T-R PHOTOS BY ROBERT MAHARRY LEFT: Marshall County Democrats Treasurer Craig Harabedian holds up a party t-shirt during the midterm caucus at the Marshalltown High School cafeteria on Monday night. RIGHT: State Rep. and acting Marshall County Republicans Chair David Blom (R-Marshalltown), left, introduces Marshall County Attorney Jordan Gaffney, right, during the party’s midterm caucus at Dejardin Hall on the Marshalltown Community College campus Monday night.

Members of the Marshall County Democratic and Republican parties gathered separately on Monday night for their midterm caucuses to select delegates for upcoming county and state conventions and make pitches for their candidates in the upcoming 2026 election.

At Marshalltown Community College’s (MCC’s) Dejardin Hall, a crowd of at least 50 local Republicans came together for a meeting led by acting county party chair David Blom, the GOP state representative for Marshalltown and southeastern Marshall County, as the party seeks to maintain its current domination of local politics as Republicans currently hold every elected and state office in the area.

After an introduction from Blom, Marshall County Attorney Jordan Gaffney announced his plans to seek re-election in 2026 and touted his faith, his love of his family and his love for the community in serving the public. He also noted that since joining the county attorney’s office, he has witnessed “the sheer cascade of loss” that so many families have experienced.

“But through it all, I can say that it has been an absolute honor to advocate on their behalf, to advocate on behalf of everybody in this room, and to advocate on behalf of everybody in Marshall County. I’m very proud of that,” he said.

Some of the accomplishments he highlighted included starting a community advisory board, enhancing community outreach from his office, pursuing diversion efforts for veterans and putting opioid settlement funds to work locally to help fight addiction. His work has not concluded, he added, and he hopes to earn the support of Marshall County voters for another term after he was first appointed to his position in 2021 and then won an election to a full term in 2022.

Marshall County Republicans Secretary Mark Steinberg then spoke of some of the details on party business and the search for a new chair as the seat is currently vacant, and Marshall County Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson, who was re-elected to her position in 2024, addressed the crowd and offered her full endorsement of Gaffney for another term.

“He’s got such a good heart, and what he said about his faith (and) family is very, very true. And what he has to see every day — unfortunately, I’ve gotten to learn about a lot of those things too being at the courthouse. And he’s remained a great, great man,” she said. “Share that out to the world that he is top notch, and we need to keep him in that office. So please remember to share that because Jordan is just fantastic.”

She also reported that nine applicants for the vacant Marshall County Board of Supervisors seat will be interviewed on Wednesday, and an appointment must be finalized before Feb. 16. Former State Senator Jeff Edler (R-State Center), who retired in 2024 after serving two terms, was also a featured speaker along with Carlie Smith of Laurel, who read a letter on behalf of GOP State Auditor candidate Abigail Maas.

The night ended with a grassroots straw poll to gauge which issues local Republicans hope to see in the county platform and as legislative priorities. The Republicans will hold their county convention on March 7, the district convention on April 25 and the state convention on June 13.

“I felt it was good to have the grassroots have a voice and have it start at the neighborhood, at the local community college level. We’re fired up and ready to go for 2026, and I think the message I took from it is that people do not want to see Iowa become high crime like Illinois or see the chaos in the streets like we’re seeing in Minneapolis, and we want to keep Iowa Iowa,” Blom said after the caucus concluded. “I felt overwhelmed by the amount of volunteers who showed up to help put on the caucuses and make sure that things went off without a hitch and that everybody had their voice included and regardless of what diverse background or opinion they were coming from, everybody had their voice heard… It was hard to find a job for everyone, but I appreciated (that) it takes a lot of work to make the Iowa caucuses happen, especially Mark Steinberg behind the scenes. He’s put in hundreds of hours.”

Conversely, the Marshall County Democrats met in the Marshalltown High School cafeteria and saw a similar turnout with at least 50 people in attendance to hear from county party leaders as Central Committee member Dierdre Taylor urged them to get involved and donate to candidates, recounting her recent experience protesting President Trump’s visit to Clive last Tuesday afternoon — joking that he received “a 200-finger salute.”

“We understand the weight of the past year and the challenges we face ahead, but tonight, we have the opportunity to turn frustration into action. Iowans have always proven that we can do hard things when we come together. So make your voice heard, connect with your community, and let’s win some elections in 2026,” she said.

She advocated for a grassroots approach that involves the younger generation.

“We have to get the young people involved because you know what, old folks? We ain’t it anymore. We’re gonna die before change is gonna happen,” Taylor said. “Let’s get our kids involved because you know what? If we don’t get them involved, this country is done, and from that, this world is done. If the United States does not make it, the world is not gonna make it. Let’s remember how serious this really is.”

Taylor and other attendees also highlighted upcoming protests and candidate events, including one with gubernatorial hopeful Rob Sand at former Mayor Joel Greer’s house on Wednesday evening.

Former Marshall County Supervisor and State Representative Tom Swartz, one of two current co-chairs of the Marshall County Democrats, told the T-R he felt that something was “in the air” heading into the 2026 midterms, likening the atmosphere to 1974 after President Richard Nixon resigned over the Watergate scandal and 1982 during President Ronald Reagan’s first term.

“There is a lot of energy and passion, and a lot of it comes from national events, global events, but also, people have been upset with what’s going on in Des Moines — what’s perceived to be the chipping away of rights of people to read what we want to read from the libraries, to having the school libraries be free of influence, and then of course, taking public money for private schools,” he said. “Republicans and Democrats used to support public schools as the chief preservation of democracy, and now, it’s only one party that feels that way, the Democrats.”

He expressed excitement about the two candidates seeking office to represent Marshall County in the Iowa House — former Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper and MHS English teacher Teresa Perin — and emphasized the importance of winning back local offices.

The Democrats will hold their county convention on March 21, district convention on May 2 and the state convention on June 13.