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For local Democrats, it's time to concentrate on state races, such as the one for U.S. Senate

Posted: Tue, Mar 10, 2020 9:36 AM

For Winneshiek County Democrats, it's a time to change their focus from the Iowa Caucuses to the statewide races coming up later this year.

Democratic Party U.S. Senate candidate Eddie Mauro made a stop in Decorah this week to talk issues with local residents.  Mauro has been on the campaign trial every day since the Iowa Caucuses.  He says Democrats seem very energized and are ready to go in support of Democratic Party candidates this November.

First Iowa Democrats must decide which of five candidates, including Mauro, they should select to run against Republican Joni Ernst this fall.  Mauro told local Democrats he wants to prove the party's candidate "doesn't have to be a millionaire or billionaire."  He says one of his opponents has been accepting a lot of large donations, but he's running a grass roots campaign, driving around the state and meeting voters.

(Editor's note: A reader sent us a link to an Iowa Starting Line article--https://iowastartingline.com/2019/10/15/eddie-mauro-drops-1-million-into-his-senate-campaign/--which makes it clear that, while Mauro's campaign is not accepting corporate PAC money, it has received $1.1 million from Mauro personally during the last reporting period alone)

Mauro says affordable health care remains an important issue in Iowa--especially for farmers and small business owners who have trouble finding affordable health insurance.  Many of them, he says, are rolling the dice and going without health insurance, but that risks big problems if they have a major health issue.  "It's not sustainable," he says of spiraling health care costs, adding that he would push to make the Medicare public option immediately available to people if elected.