Delegates to this weekend’s state conventions for Iowa’s two major political parties participated remotely, rather than in person.
Iowa Republican Party delegates are casting paper ballots by mail to conduct party business. The Iowa Democratic Party used online voting and paper ballots and announced its final slate of national convention delegates Saturday.
Iowa Democratic Party chairman Mark Smith said having hundreds gather in person for a state convention just wasn’t feasible in a pandemic.
“Most people expect the Iowa Democratic Party to follow best practices and that’s what we’ve attempted to do all the way through this process,” Smith said during an interview with Radio Iowa. “I’m very pleased with the amount of participation. We had quorums in all 99 counties.”
State conventions serve as the kick-off for the General Election campaign, giving activists a chance to hear directly from their party’s candidates and officeholders. Governor Kim Reynolds recorded a video message for her fellow Republicans.
“We have reasons to be optimistic about our chances, but there’s too much at stake to take anything for granted,” she said. “This election will be one of the closest in our nation’s history.”
Iowa GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann’s recorded message challenged Republicans to do more than just vote for U.S. Senator Joni Ernst in November.
“I’m just going to be real straightforward: get out a check book, get on the streets and door knock,” Kaufmann said. “…If you really believe that GOP leadership is important…it’s got to be more than just saying: ‘I love Joni.'”
The Des Moines Register “Iowa Poll” released this evening shows Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield leading Ernst by three points, 46 to 43 percent. Greenfield’s campaign called that a good sign of momentum after her June 2nd primary win. The Iowa Democratic Party’s chairman indicated fundraising for the party is going well, too.
“I have to tell you as I’ve been calling all across our state there is a fair amount of enthusiasm among the Democrats,” Smith said, “and we are fired up to turn this state blue come November.”
Iowa Democrats are still developing their 2020 party platform through the online participation of delegates. The Republican Party of Iowa will report the results of its balloting and its national convention delegate slate in late June.