Clay Masters

The scientific community says the world must zero out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. In response, Democratic presidential candidates are rolling out aggressive climate plans. On the thirteenth episode of Caucus Land, we'll talk about what it would take to meet those goals. And later, a conversation with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

With less than three months until the Iowa caucuses, Democrats running for president are spending a lot more time campaigning in the state that leads the nominating process. That includes South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg who just finished an Iowa campaign tour on Monday. He drew sharp contrasts to Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren who has been rising in the state’s polls.

This weekend saw one of the largest events on the state’s political calendar: the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration. Thirteen presidential candidates took the stage in Des Moines Friday, but the campaigning didn’t end there: two dozen more events followed as candidates criss-crossed the state.

All the Democratic candidates have plans to tighten gun laws. Mass shootings have put the debate front and center. On the twelfth episode of Caucus Land, we’ll talk about the Democratic proposals with proponents, critics and experts. And later, a conversation with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders nearly defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Iowa caucuses. He’s running again in a much more crowded field in 2020. Sen. Sanders talks about his health, his Medicare For All healthcare plan and climate change with IPR Caucus Land co-hosts Clay Masters and Kate Payne before his first event back on the Iowa trail since his heart attack in early October.

Running a presidential campaign isn’t cheap and one of the first places candidates spend their money is Iowa. On the eleventh episode of Caucus Land, we’ll talk about recent fundraising numbers and what they tell us about the state of the race. Plus, a conversation with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is running for the Democratic presidential nomination and regularly stresses the importance of working in a bipartisan fashion. Sen. Klobuchar talks about the importance of working across party lines and her background as a prosecutor with IPR Caucus Land co-hosts Clay Masters and Kate Payne on her campaign bus in Davenport.

Healthcare commonly polls as one of voters' top issues and political candidates have been running campaigns on it for years. This cycle, Democrats are having a very different conversation about how to fundamentally transform the way Americans get care. On the tenth episode of Caucus Land we talk about where candidates stand on healthcare and what their plans could mean for patients and providers.

The impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump for asking foreign governments to dig up dirt on his potential rival Joe Biden continues to dominate talk in Washington. Some of the candidates were in Des Moines this weekend answering questions from Iowans. Impeachment didn’t dominate the conversations, but it doesn’t mean it’s not on their minds.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker is running for the Democratic presidential nomination and regularly points out on the trail that he still lives in inner city Newark where he was once mayor. Sen. Booker talks about how that perspective would influence his presidency with IPR Caucus Land co-hosts Clay Masters and Kate Payne on his RV as he traveled between campaign stops in Boone and West Des Moines. He also discusses healthcare and gun policy.

Iowa farmers are finding themselves caught between the White House and China in the president's disputes over trade and agriculture policy. Some say their support for him is wearing thin. On the ninth episode of Caucus Land, we'll look at how Democratic presidential candidates are trying to win them over.

Some of the presidential candidates who have been organizing for months in Iowa are starting to see their work pay off in the latest Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Poll that came out Saturday. Especially Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

More than 11,000 tickets have been sold for the Polk County Democratic Party’s Steak Fry Saturday in Des Moines. Seventeen presidential candidates will take the stage and address the crowd. The county party rebooted the Steak Fry in 2017 which for years was hosted by Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin who retired from office in 2014 and was replaced by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst.

The cost of college and student debt are all-consuming for some families, and they're driving political conversations this cycle. On the eighth episode of Caucus Land, we'll break down what the candidates are promising and hear what higher ed experts make of their plans.

While most of the attention around the 2020 election is focused on Democrats, Republicans will hold a caucus too. President Donald Trump does face multiple primary challengers, but on the seventh episode of Caucus Land we'll explain why he likely has nothing to worry about in Iowa.

The Iowa State Fair has become a must-stop for presidential campaigns ahead of the Caucuses. Candidates eat fried food on a stick and try to chat with voters through the swarm of cameras. We’ll take you through the crowds to see what the fair actually does for wannabe presidents.

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said by delaying some tariffs in an escalating trade war with China, the Trump administration is acknowledging the pain it’s causing Americans.

“This is going to hurt in our pocketbooks at home,” Buttigieg told reporters after speaking at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair Tuesday.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said 10 percent tariffs on about $300 billion in Chinese imports will go forward, but tariffs on some goods will be delayed until Dec. 15. 

Democratic presidential campaigns are swarming Iowa this weekend, including stops at the Iowa State Fair. In addition to their standard stump speeches, many of the candidates are using their time in Iowa to talk about their plans to address gun control following last week’s mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.

California Sen. Kamala Harris says if she’s elected president she’s prepared to take executive action to pass gun control policies if Congress doesn’t act. She made those comments at the Des Moines Register Political soapbox before a large crowd of fairgoers.

Former Vice President Joe Biden said he has what it takes to strengthen gun laws in the country following mass shootings in Texas and Ohio last weekend. Biden told reporters at the Iowa State Fair Thursday that it violates no one’s Second Amendment right to tell people they can’t own certain weapons like an assault rifle. 

"We can get it done," Biden said. "We can get it done with background checks done. We can get it done because the public is finally at the point that it’s sick of it. It is sick of it. I’ve got it done before and I can get it done again."

Some two dozen presidential candidates have been campaigning in Iowa since way before much of the rest of the country tuned in to the race. Many have been coming here for months, some for years. On the fifth episode of Caucus Land, we'll introduce them to you.

The major parties in Iowa generally agree that the caucuses should remain first in the nation and they don't agree on much else. On the fourth episode of Caucus Land, we ask the state's party leaders how they can put aside their differences to keep Iowa first and what the 2018 midterms say about 2020.

During the 2016 presidential election, two seemingly impossible candidates took both major parties by storm, and American politics hasn't been the same. On the third episode of Caucus Land, Iowa gives Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump a stage and a microphone.    

Democrats running for president have been spending a lot more time this cycle talking to voters in western Iowa, which is predominately Republican and rural. Many of them are visiting that part of the state with J.D. Scholten, a former congressional candidate from their party who almost beat an embattled Republican congressman last year.

“We built something this last cycle and I hope you guys take it further,” Scholten said to a crowd gathered at The Mucky Duck Pub in Ames, Iowa ahead of the first Democratic presidential debate.