T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Marshall County Democrats Chair Tom Swartz shows a table with candidate materials in their new West Main Street campaign office. The county party has not had an office since 2018, when the previous location was damaged by the tornado.

Eight years have passed since the Marshall County Democrats had a campaign office. But now their new space is open, making it easier for residents to get information about Democratic candidates.

Chair Tom Swartz said the party moved out of the previous location after sustaining damage from the 2018 tornado. The building in which the office was located lost HVAC, so the central committee decided it would be best to move out.

“Then COVID happened in 2020,” he said. “In 2022, there were still COVID concerns. Then a lot of our Democrat volunteers were retired and not as active. All of the young people worked full-time jobs and could not volunteer. So, we did not feel we could open a campaign office and staff it during the 2022 or 2024 elections.”

After Swartz was elected chair of the Marshall County Democrats in January, conversations were started about getting another office again. He convinced the central committee members it was time to move forward. Work began to raise the necessary funds to rent a temporary office.

Swartz began scouring the community, looking for just the right spot, and he found it on West Main Street. The office contains four rooms, with one large enough to accommodate central committee meetings.

“We have been able to raise the money and get pledges to open and keep this as headquarters through the election,” Swartz said.

People who visit the new office will find literature about Democratic candidates, such as Mike Tupper (running for Iowa House of Representatives District 52), Teresa Perin (District 51), Dave Dawson (United States House of Representatives District 4) and more. The party will also have candidate yard signs on hand for whomever wants them on display.

It will also serve as a place for out-of-town candidates to “set up” when visiting. Swartz said sometimes the candidates give short notice, and this makes it easier for them to have a location for them and possibly get some volunteers to show up and participate in campaign needs.

At such an early point in the campaign season, he said everything is moving at a slow pace, but as time goes on and November gets closer, more volunteers will be needed. Swartz added that they are looking for volunteers to help staff the office in two-hour blocks during working hours.

“When they get here, we want their time to be meaningful,” he said. “It could be greeting people, answering the phone, providing voter registration materials, preparing mailings to go out thanking donors or letting voters know they have been moved to an ‘inactive’ status. They could call voting Democrats and solicit volunteers to go out and knock on doors.”

Volunteers will also not have to worry about doing things which make them uncomfortable.

“If you don’t want to make phone calls, you will not have to,” Swartz said. “The phone calls are not for persuasion, but just seeing if voters want some information on the candidates or some yard signs.”

Swartz is confident this was a good time to reopen a Marshall County Democrats campaign office as there is “something in the 2026 air” signalling an upcoming political change. He saw the same societal behavior and pattern in 1982, when Democrats gained the legislative majority during Ronald Reagan’s first term.

“People are yearning for change, for efforts to get big money out of politics and get elected officials who are working for things that matter to Iowans and the people of Marshall County,” he said.

OFFICE INFO

Name: Marshall County Democrats

Address: 307 W. Main St.

Days: Monday through Friday

Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Phone: 641-758-3338

Website: marshallcountyiadems.org

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.