Wednesday, September 7, 2016 | Volume 212 | Number 12 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
THE FINAL STRETCH Clinton, Trump look ahead to general election in two months
46 43
41.4% Clinton
40
39% Trump
37 JULY
AUG.
SEPT.
OCT.
NOV. Peter Lemken/Iowa State Daily
By Alex.Hanson @iowastatedaily.com
W
e’re now in the home stretch — in just two months, voters will head to the polls and cast their votes for president and races up and down the ballot. And while the last year and a half has been unpredictable, from the rise of Donald Trump, a serious challenge to Hillary Clinton and what some say is the demise of political discourse, the usual campaign tactics, messages and themes are falling into place ahead of voting on Nov. 8. “We normally say that the races pick up after Labor Day,” said Tim Hagle, a professor of political science at the University of Iowa. “I still think that will be the case, though I’ve seen some suggest otherwise. It may be that pretty much everyone knows Clinton and Trump, and we here in Iowa have seen our share of visits and ads already, but I think there are still a lot of people who don’t pay too much attention until after the holiday, particularly those who are registered no party.” Hagle is right on visits — almost two dozen candidates crisscrossed the state ahead of the February Iowa Caucus, which gave us winners Ted Cruz and Clinton. Now, Trump and Clinton — the two most unpopular candidates in modern history, ac-
cording to public opinion polls — compete for votes in swing states, while third-party candidates hope to make a dent in poll numbers. And Iowans can expect more visits even as polls in Iowa show a close race between Trump and Clinton, both of whom already have made campaign stops since securing the nomination. The latest polling in Iowa is much closer than some other states that usually get attention. A CBS News/ YouGov poll in recent weeks had Trump on top at 44 percent and Clinton at 39 percent. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson had 8 percent and Green Party nominee Jill Stein had 1 percent. National polls outside of Iowa have shown Clinton ahead in recent weeks, although Trump is trending up within the last several days. “We are just about guaranteed to get way beyond the usual level of being sick and tired about campaign ads,” said Mack Shelley, chairman and professor in the political science department at Iowa State. “[The Real Clear Politics average] now has Trump up by a bit less than one point in Iowa. If other states start to drift in his direction, Iowa could well become a focal point for attack ads that impugn both candidates’ veracity and will drag us way deep into the political septic tank.” Clinton has massively outspent Trump thus far in the advertisement column, but battleground state
campaigning will continue to play a large role in the candidates’ strategy going forward. Clinton has spent nearly $75 million on general election ads, while Trump is way behind at $7.7 million, according to an analysis by NBC News and Advertising Analytics. Johnson also has gone on the air in several states in recent weeks. Along with Iowa, several states will likely decide who gets to 270 electoral votes on election night. “Many of the other battleground states are relatively close, but it’s worth noting that in none of those states does either candidate have a majority support, so they all are pretty much up for grabs,” Shelley said. The reason? Johnson and Stein are polling in at least the single digits, and in some cases, Johnson cracks 10 percent support. The former Republican governor always had libertarian leanings, but after dropping out of the 2012 GOP primary, he officially became a Libertarian and ended up receiving about 1 percent nationally — more than a million votes. Johnson is touting himself and running mate Bill Weld, also a former Republican governor, as an alternative to the two-party system and a choice that “most Americans” can agree with — fiscally conservative economically and socially liberal. Stein is calling for a “Green New Deal,” running to the left of
Clinton and trying to sway disillusioned Democrats who may have supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Johnson also is looking forward to the Commission on Presidential Debates releasing the names for the debates. If a candidate can reach 15 percent in polls, he or she can debate in front of Americans on television. And Johnson concedes if he is not on the debate stage, his chances of competing through November are slim. Along with Iowa and the effect of third parties, Shelley and Steffen Schmidt, a university professor of political science at Iowa State, are keeping an eye on several other states that could go either way, including Ohio, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Missouri, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
DEBATE PREP The process of preparing for the three presidential debates is usually down in the details every cycle, but the talk this cycle has been about how Clinton will prepare for Trump, who has defied all rules usually associated with politics. “Predicting what could be regarded as a random event is really difficult, but Clinton can prepare best by being trained to respond in
ELECTION p4
