Here is my early ranking of potential Republican candidates for president in terms of how they stand in the Iowa Caucuses:

1. Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is the youngest member of the U.S. Senate at age 40. He stood out during the Amy Coney Barrett hearings. He is from a neighboring state. His credentials on the basics are rock solid for Republicans, but he has a big lane here: Iowa’s small-town retail centers are being decimated at the hands of big tech, and there is no more fierce critic of the Silicon Valley Goliaths than Hawley.

WALL LAKE: Biodiesel plant officials and farmers Tuesday morning urged U.S. Senate candidate Theresa Greenfield to continue her opposition to Trump administration waivers for oil refineries on renewable blending.

“The RFS alone, if we can get that going, that will help us a lot,” said Brad Wilson, CEO and president of Western Iowa Energy in Wall Lake.

In Emerson’s second poll of the Iowa caucus, former Vice President Joe Biden narrowly leads the Democratic field with 25%, followed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at 24%. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana has surged to 11%. Senator Kamala Harris of California follows with 10% - the only other candidate to clear double digits in Iowa. Data was collected between March 21-24, and the Democratic caucus ballot test had a margin of error +/- 6.2%

One of the more idea-rich presidential candidates of the modern era plans to marry science fiction with prairie populism in an innovative campaign strategy that will allow him to stretch the boundaries of time and place to go where no West Wing aspirant has gone before.

Democrat Andrew Yang, best known for advocating a universal basic income ($1,000 a month for all adults, no questions asked), plans to make appearances as a lifelike hologram, with a 3D dynamic image of a himself beamed to, say, the flatbed of a truck for some campaign events and gatherings, a bold use of new technology to drive home his increasingly popular narrative about the collapse of the old American economy for millions of vulnerable workers.

In a phone interview today with The Carroll (Iowa) Times Herald, Yang said his campaign is working with a hologram company and could debut the technology — possibly in Iowa — as early as June.

Carroll Democrat Barry Bruner wants to know whether an ever-expanding field of Democratic White House candidates could turn into a contest of political cannibalism with intra-party clashes weakening the eventual nominee for a general election face-off with President Donald Trump.

“Does it hurt us in the long run?” Bruner asked former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, a 44-year-old Texan logging extensive miles already in Iowa in pursuit of his party’s nomination.

“It’s helps us,” said Castro, who reasons that a talented roster of presidential aspirants showcases depth and diversity in the Democratic Party.

Republican U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, the party’s presidential candidate in 2012, Monday called on Congressman Steve King to resign his House seat.

Romney, only days into representing Utah in Congress, joined a growing chorus of Republicans who have criticized King for the Kiron Republican’s endorsement of white nationalism in a New York Times article.

Just days into the new year, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, finds himself facing a well-known conservative Republican from Northwest Iowa in a 2020 primary in the sweeping 39-county 4th Congressional District.

DES MOINES – Secretary of State Paul Pate reminds Iowans that Voter ID is now required before casting a ballot at the polling place. A voter without one of the approved forms of identification may have the voter’s identity attested to by another registered voter in the precinct or may cast a provisional ballot.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, The Hispanic Institute released a report on the positive net economic impact of immigration, particularly in two politically important states not often thought of as destinations for immigrants.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren stormed across half the Hawkeye State Saturday, drawing overflow crowds eager to hear her populist brand of politics a full year before the Iowa caucuses — a contest the Massachusetts Democrat hasn’t even officially entered yet. Her pitch: American government and business are rigged against everyday Americans, and it’s getting worse under President Donald Trump.