Election 2020 and the Pulse of the Heartland

John Austin, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; Director, Michigan Economic Center; Molly Beck, State and Government Politics Reporter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Shia Kapos, Author, Politico Illinois Playbook; Robert Leonard, Host, KNIA/KRLS Radio Iowa. Moderated by Adam Roberts.

Election 2020 and the Pulse of the Heartland

Home to the Iowa caucuses and a host of critical swing states, the Midwest is poised to play a defining role in the 2020 presidential election. Candidates and strategists are studying the region closely, using the latest polling data to plan campaign stops, fine-tune messaging, and capture the political mood. Will global trends and economic forces—tariffs, immigration, climate change—motivate voters, or will local concerns and controversies influence the result? One week after the Iowa caucuses, analysts from across the region convene to take the election-year pulse of the heartland.

Copies of Robert Leonard’s latest book Deep Midwest: Midwestern Explorations will be available for purchase and signing after the program from the Book Cellar.

Speaker Bio

John Austin

@John_C_Austin

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; Director, Michigan Economic Center

John Austin serves as a nonresident senior fellow on the Global Midwest at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and as a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. In these roles he leads efforts to support economic transformation in the American Midwest. Austin also directs the Michigan Economic Center, a center for ideas and network-building to advance Michigan’s economic transformation. Recently, Austin completed 16 years of elected service on the Michigan State Board of Education, serving the past six years as president. In 2004, he also served as policy director for Michigan’s governor-appointed Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth.

Robert Leonard

@RobertLeonard

Host, KNIA/KRLS Radio Iowa

Robert Leonard is the host of a daily public affairs program for KNIA/KRLS radio, located in the south-central Iowa towns of Knoxville, Pella, and Indianola. His work mainly focuses on rural issues, including politics, agriculture, and climate change, and over the years has interviewed over 8,000 Iowans. Leonard is an occasional contributor to the New York Times, the Kansas City Star, the Des Moines Register, and other publications. He has appeared on CNN, "Meet the Press Daily" with Chuck Todd, MSNBC with Katy Tur, Iowa Public Television’s Iowa Press, Iowa Public Radio’s "River to River" and "Talk of Iowa," and WNYC, among others. Leonard is also the author of dozens of scholarly papers and books, including short stories and poetry about rural life titled, Deep Midwest.

Schedule

5:15 p.m.
Registration

5:30 p.m.
Discussion

6:30 p.m.
Adjournment & Book Signing