Turning Red to Blue: Senator-Elect Caitlin Drey’s Epic Senate Win!

David B. Wheeler: 00:00:05

Welcome to Muck U, the podcast where we wade through the swamp of politics and corruption to bring you the unfiltered truth. I'm your host, David Wheeler, co founder of American Muckrakers, and thrilled to be joined by my pod partner, the one and only Colonel Mo Davis.

Mo's a retired Air Force colonel, former Guantanamo prosecutor, and a fearless truth teller who's never afraid to call it like it is. He's also married way up to Lisa. Today we're diving deep into how a Democrat won by 10 points in a state Senate district. Trump won by 10.

So grab your boots and let's get mucking over to you, Mo.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:00:45

Hey. Well, thanks, David, and it's a pleasure being back with you. It's a beautiful day here in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Looks like fall is on its way and hopefully we make it through this September without another hurricane. So thanks for joining us.

And yeah, we've got a great guest today, one I think folks will really be interested in hearing from because I know a lot of folks out in this area are interested in hearing about what it takes to win in a red district. So Catelin Drey made the news here recently. I think it was August 26th.

She won a special election out in Iowa Senate district number one, which is, David said, was a district that Trump won back in November by nearly 11 points. And Caitlin defeated her opponent, Christopher Pro, who was a Trump mago Republican by almost 11 points a couple of weeks back.

So, Catelin, hey, thank. Thanks for taking time to join us today.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:01:41

My pleasure. Thank you for having me. And congratulations on your successful nuptials. It sounds like you, you're doing well.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:01:49

Well, we're at about the 37 year points. We're still in the.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:01:53

Okay.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:01:54

We're still in the.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:01:54

Still in the honeymoon phase.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:01:55

Well, still in the probationary period. So if she can make it 13 more years, then we'll call it permanent. But now, David, David's right.

I think, you know, after she married me, she quit drinking. So it. I think she's learned from her mistakes. So. All right, let me start with the big question. Hawkeyes or Cyclone?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:02:17

I do not have a horse in that race. The ultimate politician. Wow.

David B. Wheeler: 00:02:24

You've heard. You've been elected for two weeks and you're already there. That's awesome. Good for you.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:02:29

Yeah, I'm gonna stick to the talking points.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:02:33

I normally, I normally don't watch Iowa football, but that was one of the better games on. On Saturday.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:02:38

So, yeah, I think it was an exciting game. I am very much of the mind that I just hope both teams have fun.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:02:45

Yeah, well, they. They both played well, and it was a great game, so I enjoyed watching.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:02:49

Yeah.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:02:49

Okay. So how did a nice girl from South Dakota end up in politics in Iowa?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:02:55

Well, I have lived here in Iowa for half of my life. I. My husb. I both went to. It was Morningside College, then Morningside University now, and got a good liberal. Liberal arts education.

And I. I moved out of the country right after we graduated from college, and he got a job in Sioux City. That turned into a really pretty spectacular career.

You know, we didn't know that at the time, but I came back from Honduras after living there for a year, and he had kind of, like I said, gotten a decent job, and the rest is history, as they say. Um, I've kind of.

I've made mention of this before, but the people that I went to high school with in South Dakota are not surprised that I grew up to want to lecture people about the rules. So I think that's. That's the short end. But, you know, my parents are lifelong public servants as well.

My mom was a public school teacher for 35 years. My dad worked for the Department of the Interior at the Fish and Wildlife Service. And they just.

They both really instilled in me the value of doing the right thing for our neighbors, even if it's hard or unpopular, and that we take care of each other. That lesson kind of morphed into. Into this.

And I think my dad said after the election results came in, he's like, it's pretty unbelievable, which is a lot of words for him. He's a very stoic, sturdy, Nordic fellow. Right. But I was like, you know, I. I don't know if it's unbelievable for me. I kind of. I'm not surprised.

It is shocking or surprised. I can't remember. You know, like, shocked, but not surprised. Something like that. Because this.

It is the truly, like, the highest form of service to your community to serve in kind of capacity, and that is truly something that is intrinsic for me.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:04:52

Yeah. Well, it sounds like you had a pretty busy life before August 26th. You're. You're a mom, a marketing professional.

You're the founder of Moms for Iowa, which I discovered is totally separate for Moms for Freedom in Iowa.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:05:06

Moms for Liberty.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:05:07

Liberty.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:05:08

A bit of a. Bit of a play, if you will. Yes.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:05:11

Yeah. You're two different organizations.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:05:13

Very different.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:05:15

But I notice it looked like your platform was pretty closely aligned with the things that Moms for Iowa has been advocating For. So why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about.

