John —

On Saturday, January 28, the Iowa Democratic Party's State Central Committee met to elect a new Chair to succeed outgoing Chair Ross Wilburn. I am thrilled that my friend Rita Hart was elected to serve as the next Iowa Democratic Party Chair.

We are deeply fortunate to have a visionary, collaborative leader in IDP Chair Rita Hart — and I would also like to reiterate my gratitude to Brittany Ruland and Bob Krause for stepping up to run for chair and being willing to serve, and to Ross Wilburn and the IDP staff for their years of tireless service. Thank you all for your efforts and dedication to our work.

Saturday, our state party leadership also elected a great team of IDP Party Officers to support Chairwoman Hart: First Vice Chair Gregory Christensen, Secretary Paula Martinez, and Treasurer Samantha Groark.

Additionally, the state central committee created a new "Steering Committee," bringing together myself, Auditor Rob Sand, and House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst with Chairwoman Hart, and five members of the state central committee (who will be elected soon) to guide the efforts of our state party.

Saturday's state party meeting lasted nearly twelve hours. By the time the meeting that night finally concluded, I was so exhausted I was confident I would sleep straight through the night. Instead, I woke up early Sunday morning with a new dose of energy, and a clear understanding that something special happened on Saturday. While I know not everyone gets as excited about organizational change as I do, I hope you will grow to share my enthusiasm and renewed energy for what we accomplished — and my optimism for what is ahead.

Over the past three weeks, we brought together members of our party's state central committee from all corners of the state and all ideological wings of our party to begin a tough, honest conversation: how do we get back on track to elect more Democrats in Iowa? While the election of Rita Hart as Chair and the creation of our new "Steering Committee" will not solve ALL of our problems, I know these will play a critical role in providing leadership, focus, transparency, and accountability for our state party.

There is an old proverb, "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." Together, we took that first step towards "going far". If that gets you fired up, I hope you'll consider donating to support our work. 

Finally, we must be clear-eyed about the task ahead of us. Not just across Iowa, not just across the U.S., but across the world, those of us who are on the political left are engaged in a truly global effort to resist the reactionary forces threatening the lower-case-d democratic project. While this might sound lofty or abstract, the blunt reality is that the strategies and tactics we develop and deploy right here in Iowa are a part of a struggle that is much bigger than any one of us individually, and the stakes could not be any higher.

While it is too soon to know yet whether we will succeed or fail in our work, I know in my bones that this is the most important work any of us could be doing at this time — and we are in it together. 

Thank you for being an invaluable part of this crucial effort and for your continued support of our work.

Sincerely,

Zach Wahls

Iowa Senate Majority Fund
5661 Fleur Drive
Des Moines, IA 50321
United States

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