big thing,” said Robinson. “It’s economic and pocketbook issues that are driving our elections and we’re going to need to step up our game if we want to win in the future.”
He said Dubuque County Democrats tried to do that in November but says they didn’t do the best possible job promoting it.
“If I’m being honest, it felt more like something we responded to more than we messaged,” he said.
Robinson said seeing longtime candidates get ousted in Dubuque County was difficult, but he says they now have an opportunity to do something about it.
“What we really need when it comes to messaging is we need to talk to voters, not to voters,” he said. “That’s something I have been pushing hard with our candidates and with all our volunteers. We need to listen to our voters.”
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