(Radio Iowa) – Donald Trump won all but five counties in Iowa and Republicans gained seats in the Iowa legislature in this week’s election. Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart has issued a written statement, calling the results “an absolute gut punch.”

University of Northern Iowa political science professor Christopher Larimer said it shows the urban-rural divide in Iowa continues to expand and the shift toward Republican candidates for the legislature that began in 2010 continues. “The turnout rates have been relatively the same over those same election cycles, so it’s not like the electorate’s expanding a lot or contracting a lot,” Larimer said. “At least the overall numbers seem to be staying the same and obviously new people come in and vote, but we’re seeing a further shift to the right.”

Matt Paul, a former aide to Tom Vilsack, ran Tom Harkin’s last U-S Senate campaign, worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and is now a consultant. He said Democrats have a “profound” messaging problem. “We need to go back to the drawing board as a party and rebuild the party,” Paul said today during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs this evening on Iowa PBS.

Paul cited data heading into the election showing 65% to 70% of Americans thought the country was headed in the wrong direction and he said the election results show Democrats need to rethink how they talk about the economic issues Americans face on a daily basis.

Former Vilsack aide Matt Paull, on left, and former Branstad aide Jimmy Centers on the Iowa Press set on Nov. 8, 2024.. (Iowa PBS photo)

“Especially in a presidential race, right? They are pocketbook elections and we missed the pocketbook completely,” Paul said. “…It’s already begun — a lot of bloviating about what happened and everyone thinks they want to fix it on the Democratic side, especially in the consultancy orbit…because if we take the same approach, if we take the same path, we will not see electoral success in the future.”

Jimmy Centers, who was a spokesman for Governor Terry Branstad, has worked on local, state and presidential campaigns and also appears on this week’s “Iowa Press” episode. Centers said he was struck by Trump’s margin of victory in Iowa. “I thought Trump would win,” Centers said. “I didn’t see him winning by as large of a margin as he did and I thought we were going to have some battles, particularly in the urban areas and in the Polk and Dallas County areas fared a lot better for Republicans.”

Trump won Iowa by over 13 points. No presidential candidate in the past half century has won the state by a larger margin.

“You can like or dislike how President-elect Trump speaks, but American voters clearly respond to the direct and frank nature of his remarks. That has been proven in this election,” Centers said. “He’s focusing on issues that are most important to them, from public safety to economic issues, and they give him a pass on this other stuff. It’s part of the brand that he’s built.”

Larimer, who spoke with Radio Iowa by phone, said Biden’s low job approval rating and voter attitudes about the economy in the spring were key indicators of the likely outcome of the presidential race this fall. “The very simple forecasting models in political science say you can look at approval ratings, you look at economic growth in the second quarter of an election year,” Larimer said, “and that tell you a lot about what is going to happen in November.”

And Larimer said the hyper-partisan atmosphere at the national level has accelerated over the past 16 years and that national conversation is also affecting how people view the parties here in Iowa.

Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart sent a memo to the party’s governing board, saying it’s “really hard to envision what is next for Democrats.” She also urged Democrats not to “throw up their hands and give up,: but to prepare for the next election in 2026.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s challenge of votes by potential non-citizens could factor in the state Senate District 14 race. The Dallas County Auditor cannot count ballots from people on that list unless the individuals prove they voted legally. There were 19 ballots on hold as of this morning (Friday) — which is equal to Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott’s lead over Republican Mark Hanson.

Trone Garriott says every legal ballot should be counted. “There are people who are citizens who have a right to vote and who don’t know that their right has been challenged.”

Notices were mailed about one week ago to the people on the Secretary of State’s list. Dallas County Auditor Julia Holm says her office has also called people they had numbers for. Any new citizens in Iowa who voted early or by mail should contact their county auditor to make sure their ballot is counted by the deadline at noon on Tuesday.

(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Finance Authority announced today that the deadline for eligible homeowners to apply for up to $50,000 for the repair or rehabilitation of their disaster-impacted home through the Disaster Recovery Housing Assistance Program (DRHAP) is Nov. 20, 2024.

Governor Reynolds allocated $15 million to the program, which has already issued nearly 300 conditional approvals, enabling homeowners to start rebuilding or receive reimbursement for eligible expenses incurred. As the program approaches the total allocated funds, homeowners are encouraged to apply by the deadline to be considered for assistance. Applications will be reviewed and approved on a first submitted, first ready to proceed basis. Application submission is not a guarantee that assistance will be awarded.

The program addresses unmet housing recovery needs outside the scope of insurance coverage or FEMA Individual Assistance.  Applications are being reviewed as they are received and if deemed preliminarily eligible, are referred to a local administrative partner who will be the homeowner’s point of contact for inspections, feasibility for repair determination, scope of work and payment of eligible expenses.

Eligible homes must be located in a county approved for FEMA Individual Assistance following the three presidentially declared natural disasters this spring and summer. These counties currently include Adair, Adams, Buena Vista, Cedar, Cherokee, Clarke, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Harrison, Humboldt, Jasper, Lyon, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Polk, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Shelby, Sioux, Story, Union and Woodbury.

Before applying for the state Disaster Recovery Housing Assistance Program, homeowners must have first registered for FEMA Individual Assistance and have been awarded some form of FEMA Housing Assistance, which may include home repairs or temporary housing. Homeowners must also have filed a claim with their insurance company, if they have coverage for disaster-related damages, and have received final approval or denial of their claim. Repair work must be completed by contractors who are registered to work in the state of Iowa to be eligible for payment under the program. Homes located in the Special Flood Hazard Area (100-year floodplain) and rental properties are ineligible.

More information about the DRHAP program, including an eligibility precheck is available at iowafinance.com/DRHAP. The full DRHAP application is available in IowaGrants.gov. For information on other disaster-related programs and resources, visit DisasterRecovery.iowa.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – Folks are positively buzzing at the Food Bank of Siouxland in Sioux City after getting a sweet donation. Food Bank executive director Jacob Wanderscheid says they received more than 6,000 bottles of honey from the Sioux Honey Association, the makers of Sue Bee Honey.

“This is the second donation that we’ve received in as many years, and the biggest thing for us and our partners is to get that product that is shelf-stable and it’s very nutritious,” Wanderscheid says. “This product will last a very long time for the people that receive it.”

Aimee Sandman, of the Sioux Honey Association, says it’s important for them to give back to the communities in and around where their employees, beekeepers, and families live. “It feels so great to be able to impact the people in need in the communities that we live in here, and lucky for us, it’s a shelf stable thing, so it’s not something that someone will just eat once. It’s something that they can continue to get that nourishment from,” Sandman says. “I think honey is a great thing to be donated, and it has a great taste. It’s very healthy for you, and it can last a long time.”

Three pallets holding a total of 6,480 12-ounces bottles of Sue Bee Honey were brought to the Food Bank on Thursday for distribution to partner agencies in the 11-county service area.