Story County GOP opens new campaign hub By Travis.Charlson @iowastatedaily.com The Republicans of Story County are revving up their campaigning efforts ahead of November’s election, opening a “Victory Office” Tuesday to serve as the nucleus for state and local campaigns. Local volunteers, officials and community members gathered in the new digs at 1421 South Bell St. for the ribbon cutting, where candidates spoke to those in attendance about the importance of the volunteers’ roles in local elections. “We have a lot of critical local races and so that’s what we as a county party are here for,” said Brett Barker, Story County GOP chairman. “We’re here to provide them support with volunteers, support with material and mailings and just coordinating and helping them get their message out. “We need as much support at the local level as we can.” The location’s purpose is to coordinate volunteers and organize events and campaign efforts around Ames. It serves as a jumping off point for local candidates. The office gives local Republicans something to be excited about in anticipation of the looming elections, Barker said. “This office is a critical piece of our efforts here in the county for the fall,” Barker said. “We’re really excited to have this space available to us. One, to get people excited about
the election and hear from our candidates, and also to help us fundraise too, so we can get their message out.” Sondra Childs-Smith, who is challenging state Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, said students are a big part of elections in Ames. “Things are looking pretty positive,” Childs-Smith said. “We’re trying to target Iowa State students. [We want] to register them, and register them in this county instead of where they are from. I think that will give us a really nice base.” While the political spotlight has been trained on the state and presidential races, Rick Sanders, Story County Board of Supervisors chairman, stressed that a lot is at stake at the local level too. “This is going to be an election unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” Sanders said. “From top to bottom, all the way through, there are lots and lots of opportunities if we work as hard as we can work to make sure we’re turning out those voters likely to support those things we believe in. “Every phone call matters, every door knock matters.” The key now, officials said, is to coordinate those pivotal volunteer efforts. “I’m always amazed at the time and dedication that people put into this operation and these headquarters,” said David Deyoe, state representative from District 49. “As a candidate, you’re so thankful for the volunteers that help your campaign and everyone’s campaign.”
Iowa State Daily
Iowa State will request at the Board of Regents meeting $100 million in state appropriations for a new Veterinary Diagnostic Lab within the College of Veterinary Medicine complex. The Board of Regents will meet Wednesday and Thursday.
ISU looks to add new Vet Diagnostic Lab By Jenna.Hrdlicka @iowastatedaily.com Among topics to be proposed at the Board of Regents meeting on Wednesday and Thursday at the University of Iowa is a request for $100 million in state appropriations for a new Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (VDL). The current VDL is a laboratory located in the College of Veterinary Medicine, southeast of Jack Trice Stadium, that “[provides] comprehensive and cutting-edge diagnostic services agents, [delivers] accessible, timely, accurate, valid and consistent test results, [detects and identifies] emerging domestic and foreign animal disease, [leads] efforts in disease surveillance and eradication, [develops] state-of-theart diagnostic tools and technique,” and more, according to the VDL mission statement. “The VDL is the only facility of its kind in the entire state of Iowa,” said John McCarroll, executive director of university relations. “It’s not only important for Iowa State University,
but it is important for the entire animal industry. Producers, owners, farmers — across the state of Iowa.” The proposal is a request for the board to put forward a five-year, $100 million allocation from the state of Iowa for construction of the new lab, as one of its capital improvement requests. If approved, the funding would start in the fiscal year 2018, which is the year that begins July 2017. “Right now, the VDL is incorporated within the College of Veterinary Medicine, which raises concerns about biosecurity because you have animals being treated near this highly-sophisticated laboratory where they are treating and investigating diseases,” McCarroll said. A final location for the proposed new lab has not yet been determined, but it will be located within the College of Veterinary Medicine complex to “insure access and collaboration with other Veterinary Medicine units,” said Katherine Gregory, senior vice president for university services. If approved, the current lab
would continue to be used during the construction period. Once the project is completed, the former lab will be renovated and used as added research lab space, McCarroll said. “This [proposal] is important to students, as well as all Iowans, because many students might be educated in VetMed, or biology, or any number of disciplines, and might eventually work in the Vet Diagnostic Laboratory,” he said. When the current VDL facility opened in 1976, there were 11 faculty and 20 staff members working there. Now, according to Anne Krapfl in an article for Inside Iowa State, there are 25 faculty and 120 technical staff working in the samesized space. The new lab would not only address space issues, but also would meet current biosafety and biocontainment requirements. If approved, this $124-million, multi-year project is planned to be funded with the $100 million from state appropriations, $20 million from private gifts and $4 million from university funds, Krapfl said in the article.