Photo by Karen Kline
The way we fund state campaigns in Iowa is broken. We need a new approach to elect progressive candidates.
Background
Why are policies that have served Iowans well for decades - collective bargaining rights, reasonable gun laws, funding for women's health programs, and on, and on - under attack? Thousands of phone calls and letters opposing radical changes to Iowa state laws have had little or no effect.
Instead, our Legislature has embraced an agenda focused on the narrow-minded policy goals of special interests, often from outside our state.
How did it come to this? The campaign-contribution data posted online by the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board offers some clues.
In the 2020-2021 election cycle in Iowa, individuals contributed more than $25 million to state-level candidates and PACs. Of these funds, nearly half came in contributions of $500 or more. In a state with over 2 million registered voters, less than 5% of voters made campaign contributions of $500 or more. A tiny minority of Iowans decided which candidates and causes to fund.
But even worse, in this last election cycle our state elections were flooded with money from outside our state. PACs headquartered outside of Iowa spent more than $12 million dollars to influence our elections. And over $19 million poured in from donors living outside of Iowa.
These patterns have persisted for years and are only getting worse.
We can do better than this.
“We now have a political situation where billionaires are literally able to buy elections and candidates. Let’s not kid ourselves.”
A pragmatic approach
Here’s how we create meaningful support for candidates from small, local donors:
Start fundraising early in Iowa's state election cycle, before candidates are even declared.
Educate and organize Iowans committed to funding local elections with local funds and who are willing to donate $20/month or more until the general election.
Anyone who commits to a monthly contribution of any amount is a member of the PAC.
Choose two or more state-level candidates to support, using a consensus-based, transparent process that brings together all the contributors to the PAC.
Offer the funds to our chosen candidates on a matching basis.
With this approach, the Iowa People's PAC can raise tens of thousands of dollars and use that to match funds the candidates raise from their own local, individual donors (which will be easier for them to raise because of the match).
How we choose who to fund
We award matching funds to candidates nominated and chosen by PAC members, up to the total of a candidates’ grass-roots support, as measured by contributions of $500 or less from individuals living within their election districts. The PAC does not award matching funds to candidates running unopposed in the general election.
Key milestones in election years
May
The candidates must regularly report their campaign contributions to the State of Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. The first critical period for statewide elections is January to May. These reports list the amount of every campaign contribution and provide contact information for every contributor. (The PAC must also report to this board every six months.) The reports are available online, and we use these reports, together with any previous reports, to determine the total of each campaign’s qualifying contributions for the period up to May.
June
Iowa primary elections determine which candidates’ names appear on the fall ballot. After the primary, PAC members meet to discuss candidates and their campaigns. We nominate candidates for support and vote to decide whether the PAC should award matching funds to each individual campaign. We make a determined effort to poll PAC members who cannot attend in-person meetings. Candidates receive matching funds only if they have the support of at least 2/3 of the voting members of the PAC.
July & October
State reporting deadlines for campaign contributions in July and October give candidates additional opportunities to demonstrate grass-roots support and qualify for more matching funds.
“If there was one decision I would overrule, it would be Citizens United. I think the notion that we have all the democracy that money can buy strays so far from what our democracy is supposed to be.”
Still need more reasons to get involved?
If you are already passionate about Iowa elections and you've started paying closer attention to the issues, you need to build on this passion RIGHT NOW. Don't give up. Don't give in.
Small donors can have a big impact at the state level, but we have to start early and give regularly so that our dollars can add up over time.
We don't have to come up with 100s of thousands of dollars to counter big money in our elections. 10s of thousands of dollars, put to work as part of a coherent strategy, can make good candidates viable to bring about change.
There won't be enough time to raise meaningful small, local donations after candidates are declared. We need to start now.
“Concentration of wealth yields concentration of power, particularly so as the cost of elections skyrockets, which kind of forces the political parties into the pockets of major corporations.”