Iowa
Climate protesters disrupt Ramaswamy town hall in Iowa
Climate protesters continue appearing on the campaign trail in Iowa, this time disrupting a town hall Friday night held by Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
At least six protesters were spotted attempting to shout down the biotech entrepreneur at an event in West Des Moines, some of them holding signs that read “Vivek: Climate Criminal.”
“The planet is on fire!” the protesters chanted. Others shouted “Vivek is a liar!”
DESANTIS SHUTS DOWN ‘NUMBNUTS’ CLIMATE PROTESTERS AT IOWA EVENT, SECURITY TACKLES TO THE GROUND: ‘I’M DOING THIS’
Climate protesters were spotted disrupting a Ramaswamy town hall in West Des Moines, IA. (Screenshots/Adam Wren)
In another video, Ramaswamy is seen engaging with the hostile attendees, clashing with them after they claimed he receives money from fossil fuels, which he denied.
One of them exclaimed “You say you care about our future and that little girl’s future- how much money would it cost for you to actually care about us.”
“If you want to have a seat and we can have a respectful discussion, we can do that,” Ramaswamy said.
RAMASWAMY URGES SUPREME COURT TO OVERTURN COLORADO DECISION, FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF TRUMP
The disruptive protesters were eventually forced out of the event after Ramaswamy repeatedly pleaded for them to have a “respectful discussion.”
Ramaswamy spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital, “A good way to tell whether you actually care about free speech principles: flip-flop which side is using the tactic you don’t like, and see if you feel the same way,” adding “Vivek is a free speech absolutist.”
GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is hoping to exceed expectations at Monday’s Iowa caucuses. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
This isn’t the first campaign event climate protesters have crashed this week. On Thursday, climate protesters similarly disrupted an event by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. One protester was even seen tackled by security.
“That is (what’s) wrong with the college system right there. That’s exhibit A,” DeSantis quipped about the tackled protester.
Protesters also briefly appeared during Tuesday’s Fox News town hall featuring DeSantis.
Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a campaign event at Jethro’s BBQ on January 11, 2024 in Ames, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Time is running out for the GOP hopefuls ahead of the Iowa caucuses on Monday and the snowy and freezing conditions could have an impact on turnout.
The RealClearPolitics average of polls show former President Trump with a commanding lead with 53% support of Iowa Republicans. Following Trump at a distant second is former U.N. Ambassador with roughly 18% support, then DeSantis close behind at 15.5% followed by Ramaswamy with 6.5%.
Iowa
Elections live updates: Key races to watch in California, Iowa, Montana and New Jersey primaries
Live Coverage
In California, competition is fierce for the gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral nominations. Iowa, Montana and New Jersey have open U.S. Senate seats. In New Jersey, a silent congressman could lose his House seat.
Iowa
Iowa joins wave of states forcing porn sites to verify users’ ages
Beginning July 1, Iowans must verify they are adults to access porn websites.
How online porn is shaping a generation of young men
Early porn exposure among boys is rising. And experts say it leads to lasting struggles with addiction, mental health and relationships.
Iowa will require porn websites to verify users are at least 18 under a new law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The Hawkeye State joins at least 25 other states, including Kansas and Nebraska, in requiring age verification for adult content in an effort to prevent minors from accessing it.
House File 864 is modeled after a Texas age verification law the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in a 6-3 decision in June. The measure will apply to websites or apps if at least one-third of their content is pornographic.
Beginning July 1, the law will require the websites to verify a user’s age using government-issued identification, financial documents or other documents that are “reliable proxies for age.” Age verification may also be performed by third parties or through any “commercially reasonable and reliable method.”
The law states websites and third parties “shall not retain, sell, lease or otherwise disseminate any identifying information of an individual subject to reasonable age verification unless retention or dissemination of the identifying information is required by law or a court order.”
It also requires third parties and websites to use “reasonable methods given the person’s scope of business to secure all data collected and transmitted” during the age verification process.
Under the new law, Iowa’s attorney general can sue companies in violation of the law. Violators could face fines up to $1,000 for each time an individual accesses a site in violation of the law. Civil penalties for providers are capped at $10,000 per day.
Iowa Senate lawmakers unanimously approved the measure while the House advanced it 82-2.
Rapid Response Politics Reporter Maya Marchel Hoff can be reached at mmarchelHoff@usatodayco.com. You can find her on X (formerly Twitter) at @mmarchelhoff.
Iowa
Iowa Democratic Senate primary: Wahls, Turek make final push before election
DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) — Iowa’s primary election is Tuesday, and candidates across the state are making their final push to voters.
One of the most closely watched contests is the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. The winner will advance to November’s general election to compete for Senator Joni Ernst’s seat.
Iowa State Senator Zach Wahls and State Representative Josh Turek are competing for the Democratic nomination.
Wahls spent Monday in Des Moines speaking with voters about the issues they want addressed in Washington.
“It’s time for change. We’ve been talking about it from day one. Iowans have been failed by leaders in both parties for far too long,” Wahls said. “In order to get the change that we need, we need a leader and a fighter who’s willing to challenge the broken status quo and clean up the corruption in Washington DC.”
Turek toured the state during the final days of the race. He was in Sioux City Friday and said he will represent working class Iowans if elected.
“I come from a working class family, a working class community, somebody that’s gone through a lot of hardships, a lot of struggle, both on the economic and on the health care side,” Turek said. “I think what’s fundamentally wrong with DC right now is we’ve got enough millionaires up there. I’m the only one in this race that’s not a millionaire.”
For the first time in more than a decade, Iowa will have an open U.S. Senate seat.
While campaigning, candidates have heard concerns ranging from affordability and housing costs to agriculture and water quality.
Polls open Tuesday morning across Iowa.
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Isabella Warren covers state government and politics for Gray Media-owned stations in Iowa. Email her at isabella.warren@kcrg.com; and follow her on Facebook at Isabella Warren TV on X/Twitter@isabellaw_gray, and on Instagram@IsabellaWarrenTV.
Copyright 2026 Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau. All rights reserved.
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