What Went Wrong for Iowa Republicans? A Conversation with Rep. Jeff Shipley
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Jeff Shipley texted me after the election. He was in the neighborhood and wanted to stop by the office. We had a glass of bourbon, switched to coffee, and somewhere along the way I turned on the microphones.
I’ve known Jeff since we fought side by side for medical freedom at the Iowa Capitol. If you were there during the vaccine passport fight, you know why I call him a freedom fighter. He’s heading into his ninth year in the Iowa House, and he still speaks his mind. When I asked him about election night, he called it an
“ass whooping of historic proportions.”
He barely kept his own seat, and we both knew good people who lost theirs.
Jeff makes his case for why voters turned away from Republicans. We get into Trump, what people were paying at the pump and the grocery store, and how Rob Sand spent years and tens of millions of dollars putting himself in a position to win.
Jeff also takes a hard look at his own party and talks about what he thinks Republicans need to learn before the next election.
One of my favorite parts came when Jeff brought up a rally we pulled together in 48 hours. I’d almost forgotten how fast that came together. It got us talking about why people get involved in the first place, and what we can still do in our own towns when so much of our attention gets pulled into national politics.
This episode is sponsored by Kairos Nexus and the Call to Lead.
I first shared this with our Kairos Men community on Patreon, then sent it to Iowans 4 Freedom. I heard from enough people who appreciated how candid Jeff was that I wanted to make it easier for anyone to hear it and pass it along. Episode 102 is now available on Spotify and YouTube.
Give it a listen and tell me what you think. What do you think Iowa Republicans missed about what voters were telling them?
Two more great conversations
[Jeff Shipley on Episode 90] — Last time Jeff was on, we talked about how he went from doing stand-up at a local open mic to running for the Iowa House. We also got into the COVID years and how to disagree with someone without burning a bridge you might need to cross later.
Eddie Andrews | The Morning After the Election — I sat down with Eddie the morning after the election. If you want another perspective on what happened, that conversation is on Patreon. Choose Join for free to listen.
