URBANDALE, Iowa — The 2014 midterm elections are just over a week away, but it might as well be 2016 in the Hawkeye State.
Prospective presidential hopefuls are swooping into Iowa as they try to boost support for House and Senate candidates — along with the added benefit of connecting with voters who play host to the first in the nation presidential caucuses.
Vice President Biden will hold a rally Monday morning in Davenport with Rep. Bruce Braley (D), who’s battling GOP state Sen. Joni Ernst in a race to replace retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).
Then, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who’s been visiting early presidential primary states as he weighs a White House run, will speak alongside Ernst, Gov. Terry Branstad and other Iowa Republicans at the Scott County GOP annual Ronald Reagan dinner Tuesday night in neighboring Bettendorf.
The next day, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner if she decides to run, will make two stops with Braley — the first at a union hall in Cedar Rapids, the second at the RiverCenter atrium in Davenport.
Former President Clinton stumps with Braley on Saturday in Waterloo Electric Park Ballroom, where he’ll headline the 10th annual Bruce, Blues and BBQ.
“It’s going to be electric there on Saturday night,” Braley told supporters Sunday at a canvassing rally here in Urbandale as he ticked off the big-name Democrats who are offering their time and support.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has tamped down speculation about a presidential bid, declaring herself a member of Team Hillary. But on Saturday night after campaigning with Braley, the freshman senator headlined the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson Jackson dinner in downtown Des Moines, receiving a warm reception.
Across town that night, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another Republican eyeing higher office, raised cash for Branstad at his annual birthday bash in Clive. Christie, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, will be back in the state on Thursday to campaign for Branstad.
“America used to control events both here at home and around the world. And now it seems that our fate is being dictated to us by others,” Christie told the crowd in what was described by The Associated Press as a presidential pitch. “It is because of the lack of leadership that we have in the White House. It has been six long years, but I bring you good news: There are only two more years left.”
Speaker John Boehner isn’t running for president, but he’s here in Iowa too, railing against the man who now occupies the White House. The Ohio Republican is campaigning with three GOP House candidates in a bid to grow his current 17-seat majority in next week’s election.
“When you look at the president’s failed economic policies, from Obamacare to the Dodd-Frank law, to untamed bureaucracies in Washington writing every rule and regulation,” Boehner said Sunday at a rally for GOP candidate David Young in Urbandale, “you can understand why … I’ve heard the same thing over and over and over: Where are the jobs?”
“His policies are not working and it’s time for a new path,” Boehner said. “The way we get on a new path is right here in this district with this election in eight days.”
Some Iowa voters said they’re downright sick of being bombarded by TV ads, phone calls and mailers this election cycle — and haven’t even tuned into the 2014 campaigns.
“I’m not looking at any of them really,” said Gwen Young, 58, a registered Republican who lives in Des Moines. “All the negative ads and all the phone calls, I don’t think they should call from the campaigns. That turns me off.”
And forget Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) or Rubio or Christie. Young said, without a hint of irony, she wants Donald Trump to run in 2016.
“I think a businessman would be better at getting the economy turned around than all the politicians,” she said.