Unelectable

OK, here's one that's been bugging me:

I understand as well as anyone that if Iowa Democrats are going to succeed, we have to win more votes in our rural areas. I understand that better than most Johnson County Democrats; it's been a very long time, but I've actually run a race in a rural district (with zero support from the state party of that era). I know that the world is a very different place once you get six miles from Kinnick Stadium.

But that mindset does not need to extend to disrespect for those of us in the remaining blue counties, or candidates who come from the blue counties.

Remember all those special election wins and over-performances from 2025? Johnson County provided way more than its share of volunteers. We are constantly shipping volunteers all over the state to other counties that need a hand.

You know that money that is so hard to raise out in the small towns? We understand that we have more than our share of the good paying jobs here in Johnson County - but we give that money to candidates all over the state.

And when you're trying to bump that vote share up from 28% to 37% or 41% in the rural counties, don't forget that you also need that 68% or 70% out of Johnson County - 15 points better than any other county in the state, in every statewide and congressional contest, up and down the ballot.

We do these things gladly. We understand that to win, we have to win everywhere.

But.

I am really sick of hearing that someone is "unelectable" just because he comes from my county.

What does that tell us here in Iowa City? It tells us, "We're OK with you doing the heavy lifting. We'll quietly thank you for the margins and the money at the fundraisers in your county, as long as we can make a couple jokes at your expense in the rest of the state. But Johnson County legislators only get to run in unwinnable statewide races. We're happy to let Jean Lloyd-Jones (1992) or Art Small (2004) take one for the team when we can't find anyone else, but we'll point to them after the fact and say 'See? We told you Johnson County candidates are unelectable.' And don't you dare think about putting up one of your own in a high profile winnable contest."

I'm not going to say anything negative about the other leading candidate. But if supporters are going to use where a candidate has run and where he comes from as a talking point, it's a simple fact that his district is 100% urban. It's a non-issue. It should be a non-issue.

I'm not saying "it's our turn" (even though, frankly, considering what we do for the Democrats of this state, it is way past our turn). I am saying: evaluate Zach Wahls as Zach Wahls and stop using "candidates from Johnson County are unelectable" as a slur.