Well, first off, what made you think in a district that Trump won by about 11 points, that you had a snowball's chance in hell of winning?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:05:34

Well, I mean, we saw what happened in January with Senator Mike Zimmer. We've had three special elections prior to this one in the state of Iowa this year. And they've all seen, you know, plus 20 or more performance shift.

And so that was a pretty solid indicator to me. But really it's about the fact that I have lived here for almost 20 years. I have been involved at various nonprofits.

I, you know, my husband and I are deeply rooted in this community. We have a kiddo who started school the day before election Day. We've built our lives here.

And whether people know us personally or professionally, they know us to be good, kind hearted, common sense people. And I think that contributed. But also, you know, my opponent tried to run the national playbook on a very local level and it didn't stick.

You know, they were kind of lobbing insults about my beliefs about the border and, you know, digging.

They dug up a photo of me from almost 10 years ago where my hair was pink, which was not a, you know, it's not a controversial thing to have hair that's a different color. I thought I wore it well. And most people agreed with me, I think.

But they tried to kind of make these wild, you know, accusations stick in a place where people know who I am and know what I stand for. And I think that ultimately was, was kind of one of many deciding factors.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:07:18

Your Senate district includes Sioux City and Woodbury County. And I was looking at the demographics of your area in the, where David and I live here in the mountains of western North Carolina.

And I know they're a lot different, but there's some similarities, too. If you look at the demographics of our area are pretty similar. The median household income is about the same, the poverty rates about the same.

And this was a district that voted for Trump by about nine and a half points last fall.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:07:48

Yep, yep, yep.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:07:49

So looking at your campaign, like you said, your, your, your opponent tried to play the traditional MAGA playbook and bring up all.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:07:58

Yeah.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:07:58

The irrelevant issues. And it looks like you stuck to the economic issues. And so what's the game plan?

How do Democrats win in a district like where we are and where, where you are.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:08:09

Yeah, I think the end of the day, the border and, you know, democracy, they do affect people's lives, but not their daily lives necessarily. And Obviously, for our, you know, immigrant communities, right now is a very scary time.

And they are also still trying to think about how to put food on the table, how to care for their children, how to get the health care that they need.

And so those economic pocketbook issues appeal across demographic and are ultimately what has the most significant effect on people's day to day lives in for the most part. Right. I never, ever want to discount the immigrant experience because I know right now is an exceptionally scary time.

But an Iowa state senator does not have any control over border policy. And so to try and extrapolate that into what this race was decided on is quite foolish. And I think the Republicans saw that play out.

And yeah, I, I hope that we can take that pocketbook message and run that kind of playbook. And the other thing I would say is just stop talking at people and talk to them. You know, what is it that you're seeing?

What is, what is hard for you right now? What could we do differently or better? And how do I, how do I do that for you?

And you know, I was giving out my personal cell phone number on the doors saying like call, you know, call me before, during, after the election. I'm happy to help however I can. And I think that really made a difference. I also know that's really difficult to scale for, for larger races.

But thankfully district is smaller and I will just correct you a little bit on the Geogr trophy, so I, so I don't get in trouble. But it's, it's a, a slim section of Woodbury county. So there's, there's more rural Woodbury county kind of around.

But this district is basically Highway 20 north to the county line and then from the river over to, to Lawton. So the two major areas are Sioux City, which is most of the district, and then Lawton, which is kind of an exurban smaller town right outside.

So it's not all of Woodbury county, which is good because that'd be a lot more mileage.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:10:39

But your, your, your election breaks the super majority. So what does that do for the Democrats in Iowa?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:10:48

Ultimately, what I think it does is for the constituents of Iowa, it gives them a little bit more power to push back against our deeply unpopular governor. And that's going to be really, really major.

As we kind of sift through her last term as governor, she's already announced she's not running for reelection. I think she can see the writing on the wall that she's been unpopular. Her policy has benefited only a small number of People.

And so that's the, that's the main point, right. Is we can push back on some of the more controversial, unpopular policies, but also have a say in cabinet nominations, which really important.

David B. Wheeler: 00:11:30

That's good news to hear because as we all know, a lot of these decisions and implementation takes place at the, at the cabinet level. And Kim, Kim, your governor there, has gone off the rails.

So it's glad, I'm glad to hear that you guys will have at least a little bit of oversight with her last couple years. Because actually in the last couple years, you know, when a, when a governor's on their way out, that's when they do the most damage.

