Mark: Well Gary, first and foremost, the Iowa Democratic Party recognizes that every person...that is registered to vote...or should be registered to vote in Iowa... is someone of equal standing... and that’s very significant. So, it doesn’t matter if we have 50 million dollars to our name...or fifty cents to our name...we are one vote. So, we recognize that and we’ve been doing a tremendous amount of effort to reach out so that all Iowans...regardless of our ethnic heritage...are participating in our elections. With that...we’ve been having organizing directors that are dedicating their voices in Black, Latinx, Native American, Asian, and Pacific Islander communities to make sure that...like I said... all Iowans are able to vote. So far teams have had more than a hundred meetings on the ground... with a mix of people...to bring in new voters and partners with these advocacy groups. We feel, as Democrats, that we garnered these votes and obtained their support by earning it and being on the correct side of issues. Celeste: Data reveals that winning Democratic presidential candidates received great support from Iowa voters during 1988 to 2012, with the exceptions when: 1) Republican George W. Bush won in 2004; and 2) when Republican Donald J. Trump won in 2016. Iowans have recently seen major unrest and protests by the minority community. This year’s presidential election promises to be close and the minority vote could make the difference. What outreach effort is the Biden campaign making in Iowa with respect to effectively getting its message out to Iowa’s minority community? Mark: Celeste, did you do the research on that, or your dad? That is very good. I have been frequently saying that I am 68 years of age... and if you divide my life in half... all of those years have been here in Iowa. The first 34 years...only one Democrat carried the state for the presidency...and that was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. As you mentioned...in the second 34 years of my life...Iowa has gone Democratic on the presidential race...with the exception of (2004) and (2016). So, there are lots of things that we are doing in this regard. During the 60 days between now and the election, we are going to take every effort to organize our communities and turn out the vote. On the horizon, we are looking forward to National Black Voter Day on September 18...and we’re partnering with campaign planning events throughout the week. So, those things are going to look like voter registration pop-up stations, online trainings, and discussions about the voting process. We are also gearing up for Hispanic Heritage Month...during September 15 through October 15. We have a great couple of team members there that I want to do a shoutout about...1) Yena Balekyani, and she is the Black Constituency Engagement Director; and 2) Mauricio Diaz, who is our Latinx Constituency Engagement Director. We are working very hard to make sure that we are able to turn out. As I said earlier, the belief that we are all equal...we are all one vote... and that every Iowan who has the ability to participate in the 2020 election...should be participating in the 2020 election. Gary: Do you have any other thoughts that you would like to share with our readership? Mark: The Biden (campaign) team in Iowa has built a strong coalition team of staff and volunteers...that is headed by Bernie Sanders’ Iowa Political Director, Oliver HidalgoWohlleben...who focuses on the Asian and Pacific Islanders...and The URBAN EXPERIENCE | 2020 41 the Progressive outreach, and also Representative Ras Smith...who I know you and I talked about trying to get in contact with him...is the strategic advisor in overseeing the coalition efforts with Black Iowans, and the Faith community. The volunteer leadership groups include Women for Biden, African Americans for Biden, Latinos for Biden, Asian and Pacific Islanders for Biden, and Veterans for Biden. They are all very active in targeted organizing. So, I feel like the Biden coalition teams of the Iowa Democratic Party have been working very diligently with our (allies) and volunteers to organize communities across the state and harness the energy of the Biden/ Harris ticket (that) is happening in this state. Celeste and Gary: Thank you for the interview.
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