Dexter Merschbrock is a member of National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 373 from Cedar Rapids, spouse to a public school teacher, and father of three. He is originally from Fort Madison. 

The Iowa Democratic Party’s current state chair Rita Hart often talked in the last two years about the 90,000 Democrats in the state who turned out to vote in 2020, but didn’t turn out in the 2022 midterm elections. The theory seemed to be that if those Democrats voted in 2024, the party would see improved results. Either this theory was wrong or, even worse, Democrats failed to turn out 2020 voters at the same time Republicans were increasing their turnout percentage.

Either way, the result is the same: Iowa Democrats, led by chair Rita Hart, failed to convince enough Iowans to vote for them.

How does this change? Iowa Democrats must be aggressive. Total Republican control of the state under Kim Reynolds has been the reality for almost a decade. The party needs a clear vision of what’s wrong with Reynolds’ government of our state, and a broad agenda that presents ideas beyond tinkering around the edges of the status quo.

The first is easy, though Democratic leaders haven’t done the job well. The second will be harder, but a committed state party chair can bring Democrats together internally and rally people across the state for change.

Part of the problem with explaining Reynolds’ failures is just how many there are. Democrats have tried in vain to rally opposition to the worst of her agenda, but with large Republican majorities in the legislature the Democrats’ arguments have fallen short of breaking Republican Party loyalty.

Democrats should switch tactics. Instead of arguing against the latest proposals, the IDP should tell Iowans the truth of the matter. Reynolds, like most politicians in the eyes of the public, is a sellout. It’s uncontroversial to say that the governor is controlled by extreme religious conservatives and greedy corporations. You don’t debate with someone who has proven themselves to not care about the people she is supposed to represent.

Put another way, Democrats need to convince the public that Reynolds doesn’t have their best interests at heart, not convince Reynolds to suddenly change who she is and agree to do the right thing. She won’t.

Building an agenda to counter Reynolds starts from that conclusion. Reynolds protects the few; Democrats should support everyone. But convincing Iowans to support government policy that helps make life better starts with Democrats supporting that idea themselves. And those ideas should be focused on areas that matter across every county in the state. While Reynolds has cut taxes for the rich, Democrats should stand as one against a trickle down economy where the benefits completely dry up before they reach most of us.

Reynolds’ education reforms should be rejected, and in their place Democrats should propose to expand public education in both directions to include preschool and child-care funding as well as post-secondary options.

Where Reynolds puts her corporate agriculture donors first, Democrats should support regulations to protect the environment and Iowans’ health in a state where 85 percent of the land is devoted to farming. An economy that puts the rest of us before the rich. A bright future for every child in the state. Clean water and air so we can stay healthy. That’s an agenda that makes sense to anyone.

Iowa Democrats have to convince people to vote for them. I’m running for Iowa Democratic Party Chair to put the working class in control of that effort, so Iowans know that Democrats are on their side regardless of their party affiliation. I’m running for party chair to support grassroots democracy in any form across the state, so long as it serves the people. And I’m running for party chair to fight every step of the way, through legislative sessions, local elections, and the 2026 midterms, to help Democrats win votes, take back the state, and get us back on track.

We know that something has to change if Democrats hope to do right by the people of Iowa. As a working-class party chair, I would take this message across the state: Democrats will represent you instead of rich donors, and Democrats will find ways to improve our state so the future is bright for everyone.

Follow me on Bluesky, where the work is already underway: @dexterm.bsky.social

Follow me on X/Twitter, where I post my more uncensored views: @Dmerschbrock

If you’re old school, you can reach me by email at Dexter.merschbrock AT gmail.com

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Editor’s note from Laura Belin: Bleeding Heartland welcomes guest commentaries by any candidate for Iowa Democratic Party state chair, or by people advocating for any contender to lead the party.