So maybe you guys can put a kibosh on some of that. But so I, I love campaigns. I, I, as most of our listeners know, I grew up in Iowa around Tom Harkin.

Later in life, got to know Tom Vilsack very well and consider him a friend. And I think that one of the secrets of their success was kind of what you're talking about, which is no bullshit.

Let's just campaign on who we are and how we're going to win or what we'll do for folks. So you had a very brief campaign, obviously.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:12:30

47 days.

David B. Wheeler: 00:12:31

47 days.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:12:32

Technical about it.

David B. Wheeler: 00:12:33

Yeah. And now let's, I want you to be honest here. When did you know that you were going to win?

I mean, one of the things that's tough about campaigns is nobody wants to lose. But in same token, you kind of know what's going to happen, especially when you're active, like you were on doorsteps.

So when did you know that you were gonna.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:12:55

There was not ever a doubt for me.

David B. Wheeler: 00:12:58

Yeah.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:12:58

Really. I told, and I told people that on the doors. Right.

David B. Wheeler: 00:13:01

Like, confidence is, confidence is one thing, but how did you know you had the votes?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:13:07

I mean, the math made sense just from, you know, like I said, what we saw from other special elections. We focused really significantly on turnout voters, which is, you know, high likelihood of showing up.

And yeah, I just, I knew like, I felt peaceful at about 7:30 on election night. Polls close at 8 here, which is another, you know, Kim Reynolds rollback.

David B. Wheeler: 00:13:39

Yeah, it used to be nine.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:13:42

Yep. They also shortened the early voting window from, I think 45 days to 20. I can't remember if it's 40 days, 45 days or now it's 20 days.

And I, you know, we were out literally knocking doors until like 7:40 on election day, just as many people as we could. And, and I had this piece where like the last woman I talked to, I said, hey, do you have a plan to vote?

You've got about 20 minutes to get to the school to make that happen. And she's like, oh, my gosh, I forgot. Thank you so much for coming. I'm going to, you know, change clothes. Like, you can go in your pajamas.

Nobody cares. And she's like, I'm going to change clothes and, and we'll get over there.

And I knew that we had done everything that we could in terms of ground game and outreach and earned media. And I, I knew, like, I, it did. It was never like a, like a, a confidence thing, I think, you know, again, I just hope both teams have fun.

It wasn't like a sports thing where, like, we're going to crush them. It was just like. No. I knew that this was right and the timing was right for me personally and my family.

But more than that, it's this moment of, of deep sadness and, and fear and frustration in the electorate. And. Yeah, I, I did not doubt it.

David B. Wheeler: 00:15:04

Oh, good. I'm glad. I'm glad it turned out the way you knew it was going to turn out, but that's true.

I mean, I've done enough campaigns as well that you kind of know going in where it's headed. Sometimes you're not certain whether it's going to be win or loss, but you kind of have a sense of what's going on.

So what do you, what would you contribute to the win? Was it ground? Did you.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:15:28

Yeah.

David B. Wheeler: 00:15:28

Outside mail? What was it?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:15:31

It's ground. All ground all the time. Right. And we know that that's the, the best way to reach voters.

So we had one paid organizer who I think walked out of his shoes. He, he would do like, I can't even say. I mean, he was doing like 300 doors a week.

David B. Wheeler: 00:15:55

Can we. From the jump, we should give him a shout out. Should we?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:15:58

Oh, yes. Orion Dana.

David B. Wheeler: 00:16:00

He.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:16:01

His dad was an assemblyman in the Wisconsin legislature, and so he grew up campaigning and he's whip smart and incredibly dedicated.

David B. Wheeler: 00:16:11

300 houses a day.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:16:14

A week. A week.

David B. Wheeler: 00:16:15

I'd have to go, yeah.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:16:17

Oh, my God, no. His contact rate would have been abysmal.

David B. Wheeler: 00:16:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, that's incredible.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:16:25

And, but, and he, I mean, similarly, he was like, no, we're gonna get this done. Like, he had the same kind of, like, knowing and just like a, a funny little brother, but he was, he's so smart.

And any, any campaign would be exceptionally lucky to have Orion in their corner. As a, as I know he's Also on the hunt for a job right now, so.

David B. Wheeler: 00:16:49

Right. All right. Well, that's good to know, folks, if you're looking for a good organizer.

Yeah, this, this young man sounds like he's ready and willing to work his tail off, so.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:17:01

Yeah, and he, and he did. And, and, and that was it.

