First Floyd County visit on Monday for 2020 presidential election

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

The first primary campaign for president is already underway.

Democratic candidate and U.S. Rep. John K. Delaney, D-Maryland, has 10 scheduled stops across Iowa over the next week, including Charles City, St. Ansgar and Mason City.

This is his third visit to Iowa on the campaign, his office said in a statement.

“A lot of people are already campaigning, they’re just not telling people,” Delaney told the Press. “I think more time is only an asset, not a liability.”

Delaney will visit with Floyd County Democrats at 8:30 a.m. Monday on Main Street. After his Charles City stop, Delaney will meet St. Ansgar residents at 10 a.m. at 1360 487th St.

Delaney, a three-term Democrat, announced in late July that he’ll seek his party’s presidential nomination for 2020 instead of re-election in 2018 to his House seat.

Delaney said he started his campaign early to change national conversations, although he acknowledged Iowans are still focused on the 2018 governor’s race.

“Obviously I need to be respectful about the fact that they have a very important decision to make about their governor,” Delaney said. “When I first went to Iowa in August on this campaign, I was a little concerned that people would say, ‘this sounds interesting but it’s a little early.'”

Instead, Delaney said, Iowans were thanking him for starting the 2020 process.

“We’re pretty excited to start talking about the next chapter. The Democratic party has a problem, and I think Iowa Democrats understand that as well,” he added. “I think they thought it was great to get the conversation started.”

Delaney is a former banking entrepreneur who had never held political office before winning his congressional seat in 2012. He is one of the House’s wealthiest members with a net worth of roughly $90 million, the Associated Press reports.

Delaney said his policies focus on improving infrastructure for rural Americans with more private investment, “re-designing social contracts” to offer Americans the right to job training, and separating retirement and health care benefits from employers to offer Americans a better chance of mobility.

“I have some new, innovative ideas. … Some are progressive in orientation, some are conservative in orientation,” Delaney said.