Jack Hatch is a retired state senator and was the 2014 Democratic nominee for governor.

As a well-used phrase suggests, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results.”

Our Democratic message was strong, and our attention to our deeply held values of equality, inclusion, and freedom was spot-on. But in Iowa, our organizational structure is off base.  

We lost seats in the Iowa House and Senate and lost two very close races for Congress. Without a strong party organization that represents our coalition, Democrats will continue to lose. This is not a reflection on our party leaders, as much as, it is a reflection of the organization at all levels. We can’t move voters if we don’t engage in a conversation, and we must reach out to them.

Our policy positions of stronger public education, reducing taxes on the middle class, empowering local communities to strengthen their economic base, providing more and better health care to families and protecting our water and soil would result in a healthier Iowa, especially in rural Iowa.

But we are not reaching our voters. And you can’t do it with speeches and press conferences. A rebuild will require a much stronger Iowa Democratic Party to engage citizens in a dialog about the state’s future.

To begin, may I suggest one approach.

Reestablish the “First in the Nation” presidential caucus.

When the political elites at the National Democratic Committee threaten to not recognize our delegates to the national convention, Iowa leaders capitulated, we folded like an aluminum chair after a concert. We must fight like New Hampshire Democrats to keep the “first in the nation” caucuses. This would even be embraced by the Iowa Republican Party who didn’t let their national leadership crush the best organizing and fund-raising mechanism we had.

Reorganize the governing body of the State Central Committee. 

We have way too many voting members. The nineteen constituent caucuses should remain, but not as voting members. The voting members of the central committee should be reduced and come from a smaller number chosen Democrats by the four Congressional district representatives. To make our party more accountable and resilient, we need an “executive committee” to make stronger and quicker administrative decisions.

Better define the role of party chair.

The State Central Committee chair should be a person of experience and stature and not be paid. The chair should choose a professional executive director and staff and pay them well for the exhausting duties of running the party on a day-to-day basis.

Establish a 99-county organizing strategy. 

The highest priority is for the party to organize, train, and provide technical support to each of the 99 county parties. We must dedicate paid staff to organize the Congressional districts and local county parties.

Coordinate on strategy, not just campaigns.

We need to pull-in all the separate, but not equal, outlier organizations to fully develop and execute a two-year plan. This will require an organization that has clear divisions of labor and responsibility. We need a realistic budget, organizational chart depicting areas of responsibility—all to keep this massive voluntary organization headed to obtaining political victories.

Without major reforms, Iowa Democrats will continue to sink into the mirage of thinking we are so “right” on the issues, we can’t lose. But we are losing, and we have to get our head out of the sand and fight back. We have to be smart. We can do it. We fielded great candidates, raised a substantial amount of money, and had a glimpse of strong county party organization. But unfortunately, this has been  sporadic and uncoordinated.

To focus, the current state central committee should hold a series of district summits and get a sense of whether we have the will and the resources to create a “new” Iowa Democratic Party. Creating a stronger party won’t happen by letting the political operatives control the narrative. We need to build a stronger intergenerational party organization, listen to the voters, and execute a strong response to the Republican agenda.

If we don’t act, we risk continued irrelevance.