Like, we, you know, we had, like I said, we had one paid, paid organizer and he coordinated the volunteer effort every weekend. We had, you know, at least six or seven other people out knocking for us. I mean, we, we knocked on over 7,000 doors.

And this is in again, 47 days, so over 7,000 doors. And we made almost 30,000 phone calls.

And just because of the volunteer effort, we were able to expand that universe on our last kind of get out the Vote weekend and found 800 more people than we had previously ident identify just in that last weekend because we had such incredible volunteers showing up. And the Polk County Democrats bused in almost. I think it was over 50 people by the time we accounted for the people on the bus.

And then those that drove themselves separately because they didn't. They weren't into the bus vibe.

But we had, you know, we had like 50 volunteers from across the state of Iowa that showed up on get out the Vote weekend. And, and that weekend alone, it was like. I can't. I don't even remember. I'm not a stats g. But just so many contacts and so many attempts.

And that really, I think, was the. Was the secret. Which isn't a secret. Right. Campaigns know.

David B. Wheeler: 00:18:23

Yeah.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:18:24

That. That's the best. That's the best way to reach people.

David B. Wheeler: 00:18:27

Yeah, that's how we, that's how we won when I was a kid in, in Warren county was doors. I mean, we just went to as many doors as we can, and we made a family affair out of it. So you knocked, you knocked a lot of doors.

You personally did as well.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:18:41

Yes, I'm, I will say I, I am a slow canvasser to begin with because I just really enjoy chatting with people. But it turns out when you are the candidate, you are exceptionally slow. Yeah, yeah, just like everybody.

David B. Wheeler: 00:18:59

Yeah, but. That's right.

But those people remember you and they'll talk to their friends and, and the warmth that you gave them is worth, you know, probably two or three more votes. So did you do mail or radio or tv?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:19:13

Yes, we did all of that kind of traditional, traditional outreach.

But the other layer for us, and this is something that I was really about from the get go, was one, being online and being, you know, a good present on The Internet on social media. And then we did a lot of outreach in Spanish and you know, the full, full website was available in Spanish. That was really important to me.

Those, those were kind of the non traditional means of, of communication. But yeah, that we kind of pivoted away from, from broadcast just because again, that our district is, is geography.

And so, you know, traditional TV and radio, terrestrial radio just is not as effective when we can be much more targeted with digital. And so that was kind of the big, the big shift.

David B. Wheeler: 00:20:12

And why was, why was the website translated Spanish? Why is that important to you?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:20:18

Well, I am a Spanish speaker from that time in Honduras. Less good than I was in, in years past, but I picked up a lot more of it last cycle in this cycle.

But we have, you know, for the, the place that we live, we are surprisingly diverse. We have over 70 home languages spoken, school district, and that's important.

Elections work differently in other countries and it's important for me that everyone who is eligible can cast a ballot. And so Spanish is I think our highest instance of native language other than English.

I'd have to probably do a little, do a little research on that, but that, that was important.

David B. Wheeler: 00:21:05

Yeah. And, and any idea what turnout was for you, Spanish speaker wise?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:21:11

Oh, they just got the certified results today, so I think we'll start to see some of that information now. But I have not yet seen any.

David B. Wheeler: 00:21:21

Of that, but it could have been. Well, they certainly contributed to your margin, I assume.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:21:25

Yeah, well, and, and I will say too, like, I anecdotally the. I got. Because I was handing out my cell phone number on the doors, I got some like, photos from people.

One of them, they, they sent me a photo of their, of their early vote with their stickers and they said we believe in you in Spanish.

David B. Wheeler: 00:21:47

Right.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:21:47

And it's this couple that, you know, I, I was so honored to have that little like, personal touch point and like that's politics is personal whether people want to do it or not. And so reaching people where they are in the language that they're most comfortable speaking just does not seem like it should be a heavy lift.

David B. Wheeler: 00:22:06

Right. And, and there's a large immigrant population there that works in ag. Right. And like meat packing.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:22:15

Yeah, I was gonna say more more food processing than, than ag in terms of harvesting. But yes, we do have a pretty. And that, that, that blue collar work is, is Sioux City's history and going back to the original muckrakers. Right.

When we're talking about, when we're talking about packing houses and the labor that happens there and you know, union busting and, and all of that has led to, to an immigrant population that we rely on.

And, and thankfully, you know, for me, who loves to eat and drink my way through cultural experiences, we have a really robust ethnic food offering for a town our size. And like I said, that's, it's important to me to reach my neighbors in, in the way that they prefer.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:23:06

Okay. And I was looking at some of the issues that the legislature tackled in the last session.

