Jamie Raskin

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse rallied Iowa Democrats Saturday, Aug. 29, calling on them to help flip control of Congress in November to provide a check on Republican President Donald Trump’s power.

“One party — our party — says the government must be an instrument for the common good and the public interest of all,” said Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland. “The other party says the government must be an instrument for the private self-enrichment of one guy and his family and his businesses and his friends. My friends, we must win back both houses of Congress in November.”

The pair were among the featured speakers at the Polk County Democrats’ Steak Fry fundraiser in Des Moines, which organizers said drew more than 800 people.

Raskin, who was the lead impeachment manager during Trump’s second impeachment trial, is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and would be positioned to become chair if Democrats win the House.

He and Whitehouse, a senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, have signaled their eagerness to conduct oversight and investigations into Trump and other administration officials if Democrats win control of Congress.

Whitehouse is a former U.S. attorney for Rhode Island and former state attorney general.

He said he’d like to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee and work with Raskin to conduct oversight. He said he’d also like to put his focus on the U.S. Supreme Court by conducting investigations, creating "a proper" ethics code and enacting term limits.

“Those are the things we can do if you send Josh Turek to the Senate,” said Whitehouse, who has previously campaigned with Turek, Iowa’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidate. “That will change America.”

Turek, a current state representative, has worked to cast an image as a bipartisan legislator who would work with members of both parties if elected — including Trump, a recent television ad notes.

Whitehouse told reporters after the event he believes Turek’s message of bipartisanship meshes with his own. The American people want checks and balances, he said.

“That's why I think so many Republicans are turning to Democratic candidates — not because they think we're Republicans, but because they think that the country needs that balance again, needs that check on the corruption and the excess and the unqualified appointments and so much nonsense,” he said.

But Republicans quickly cast Turek’s and Democratic governor candidate Rob Sand’s appearances at the event as evidence that they are not the moderate politicians they claim to be.

Both candidates joined the party’s larger lineup of candidates in addressing the crowd.

“Liberals Rob Sand and Josh Turek are trying to fool Iowans by running away from their Democrat records and pretending they’ll work with President Trump,” Republican Party of Iowa spokesperson Jade Cichy said in a statement. “But their actions tell the real story.”

She called Raskin and Whitehouse “two of Congress’s most liberal members.”

“Iowans can see right through the charade,” she said.

Across the metro, Republicans gathered to rally with U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running against Turek for the open U.S. Senate seat. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was the event’s featured speaker.

Iowa Democrats urge focus going into final months of campaigning

Raskin lauded Iowa, saying it’s “where all the action is.”

Although Iowa has moved in favor of Republicans in recent elections, it is back in the national spotlight as it features as many as three competitive U.S. House races, and some of the most competitive races in the country for U.S. Senate and governor.

“You yourselves can tip the House and the Senate back in the direction of democracy and freedom,” Raskin said.

Currently, Republicans control the governor’s office, both chambers of the Legislature, every statewide elected office but one and each of Iowa’s six seats in Congress.

But election forecasters rate many of those races as competitive going into November. Cook Political Report recently said Iowa’s governor’s race “leans” in favor of Democrats, and the U.S. Senate race is a “toss up.”

Democrats will need to overcome a major statewide Republican voter registration disparity in the state. Registered Republican voters outnumber Democrats by more than 180,000 people, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

With just over two months left until Election Day, they’re also facing a narrowing window of opportunity to get their message in front of potential voters.

“We've got 66 days, everybody,” Turek told the crowd as he closed out his speech. “So go out, knock some doors, talk to family, talk to friends. If we can win this seat, we will not only make a generational change to the state, we will be able to flip the Senate and we are going to be able to change this country.”

Sand, the current state auditor, asked the crowd for the undivided support going into the final stretch of campaigning.

“After November 3rd, you can catch up on Netflix,” he said. “You can go out and get another round of golf in. But after November 3rd, we can't get people elected. I want your help. I want to help us in the next 60 days remake this state, turn it back into an Iowa that is not about being redder or bluer, but one about being better and truer.”

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She writes about campaigns, elections and the Iowa Caucuses. Reach her at [email protected] or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR.