A couple of notes from Iowa:

Ryan at the NNN has a write-up on Steve King’s first challenger in the IA-05 Congressional race, Rob Hubler. Joyce Schulte ran against the certifiable wingnut King in 2004 and 2006, getting throttled both times. Hubler is without a website - or any internet presence really, save for a small profile on a local Democratic Party website. Given the number of voters he will need to reach, and the amount of money he will need to raise to be competitive against the entrenched incumbent, this doesn’t give me any great hope that he’ll do any better than any of King’s previous challengers. Jim Esch and Scott Kleeb had a grassroots presence in seemingly hopeless races - but a lot of that had an appeal to youth that I don’t think this guy can provide.

Jonathan Singer at MyDD passes along the news that Iowa has instituted same-day voter registration. This is something we briefly discussed right after the last election right around the NYD dinner - and some good information on the youth vote from YDA’s Jane Fleming. One way to get a lot more young people to the polls is to make it easier for people to vote. Same-day voter registration is one of the best ways to do that - removing impediments and deadlines, allowing anyone who is eligible to vote to cast a ballot. It’s something that some folks are afraid of - it adds an element of unpredictability to the entire process - but it’s one of the best democratic reforms we can get. I would hope that the Nebraska legislature would consider such legislation next year.