I saw where they removed gender identity from the list of constitutionally protected classes. I guess property taxes is another issue that will be on the agenda when you get there.

What are the top issues for you that you really want to focus on?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:23:28

Yeah, the first thing for me is making sure that our public schools are funded at a rate that keeps pace with or exceeds inflation. And that has not been happening over the course of the many last sessions.

And so that's priority number one, and then priority two, three and four, I think is probably a safe kind of categorization.

And they can be in any order, but kind of right underneath public schools is how do we make health care, housing and child care more affordable and accessible.

And that was just the, the drumbeat that, you know, when we talk about reaching voters with a message that resonates, that was, that was the main thing that we kept hearing over and over again.

I'm concerned about my health care after the federal cuts to Medicaid and what does it look like, even though I'm not using Medicaid, when my provider can no longer practice here because they're not meeting the, the income needs or the, you know, the, the profit margin needs that, that are necessary to keep a clinic open. And we're already seeing the effects of that policy as well as, you know, our archaic abortion policy on the books.

We're 52nd now, I think in terms of maternal healthcare provide capita. And so how do we encourage providers to stay in practice in a state where they're not able to practice evidence based medicine all of the time?

That's going to be really important. And then, yeah, like I said, you, you mentioned property taxes. And we have to figure out an equitable way to fund our state.

And rolling back the income tax is not it. We have already seen, you know, a $917 million deficit rejection for this year.

That's because of, you know, what sounds really sexy is we want to cut your taxes.

But what it actually means is the rich aren't paying their fair share and we have to move Away from start legislating for, for actual impact instead of intent.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:25:38

It's been interesting.

You know, the big beautiful bill, I guess they're trying to rebrand that now is trying to pitch it as what is called tax breaks for the working class where all, all the studies show. I mean, you know, here in North Carolina we have Senator Thom Tillis who.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:25:56

Oh boy.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:25:58

Who fell on his sword over the Medicaid cuts because it's gonna, as he said, it's gonna impact in our district here. Tens of thousands of people lose their, their health care coverage. There's already a shortage. Like you're talking about health care providers. We've.

There are five hospitals are projected to close in North Carolina.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:26:17

Holy smokes.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:26:18

Two of those are here in western North Carolina.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:26:21

So sorry.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:26:22

So, you know, trying to rebrand this thing is being good for working class families is a bit of a joke. But what are you seeing? I saw where your state, I guess your governor was pushing for a more stringent work requirement for Medicaid.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:26:36

I believe that was successful. If I am remembering correctly, I think.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:26:40

She went about 100 hours a month where the federal law was going to be 80 hours a month. Month. And what are you seeing as far as potential impacts of.

I know like here the snap cuts, the Medicaid cuts, the head start cuts, all the things are just hard to see how that's beneficial to working class family.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:26:57

Yeah, I think we're still waiting for some of the dust to settle in terms of the effects. I know I've seen some fact sheets, but I don't, I don't have those stats handy off the top of my head.

But what the real takeaway has been is just, just creating chaos. You know, we had a system that was, for better or worse, relatively stable. Right.

People knew what to expect when they showed up at an office to apply for benefits. They knew what to expect in terms of their, you know, monthly payments.

They knew what to expect in terms of what was covered and not covered at a doctor's office. And all of that has just been thrown into the wind.

And people are scrambling to understand whether or not they will still have a job if they're working for Head Start.

They are scrambling to figure out how they're going to afford their, you know, childcare or their healthcare based on rollbacks and cuts and, and all of that takes time and effort and energy away from the life that they're trying to live. Right. It's. It's incredibly time consuming to exist in that system because there are appointments and paperwork and, and requirements.

And I just, we have a ruling class right now that is so far removed from the people that they have lost any sense of empathy for folks who might need a hand up. And that's really to the detriment of all of us.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:28:28

I was reading your governor's comments on the work requirement and she was pitching it as it's really good for the individual because there's dignity in work and getting people out there and working is going to build up their self esteem. And you know, I would think having health care would probably be more important than that.

But I'm curious, when you're out canvassing and talking with folks, I mean your district made a, a pretty big swing going from about a 20 point swing in a matter of months.

What were you hearing from people that, that, that you know, obviously there are some folks that took a different route in August and they did in November. What were you hearing from people?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:29:10

I think just that overwhelming sense of frustration that they, they don't feel well represented at any level and this was an opportunity for them to take back some of that control over the decisions that are being made about their everyday lives. Like that I think was the overwhelming kind of theme in general when you know, before you start to drill down into those issues.

