Five months after resigning as state chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, Troy Price will join the party’s State Central Committee as vice chair of the Stonewall Caucus.

The party’s governing body consists of 32 district representatives (eight from each of Iowa’s four Congressional districts) and 24 members representing twelve “constituency caucuses.” State convention delegates elected the SCC members from their own Congressional districts last month. All business was conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Democrats held online meetings on July 11 to select constituency caucus leaders. Benton Renaud won a three-way race for Stonewall Caucus chair. During his acceptance speech, he endorsed Price, who went on to defeat four other candidates for vice chair.

Price has extensive organizing experience in the LGBTQ community, having served as executive director of the nonprofit One Iowa (which advocated for marriage equality) before joining Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012.

He worked on several other campaigns and was chosen to lead the state party in 2017. Price stepped down from that position shortly after the Iowa caucuses, amid controversy over reporting and tabulating the results.

In an email to Bleeding Heartland on July 14, Price wrote,

When I left the party in February, I said I was not done fighting for this party, our state, and its people. That is why I am honored to serve as the vice chair of the IDP Stonewall Caucus. This is an outstanding organization, and I ran to bring to the job my experience with party politics, relationships forged over years of Democratic Politics, and commitment to helping the LGBTQ+ community grow and gain greater prominence. Already, I am talking with candidates and officials about events that the Stonewall Caucus can do to build stronger bridges between campaigns and our community, and mobilize LGBTQ+ Iowans for the fall campaigns.

I am excited to work with Benton Renaud as chair. I got the chance to know him over the course of this election, and I can tell you he is a great leader, and will no doubt do great things in the role. We need more young people like him in the party. I look forward to supporting him as he brings new people into the caucus and helps move us forward.

Renaud is a college student and will be the youngest incoming SCC member as well as the youngest person ever chosen to lead the Stonewall Caucus. He told Bleeding Heartland on July 14 that he was “excited to bring a new voice to the table and get more youth involvement in the caucus” and “extremely excited” to work alongside Price to engage the community and elect more Democrats. He added,

Troy was the only one to reach out to me and give a plan on what he wanted to do for the Stonewall Caucus. His experience and determination make him perfect for the role. I am excited to see what the future holds for the caucus.

Each of the 32 district representatives is a voting SCC member. The constituency caucuses have one vote each, which the chair usually casts. The vice chairs are members of the governing body but can vote only in the absence of their constituency caucus chair.

I’ve invited all of the newly elected constituency caucus chairs to write Bleeding Heartland guest posts in the coming weeks, outlining their goals and plans.

The recent voting didn’t affect the top Iowa Democratic Party leadership positions. Mark Smith will continue to serve as state chair, with June Owens as first vice chair and Tanner Halleran as second vice chair.

There was a shake-up in the Democratic National Committee member elections. State convention delegates re-elected Scott Brennan as Iowa’s male DNC representative, but former Bernie Sanders campaign staffer Jodi Clemens defeated DNC member Sandy Opstvedt for the other position.

You can find a list of DNC delegates, alternates, and presidential electors here.

Here is the full list of incoming Iowa Democratic Party State Central Committee members. I’ve marked returning members with an asterisk.

Elected from IA-01

Vikki Brown
Robyn Clark-Bridges
Catherine Crist* (previously Disability Caucus chair)
Lindsey Ellickson* (previously Progressive Caucus chair)
Chase Bolton
Eric Donat
Jonathan Grieder
Tom Haugen

Elected from IA-02

Tony Andrys
Jodi Clemens (a special election will replace her in this position, since she won the DNC member race)
Wesley Clemens
Scott DeVries
Ryan Drew*
Sandy Dockendorff
Barb Fleckenstein
Mary Stewart

Elected from IA-03

Michael Beasley
Zebulon Beilke-McCallum
Jim Bunton
Kim Callahan
Gabriel De La Cerda
Mary McAdams
Jan Norris
Cecille Thompson

Elected from IA-04

Susan Bangert
Sandy Bass
John Clough
Jeremy Dumkrieger*
Peter Leo
Penny Rosfjord*
Emma Schmit*
Tim Winter

State Affirmative Action Chair: Anita Fleming-Rife

Armed Forces/Veterans Caucus

Chair – Shelley Servadio-Elias
Vice Chair – Heather Ryan

Asian/Pacific Islander

Chair – Suresh Reddy
Vice Chair – Laura Parkinson

Black Caucus

Chair – Al Womble* (previously IA-03 representative)
Vice Chair – Michelle Elliot

Disability Caucus

Chair – Julie Russell-Steuart
Vice Chair – Eric Donat

Labor Caucus

Chair – Paula Martinez* (previously IA-03 representative)
Vice Chair – Melinda Padley (Jones)

Latino Caucus

Chair – Araceli Goode
Vice Chair – Patricia Ritchie

Native American Caucus

Chair – Karen Mackey* (previously Affirmative Action chair)
Vice Chair – Sara Young Bear-Brown

Progressive Caucus

Chair – Brian McLain
Vice Chair – Tracy Murphy

Rural Caucus

Chair – Glenn Hurst* (previously Rural Caucus vice chair)
Vice Chair – Denise O’Brien

Senior/Retiree Caucus

Chair – Terry Stewart
Vice Chair – Julie Goepfert* (previously IA-04 representative)

Stonewall Caucus

Chair – Benton Renaud
Vice Chair – Troy Price

Women’s Caucus

Chair – Mary Jane Cobb* (previously IA-03 representative)
Vice Chair – Jamie Burch Elliot