IA-SEN 2020:Should Tom Vilsack run?

[sverkol]

What do think? should he run?

[Del Tachi]

Would he be a better recruit than Chet Culver?

[KingSweden]

Would he be a better recruit than Chet Culver?

Almost certainly

[RINO Tom]

Would he be a better recruit than Chet Culver?

Absolutely.  Chet Culver was a weirdo who would get stomped.

[Sir Mohamed]

Would he be a better recruit than Chet Culver?

Absolutely. Could be a Bayh/Feingold redux though. Depends on the overall 2020 political climate. If Trump loses by a fair margin, Ernst will almost certainly go down with him however the Dem candidate is.

[Alabama_Indy10]

Would he be a better recruit than Chet Culver?

Absolutely.  Chet Culver was a weirdo who would get stomped.

I agree with this.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Why not? He’s great wave insurance if nothing else.

[PAK Man]

I've heard rumors that he's done with elected office. Besides, Democrats have better candidates that could run - I'm thinking one of the runners-up to the governor's race should go for it.

[Free Bird]

We're still on the "recruiting mid-2000s governors to try and take red Senate seats" thing?

[KingSweden]

Why not? He’s great wave insurance if nothing else.

This. Though I think whoever loses between Hubble and Boulton should have right of first refusal

[Heisenberg]

Would he be a better recruit than Chet Culver?

Absolutely.  Chet Culver was a weirdo who would get stomped.

I agree with this.

Definitely. There's even at least one D-IA poster who said he really didn't like Culver, and that he's strongly disliked. Anyway, Vilsack strikes me as having Bayh potential. I'm sure Dems have a pretty strong bench, considering how many are running for Governor this year.

[henster]

Need a veteran Conor Lamb type. There is Army vet Todd Prichard who dropped out of the Gov race last year who would be a decent candidate.

[NewYorkExpress]

Vilsack would win in a blowout, or if the Democrat was carrying the state (I rate our chances in Iowa as slightly better than Ohio...we don't have Appalachia dragging us down) atop the ballot.

However, if Ernst is on the ticket for some reason (either because Pence is now President, because Pence is being dropped from the ticket, or because Trump just isn't running), I find it difficult to see any Democrat holding the seat.

Vilsack probably wins this seat if it's open in any other scenario (such as if Ernst wants to become a lobbyist, for example).

[YE]

Tom Harkin would be the best if we’re going the retread route.

[NewYorkExpress]

Tom Harkin would be the best if we’re going the retread route.

Vilsack's younger...therefore despite being less progressive, he's a better candidate. Seniority, and potential Seniority is usually a very important thing when dealing with Congress.

[henster]

2020 Dem Dream Team: Vilsack(IA), Hickenlooper(CO), Bullock(MT), Yates(GA), Begich(AK), Foxx/Cowell/Stein(NC).

[NewYorkExpress]

2020 Dem Dream Team: Vilsack(IA), Hickenlooper(CO), Bullock(MT), Yates(GA), Begich(AK), Foxx/Cowell/Stein(NC).

Of those three, I would probably want Foxx, as he would turn out black voters that a Democrat needs to win in North Carolina.

In Georgia, I'd rather have the loser of the Gubernatorial Primary this year (especially if it's Stacey Abrams), or either Jason Carter or Michelle Nunn instead of Yates.

Vilsack, Hickenlooper (if he isn't running for President), Bullock (see Hickenlooper) and Begich are all fine (in fact, I can't think of anyone else who can win in Alaska statewide for Democrats at the moment).

[sverkol]

Need a veteran Conor Lamb type. There is Army vet Todd Prichard who dropped out of the Gov race last year who would be a decent candidate.

What about Tyler Olson?
https://ballotpedia.org/Tyler_Olson

[sverkol]

Would he be a better recruit than Chet Culver?

Absolutely.  Chet Culver was a weirdo who would get stomped.

I agree with this.

Definitely. There's even at least one D-IA poster who said he really didn't like Culver, and that he's strongly disliked. Anyway, Vilsack strikes me as having Bayh potential. I'm sure Dems have a pretty strong bench, considering how many are running for Governor this year.

One of the reasons why Bayh lost i'ts becuse in 2010 he dind't ran for re election because he decided to be a lobbyist,it's not the case with Vilsack.
There is a difference between them.
And Iowa less Republican than Indiana.

[MT Treasurer]

I've heard rumors that he's done with elected office. Besides, Democrats have better candidates that could run - I'm thinking one of the runners-up to the governor's race should go for it.

This, and what henster said. Also, I’m not really buying that this race is a Tossup given that Ernst seems to be more popular than Grassley. I think MT, NC, CO, GA and maybe AK all flip before IA. Lean/Likely R.

[sverkol]

I've heard rumors that he's done with elected office. Besides, Democrats have better candidates that could run - I'm thinking one of the runners-up to the governor's race should go for it.

This, and what henster said. Also, I’m not really buying that this race is a Tossup given that Ernst seems to be more popular than Grassley. I think MT, NC, CO, GA and maybe AK all flip before IA. Lean/Likely R.

Joni Ernst
Aprrove-44%
Disapprove-35%
Chuk Grassley
approve-47%
Disapprove-36%
https://morningconsult.com/2018/01/23/senator-rankings-jan-2018/

[Orser67]

The Democratic bench in Iowa seems pretty weak, so I think he'd be a good recruit.

With that said, it would be nice to get someone younger who could potentially hold the seat for a couple decades.

[sverkol]

Joni Ernst
Aprrove-44%
Disapprove-35%
Chuk Grassley
approve-47%
Disapprove-36%
https://morningconsult.com/2018/01/23/senator-rankings-jan-2018/

I’ll trust a local pollster that is based in the state over Morning Consult any day. Regardless of whether they’re wrong or not, beating an incumbent Senator in Iowa is far from easy (though it would be nice if Ernst would get a serious primary challenge).

I never thought that it's going to be easy,but democrats should not give up this race.

[PAK Man]

The problem with defeating Ernst is that she exemplifies Iowa. I've met her on numerous occasions, and while I can't stand her politics, even I have to admit she's a very nice person and comes across as caring deeply about her constituents. Democrats are going to have a hard time attacking her, but they should go after her record, and not her personality, as that's what got her to win in the first place. (It's the same thing with Steve King - Democrats haven't learned that attacking King on his comments isn't going to work.) Braley, even without his comment about Grassley being a "farmer from Iowa," probably would have lost based on his personality alone. He was very stand-offish and didn't seem very approachable (from what I know - I never actually met him).

As I said, Vilsack is probably out and won't run. I don't think he even lives in Iowa anymore (see this article). Someone here mentioned Todd Pritchard, who I think would be an excellent recruit. Tyler Olson probably wouldn't be a bad get either (he dropped out of the 2014 guv's race because of his divorce, but by 2020 most, if not all, will probably have forgotten about that).