But just a lot of frustration I think from folks about not feeling represented or heard.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:29:41

Right. Well, it's been one kind of encouraging thing here.

We had no Kings rallies a while back and we've got some pretty, pretty deep red areas here in western North Carolina and some of those little towns had rallies and it's some of them folks were telling me that, that they had Trump voters that came out and joined them and said hey this, this isn't what we voted for and we're having some buyers remorse. So yeah, I'm curious when you, you get sworn in, I think what next week and.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:30:10

Yep.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:30:11

Are there areas like, you know, some of the things you talk about, affordable housing, child care, health care, public, public education, are there areas where you think there's possibility to work across the aisle and get.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:30:22

Absolutely.

David B. Wheeler: 00:30:24

So yeah.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:30:24

What in particular you think you can, you can work with the other side?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:30:28

Well, I mean, I think we all want good education, we all want good health care. It's just a matter of like how, how we get there.

And I think when we see people show up at the polls but then continue to show up by saying hey, this isn't what I asked for, this isn't what I wanted, that kind of active participation in between election days will, will start to become really crucial.

And I think that's one of the main differences that you see from Democrats at the local level and Republicans is that Democrats are quite willing to listen to our constituents and say, oh, you know, I hadn't thought of it that way. Thank you for, for helping me understand the issue more deeply. And, you know, how can we come to a consensus on this?

And I'm hopeful that we'll see more of that as we sprint towards the midterm.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:31:21

You know, talking with folks here in West North Carolina, you know, Democrats and unaffiliated voters that tend to be more progressive, that there seems to be like this malaise. You know, people, they're tired, they're worn down, they're, they're disappointed in the Democratic Party.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:31:39

Yes.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:31:41

So what gives you optimism on a path forward? I mean, obviously you must see better days ahead. So what's causing you to be optimistic about tomorrow?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:31:52

Well, I think people aren't giving up. Right.

When you talk about the malaise and the frustration, that's something that I noticed early on in a very short campaign, is that the folks in my district are frustrated, but they're not giving up. There's not another option other than to think that we can do better tomorrow because otherwise, what's the point?

And, you know, I, I don't want to be Pollyanna ish about our prospects right now. There is some really scary stuff happening across the country, and I think the, that we're seeing, like you said, Trump voters show up at protests.

That tells us that people are paying attention and that maybe we'll have some opportunity to push back and, and hopefully kind of right the ship. But we do need Democrats, especially at the federal level, to start playing by the new rules.

I think what we're seeing from, you know, a Gavin Newsom or a Zoran Mamdani or a JB Pritzker, I think those types of, of communications and, and messages are going to become more necessary as the days wear on.

David B. Wheeler: 00:33:01

And Mrs. We're all going to die someday is not running in Iowa. That's a, that's a positive sign, isn't it? Because she would have been tough to beat.

I, I, I know she's vulnerable, but, you know, incumbency, as we all know know, is, is difficult sometimes. So who, who do you see?

And, and maybe you've been embroiled in your own camp or, you know, spending so much time in your own campaign you haven't thought about it much. But who do you see on the Democratic side in that Senate race? In Iowa that, that might have a chance to take that seat back for Democrats.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:33:34

Gosh, honestly, they're all exceptional candidates.

Again, I, I don't have a horse in that race, but I was, was really honored to have three out of the four of them come knock for us, which is incredible. You know, Josh Turret came out. Representative Josh Turret came out, I think on the last. I think that was the day before election day.

And, you know, he did a turf. And you know that, that means a lot when you talk about kind of all of us working together.

And, you know, same senator, state senator Zach Walls came out. Nathan Sage, who's just like a. A shot in the arm, came and he, he was like, I'm not here to talk about me.

I'm here to win this race and start the snowball. And that type of enthusiasm from across the state was, Was really quite meaningful. And somebody else told me there are no coincidences in politics.

So the fact that, that Senator Ernst dropped out a couple days after my election was not a coincidence, which I, I don't know how true that is, but if, if I had even a small part in getting her to stick to her campaign promise of only serving two terms, then I'm happy to. Happy to have helped.

David B. Wheeler: 00:34:50

Yes, it was worth every dollar, every door. Yes, just exactly. Yeah, you can, you can actually now resign and they'll have another specialist.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:34:57

I don't know that. I don't know that I can.

