34 results for author: Chad Olsen


RPII: Murphy’s desperate attack and the media’s failed fact check

Pat Murphy, the Democrat’s nominee for Congress in Iowa’s First Congressional District, recently released a whopper-filled attack ad on the business background of Rod Blum, the Republican seeking to represent Northeastern Iowans. “State Rep. Pat Murphy was one of the worst Speakers of the Iowa House in modern history,” said David Chung, a Cedar Rapids-based technology consultant and member of the Republican Party of Iowa State Central Committee. “Pat Murphy kicked Iowans out of the State Capitol during a debate on tax issues, and he retaliated against his hometown hospital on behalf of labor union allies. Incredibly, Murphyâ€...

The Hill: Voting begins in battle for Senate

Voting is officially underway in the midterm elections. Election Day isn’t until Nov. 4, but a total of 36 states and the District of Columbia allow some form of early voting in person or by mail. Iowa's early voting began on Thursday, and North Carolina, Colorado, Arkansas, Ohio, Louisiana and Georgia will allow ballots to be cast in the coming weeks... Both parties are spending money to get out the vote. "By the time we're wrapped up, we're going to have hundreds of people that are out there knocking on doors," said Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann. He said the state GOP is spending more than $1 million on targeted mailin...

Iowa GOP: Ernst’s commanding performance vs. Braley’s bumbles at first debate

INDIANOLA, Iowa—Republican Party of Iowa chairman Jeff Kaufmann released the following statement after tonight's U.S. Senate debate at Simpson College between Joni Ernst and Bruce Braley. "For the first time Iowans got the chance to see Bruce Braley attempt to defend his 8-year Washington, D.C. record—supporting higher taxes, imposing more regulations on farmers and restricting individual liberty—on the same stage as Lt. Col. Joni Ernst," said Iowa GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann, a  The contrast could not be clearer. Joni Ernst delivered a commanding performance. Ernst reassured Iowans that her experience at the State Capitol to lower taxes ...

RPII: Early voting starts today, Ernst electrifies & ISIS intelligence

Republican Party of Iowa Intel (RPII) features original content and aggregates news coverage of Iowa politics for GOP activists and other interested parties. Send tips—news from your area, events, etc.—to patch [at] iowagop.org with "[RPII]" in the subject field. DES MOINES—Today, 40 days before Election Day, marks the start of early voting in Iowa. Register to vote or request an absentee ballot by clicking here. To raise awareness of opportunities for casting an early ballot, the Republican Party of Iowa and our candidates are embarking on a statewide bus tour featuring rallies today in Ankeny, Newton, Iowa City, Muscatine and ...

RPII: House Intelligence Chair boosts Ernst, blasts Obama & Braley

Matt Strawn, the former chief of staff to House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers, organized the event. This is a feature of Republican Party of Iowa Intel. Sign up for regular updates by subscribing here. JOHNSTON, Iowa—Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, visited Iowa Saturday to boost the candidacy of state Sen. and Lt. Col. Joni Ernst in her close contest with Rep. Bruce Braley, a Waterloo Democrat and former trial lawyer. Rogers, a former U.S. Army officer and FBI special agent, said that Ernst's leadership abilities and military experience set her apart in this race—and among all ...

Iowa GOP: Brad Anderson’s ties to convicted identity thief should concern Iowans seeking impartial chief elections officer

DES MOINES—The Republican Party of Iowa charged today that Brad Anderson's ties to convicted criminal Zach Edwards while Edwards worked under Anderson at the state's largest Democrat consulting firm should concern Iowans seeking a neutral arbiter of elections. Edwards pleaded guilty in 2012 to using a computer at Link Strategies to steal the identity of Matt Schultz, Iowa's Secretary of State. "Brad Anderson's cozy connection to a criminal dirty trickster strikes at the heart of his disingenuous campaign to portray himself as a champion of free and fair elections," said Iowa GOP co-chairman Cody Hoefert, a chiropractor and city ...

RPII: Ernst, Grassley and Kaufmann electrify Black Hawk County GOP crowd

Lt. Col. and State Sen. Joni Ernst with Traci Thede Trunck at the Black Hawk County GOP Lincoln Dinner Saturday at the Electric Park Ballroom in Waterloo. This is a feature of Republican Party of Iowa Intel. Sign up for regular updates by subscribing here. WATERLOO, Iowa—State Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Red Oak, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, kicked off her 99-county tour of Iowa Saturday night at Waterloo's iconic Electric Park Ballroom with a boost from her soon-to-be colleague, Sen. Chuck Grassley. The Black Hawk County GOP's annual Lincoln Dinner drew more than 200 people to hear Ernst, Grassley, local candidates and Iowa GOP ...

Iowa GOP chair: Anti-jobs, anti-transparency agenda of Hatch on display in Burlington debate

BURLINGTON, Iowa—Republican Party of Iowa chairman Jeff Kaufmann highlighted the anti-jobs and anti-transparency agenda of state Sen. Jack Hatch, a Des Moines Democrat, after the second debate of the 2014 gubernatorial cycle. "There is a reason that voters in Iowa don't support and don't trust Jack Hatch: he is running a campaign on an anti-jobs and anti-transparency agenda," said Kaufmann, a seventh-generation livestock farmer and community college professor from Wilton. "Jack Hatch aggressively attacks good jobs in Southeast Iowa, but he maneuvered behind the scenes to kill legislation that would hurt his own bank account," Kaufmann ...

IPR: The Low Profile Battle for State Senate Majority

Most of the attention during this mid-term election season in Iowa has been on the races for U.S. Senate and Governor. However, further down the ballot, Iowa voters will determine who controls the Iowa Senate... One of the seats Democrats are defending is an open one long held by retiring Senator Dennis Black. The district includes Newton and Altoona. Republicans are hoping to pick up the seat that leans Democratic with Crystal Bruntz. On a recent Tuesday morning, Bruntz talks to a couple dozen activists at the Republican Party of Iowa headquarters. “I grew up in Iowa, up by Ames,” Bruntz introduces herself to the audience much like she does ...

RPII: Biden campaigns, Harkin Steak Fry bites, early voting

Republican Party of Iowa Intel (RPII) is a regular update to Iowa GOP activists and other interested parties featuring news and information about Iowa Republicans and campaigns. Send tips—news from your area, events, etc.—to patch [at] iowagop.org with [RPII] in the subject field. DES MOINES—Vice President Joe Biden returned to Iowa Wednesday morning for a partisan campaign rally on the west steps of the Iowa State Capitol that he billed to U.S. taxpayers. In a release, Republican Party of Iowa leaders criticized Biden for using his official office to pay for a partisan, campaign trip to Iowa in the home stretch of the ...