Iowa’s Democratic Party has a new leader. Thirty-nine-year-old Dr. Sheila McGuire Riggs of Ames was elected chairwoman last night by party leaders and she spoke to statehouse democrats over the noon-hour today.McGuire Riggs is a native of Holstein, Iowa, who ran for Iowa’s Fifth District Congressional seat in 1994. She says that race taught her a candidate needs high-level energy.McGuire Riggs says the 2002 election cycle is a golden opportunity for democrats because Iowa’s top democrats are at the top of the ticket.Not only does Iowa have its first democrat Governor in 30 years, all but one of the statewide elected officials in Iowa are democrats. However, republicans still hold a vast majority of seats in the Iowa Legislature.McGuire Riggs is a licensed dentist who holds another medical degree from Harvard. She is presently an executive with Wellmark/Blue Cross-Blue Shield.