David B. Wheeler: 00:34:59

Yeah, yeah.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:35:00

No, no, no campaign promises to deliver, but exactly.

David B. Wheeler: 00:35:04

Well, do me a favor.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:35:05

I.

David B. Wheeler: 00:35:05

Listen, I'm a former Iowan and I obviously still have family there and love the place and keep an eye on politics. And obviously we're extremely proud of you as Democrats out here in North Carolina. But, you know, use some of the political capital that you have.

Obviously, you can't charge. Oh, yeah, charge into the place.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:35:22

Take it with you.

David B. Wheeler: 00:35:23

Right? And you can't, you can't, you can't charge in on your first day and, you know, be a bull in a china shop.

But, you know, one of the things that irritates the hell out of me, Democrats that do get power and have, you know, some following and then they don't use it.

They just, they step back and they look at re election or they look at fundraising as the primary purpose of their election when, you know, if you're going to lose, lose on something, a reason for losing because you took a stand. And. Yeah, I don't want to mansplain you because you don't need that. But, but, but I hope you'll use that.

And then secondly, my only other advice, having been around Democratic politics and Iowa politics and listen, I'm no expert in that space whatsoever, but one of the things I have learned is don't tie yourself too closely to the party because there's a lot of bullshit that goes on within the party. And the more that you can kind of stay above the fray and not be beholden to that party, the better. But that. That's something you'll.

You'll learn on your own. I'm sure It's.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:36:31

It's truly stunning that nobody eats Democrats. Like. Like Democrats.

David B. Wheeler: 00:36:37

Yeah, it is.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:36:38

We are really so good at eating our own.

David B. Wheeler: 00:36:40

Yeah.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:36:41

And I, And I. I'll admit I catch myself doing it, but we have to quit with the. The purity test and the what about ism and the. It's just maddening.

David B. Wheeler: 00:36:51

Yeah.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:36:52

And we're all pulling the rope in the same direction. Or we'd like to. Who think that we are. And so.

David B. Wheeler: 00:36:57

Yeah. And. And what you said about adapting to the rules. I.

And I know Mo, feel free to weigh in on this, but I know Mo and I would agree with you a thousand percent. One of our biggest beefs about Democrats is not using the rules to win.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:37:12

Yeah.

David B. Wheeler: 00:37:13

And doing things creative. And sometimes it may seem counterintuitive, but God damn it, do it. You know, And I'm sure you felt that way too.

You know, you living in a Trump community or a Trump ish community. I assume you got some. Some of those Trumpers to vote for you.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:37:31

ll see is. And we saw this in: 2018

When he's not at the top of the ticket, there's less enthusiasm. And so I think that's. That's part of it is that. Did they even turn out? I don't know. Like I said, we don't. We don't have the, The.

Is it the cross tabs? Is that we. What we call them in the biz.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:37:52

Yeah.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:37:54

Because. Still learning all of this language.

David B. Wheeler: 00:37:57

Yeah. Well, you don't need to learn all of it. Trust me.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:38:00

But I just. I'm an insufferable. Know it all. And so I want to know is the. Is the downfall for me? Because I really like to be right.

David B. Wheeler: 00:38:11

Yeah, I hear you.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:38:12

Yeah. Yeah. So I. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know that we know that. But it will be interesting to see. See what happens and. Or see what happens.

David B. Wheeler: 00:38:21

And most. Right.

Reaching across the aisle, actually, that's probably the best way for you to show your constituents now that you mean business and you're going to represent the whole district and do some, do some bills with some moderate Republicans that make sense so well.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:38:36

And yeah, I think at the end of the day, we're much closer to the middle and then, then and have more in common than I think our, our current, you know, left and right narratives would suggest.

David B. Wheeler: 00:38:50

Exactly. All right, back to you, Mo, for one more.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:38:52

Well, thanks.

Well, listen, it's, it's, it's been a real pleasure having you on here and a real breath of fresh air and I hope a lot of other Democrats are listening and adopting your playbook because like I said, I can tell you there seems to be a lot of gloom and doom in the party and having people with a positive outlook and a good message like you is, is really important. I hope, I imagine you're getting calls from other people looking for advice, and I hope they're, I hope they're taking it. But so what.

What's, I know it's only been two weeks, but what's, what's the future hold for you?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:39:27

Well, I mean, I think you alluded to this earlier.

You know, with re election started the night of the election, really it's a, you know, a single session term for me and then we've got a general election for a full term next year. And so that is, you know, that's ultimately what's next.

But really it's just, you know, continuing to drink from the fire hose of understanding how to be a good representative of my constituents. And that starts with listening.

