The next Democratic Senator from Iowa?

[DFW]

Their State auditor, Rob Sand (full disclosure--he is a friend of mine), gives a 1 hour interview.

if you have the time, please listen. This is the kind of person we need (and rarely EVER get) in the Senate from the Midwest. He is smart, dedicated, and modest. He is maybe too good-hearted, but he is smart enough to feel his way.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unpacking-america-with-rob-sand/id1436210825?i=1000513129904

Even if I didn't know him, I would say it is hard to listen to this and not be impressed.

[Lemon Lyman]

1. :-)

He's impressive and is a great follow on Twitter. As an Iowan I can only hope and vote.

[Celerity]

2. The Bowhunting Influencer of Iowa Democrats

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/us/politics/iowa-democrats-2020.amp.html

[DFW]

6. As usual, a catchy headline that reveals nothing whatsoever about the man

The interview, on the other hand, does.

[TwilightZone]

3. We can certainly hope.

Iowa seems to have taken a rather overt step to the right of late. Anything to help reverse that trend would help.

[DFW]

7. He is only too aware of this

It's the main reason he is hesitant to run for the Senate seat coming up in 2022.

[talking-liberally]

4. "I turned down Harvard"

That's enough to get him elected in Iowa right there. (I live in Boston and my sister lives in Iowa)

...and then it gets better from there.

I hope he wins.

[DFW]

8. He hasn't decided to run for the Senate yet.

He knows I want him to, but I'm just one guy with no influence in Iowa whatsoever. I've never even been there. I meet up with Rob either in Washington, or in (of all places) South Carolina.

[LymphocyteLover]

5. Is there a seat up in 2022? Grassley is so old, hope he doesn't run again

[DFW]

9. Grassley will be 99 and half next year

OK, not really, but he will be 88, and that is getting up there for a Senate re-election run. I hear he has a grandson that is even more extreme than he is, and with the name recognition tossed in with Iowa's rightward lunge of late, it does present a formidable obstacle, even if Rob is becoming one of Iowa's better known Democrats.

One shouldn't make too much out of Rob being consulted during the caucus season. The calls from Warren and Buttegieg ceased as soon as the caucuses were done, and he expected nothing different. If he goes for the Senate seat, it will be as an underdog long shot, albeit with the distinct advantage of being the home town boy who blew the lottery scam wide open.

But he DOES speak "the language," so to speak, and is very much the home town kid that Iowans can relate to. He is that rare combination of someone who is well-spoken without seeming to talk down to people. He KNOWS the people he would be representing. He may not be a pig farmer, but he knows how to talk to them. He is absolutely the PERFECT candidate for Democrats to run in Iowa. The big question, of course, is whether or not that is enough to win in Iowa. Iowans could wish for no one better to represent them in the Senate, but it's a long way from that being true to that being known to a majority of the Iowa voters. Nor an insurmountable hurdle, but one that will require a massive effort nonetheless. Listen to the interview. I can think of no one better to run there.

[LymphocyteLover]

10. I really liked Teresa Greenfield and gave a lot of money to her campaign

I was deeply disappointed with her loss and also frustrated by how wrong the polls were.

[DFW]

11. Same goes for me on all counts!

I gave her the max allowable.