Run like nobody's watching...

There’s a saying that’s gained popularity in recent years: Dance like nobody’s watchingOf course, we all watch and judge people dancing and certainly feel that judgment ourselves without the benefit of copious amounts of alcohol. So I thought about that saying after spending an hour with candidate Sarah Corkery, who is running to unseat Ashley Hinson in Iowa’s 2nd district in Congress. Sarah Corkery is picking up raving fans to unseat incumbent Hinson. She’s the real deal, they say. And she’s running with abandon, like nobody is watching, and having a blast. Through TikTok and traveling the district, Corkery may have lopsided fundraising numbers that portend a loss, but if ever there was a year for pundits to be wrong, it’s this one. How does one truly measure the movement taking place in this country today?The Iowa Poll will start to be released tomorrow (Sunday, September 15), so we’ll learn something about this flashpoint in history for Iowa voters then. But, there is something liberating in these candidates who are warned theirs is a Quixotic journey—they are authentic and having fun. Corkery is open and forthright, and her approach to this race is worth a look. What I appreciate about this platform here on the Potluck column is that we can sit down for an uninterrupted hour-long conversation with an intelligent woman running for Congress - getting little media attention - and broadcast it to a few thousand people without owning an FCC license or being part of corporate media ownership.Who knows? Perhaps ‘choice’ - as in a woman’s right to choose health care options related to bodily autonomy (i.e., abortion to IVF) could be a factor that gives her an edge. Corkery became involved politically when Hinson refused to go along with funding for the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act. Explained Corkery: “This act means that if you are under 65 and don’t qualify for Medicare because of your age, are too sick to work, or don’t have insurance, there is a five-month waiting period and then another two years to get on Medicare waiting period—so, two and a half years is almost a death sentence for people with terminal cancer.”Candidate Corkery has had a mastectomy and then a return of breast cancer. The experience of working on legislation to help others turned her into an activist and then a candidate. In a state with the second-highest cancer diagnosis rate in the country, Corkery has a bipartisan bunch of voters in her district on that one issue alone, sadly. What will happen in this watershed political year? Could enthusiasm for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz overcome a voter registration imbalance?Will new voters be motivated this election cycle, some of whom have personally experienced how elections matter?Will they be turned off by Project 2025?Please listen to the podcast or read the transcript, and tell me what you think. Iowa Writers’ CollaborativeCheck out the Sunday Roundup of columns by members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, and subscribe: Also, some of the political analyst members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative have a podcast for you during this election cycle: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit okobojiwriters.substack.com/subscribe