So, so I'm going to keep knocking on doors and we'll have a couple, you know, listening posts, town hall kind of things coming up here before the, the start of the session. And as always, unfortunately, fundraising, because money is speech, apparently.

And so we've got to keep being able to, keep being able to, to talk to constituents, however we can reach them. So.

David B. Wheeler: 00:40:25

And what's the best way for folks to contribute it?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:40:27

Oh, that's so kind. You can find a donation page at dre for Iowa.com d r e y for Iowa. Like all spelled out dot com. Otherwise, you know, search, search me up on Act Blue.

I'm, I'm there and support at this point is, is incredibly appreciated and unfortunately necessary in that way. So.

David B. Wheeler: 00:40:49

Yeah, well, and the other thing is, you know, there's a lot of races across the country that people and we have a pretty good audience across the US And I'm sure Some of those folks contribute to competitors against MTG and Lindsey Jones or Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. Those races are unwinnable. This is a race, Caitlin Dre. Senator elect's race in 26 is a race you can re win.

And by God, we got to win that because you broke the super majority. And the governor now is accountable in Iowa in a way that she hasn't been for the last last 12 years.

So folks, please go to Dre d r e y4iowa.com and drop her 5, 10, 15, 20, 100 bucks. Because all of that matters.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:41:40

Yeah.

David B. Wheeler: 00:41:40

And that will help reelect her and. And hold Kim Reynolds and Iowa accountable.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:41:45

Further this I'm. We're certain this will already be a targeted race.

David B. Wheeler: 00:41:50

Absolutely.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:41:51

And it will be unfortunately very expensive. So.

David B. Wheeler: 00:41:56

Yep. Well, we've got the right woman in there to win it again. And you. And you, you're fired up and ready to go.

Maybe you shouldn't let that chap from Wisconsin go yet.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:42:06

So.

David B. Wheeler: 00:42:10

And what was his name again?

Veronica Muckraker: 00:42:12

Orion Dano.

David B. Wheeler: 00:42:14

All right, We've talked more about him than we did on the guy that posted. You posted on election night. Barack Obama. So.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:42:24

d up the stats. He knocked on: 3400

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:42:31

Holy.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:42:33

Yeah.

David B. Wheeler: 00:42:33

Make sure he gets a win bonus of some kind.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:42:36

And he didn't start until. Look back, I think he. So I was nominated on July 9th and I think he. He started on the 21st.

David B. Wheeler: 00:42:47

Wow.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:42:48

So in. In four weeks, essentially. Four weeks and four days.

David B. Wheeler: 00:42:53

I'm serious. I don't think you should let him go.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:42:55

You get your money. You get your money's worth out of him.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:42:58

Absolutely. We did. And. And so much more. He's also just a really funny. He's so funny.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:43:03

Yeah.

David B. Wheeler: 00:43:04

If he's from Wisconsin, he's a funny, I'm sure.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:43:06

Yeah, he. And you know, I mean like, he. Yeah, just a. Just a good, sturdy midwife Western boy.

David B. Wheeler: 00:43:11

Yeah, exactly.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:43:13

Yeah.

David B. Wheeler: 00:43:13

Well, when I die and go to heaven, I hope it's in Wisconsin or Minnesota. So anyway. All right, that's a wrap on this episode of Muck you where we dug deep into the trenches of Iowa politics and beyond.

A huge thank you to our incredible guest and the winner, Senator elect Catelin Drey, for sharing her insights on flipping that Republican held Senate seat in Iowa. And she's proving that that grassroots organizing can even turn a Trump +10 district blue. I'm David Wheeler alongside the inimitable.

I never say it right. Inevitable. One day, Monday, one day. I'll get it right, Colonel Mo Davis, co founder of American Muckraker.

If you enjoyed this show, smash that subscribe button, leave us a review, make a donation@AmericanMutTrakers.com and join us next time as we highlight how Democrats can win and call out Trump. Corruption.

David B. Wheeler: 00:44:05

Until then, stay vigilant. Remember, the truth always rises to the top. And if any Trumpers bother you, just tell them. Muck you.

Veronica Muckraker: 00:44:13

This has been MuckYOU!, co hosted by Colonel Mo Davis in Asheville and David Wheeler in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Thanks to our guest today, the Honorable Caitlyn Dre, Senator elect for the Iowa State Senate. Muck you was pretty. Produced by American Muckrakers.

Copyright: 2025

Thanks for listening and y' all come back for the next episode of Muck you.