DES MOINES, Iowa — Rahm Emanuel, the longtime Washington operator and former mayor of Chicago, had a blunt confession this weekend. He’s tired of trying to fix a rigged system, and says he’s ready to rig it himself — for working Americans.
At a lively Democratic fish fry that capped a busy weekend in a state that’s historically been vital to presidential campaigns, Emanuel made his most public step yet toward testing a 2028 message.
The former White House chief of staff offered a message centered on economic fairness, education and affordability. “This should not come as a surprise to you,” Emanuel said from the stage set up at the home of Iowa state Rep. Sean Bagniewski, who hosted the fish fry in his front yard for 400 Democrats. “The American Dream is unaffordable. It’s inaccessible, and we, as Democrats, that’s unacceptable to us.”
In frank talk mixed with some humor, Emanuel more than once said, “Somebody needs to take a two-by-four upside Washington’s head and swing at it.” The crowd ate it up.
Democrats are still trying to chart a path forward after Kamala Harris lost to Donald Trump last year and the party is out of power. Emanuel’s weekend of informal campaigning and his populist message suggests he wants to see his party return to focusing on kitchen table issues that elevated his former bosses to the White House.
Iowa’s famously discerning electorate provides a proving ground few other early states can match. “The best test for somebody is to walk into a room and talk policy in front of 20 people who have their homework. That doesn’t happen in other places,” said Pete Giangreco, a Democratic consultant based in Chicago, where Emanuel got his political start.
“Rahm can speak from a lectern and one on one because he cuts right through the bullshit. It’s very authentic and real and I think Iowans appreciate that,” Giangrego said.
Emanuel avoided a polished stump speech and instead took questions from the crowd for nearly an hour, talking policy, telling stories of his years working for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and making a few digs at Donald Trump.
The Q&A format was a strategic choice. It revealed that voters were less concerned with polarizing cultural issues and more focused on practical, everyday concerns — like tariffs, potential Medicaid cuts, education and, even, strategies to combat the spread of misinformation.
The crux of Emanuel’s message was about the American Dream needing fixing. “We used to strive to get into the middle class, now we just struggle to stay there, and we all know it,” he said. “We know it from our own kids.”
Emanuel offered a sobering generational comparison: “In 1950, 50 percent of the kids that were 30 years or younger were married and owned a home. … Today, it’s 12 percent.” There was a murmur heard through the crowd.
If the economic message was the heart of his speech, education was its call to arms. “We are at a 30-year low in reading and math scores,” he warned. “Let me break the news to you: children do not hit a do-over. They get one shot.”
Emanuel took aim at Trump, criticizing a speech the president made earlier in the summer saying Democrats hate America.
“I’ve got two kids in the Navy. That’s a funny way to show hate,” said Emanuel. “We may have disagreements, but the one thing we don’t disagree about is America and why we’re lucky to be here … Teddy Roosevelt defined the bully pulpit around the presidency, and President Trump is all bullying. No pulpit.”
Before his Q&A, Emanuel worked the crowd, talking to the small groups who gathered in Bagniewski’s living room or in the front yard.
Asked about a possible presidential run, Emanuel leaned over a table to tell one fish-fry guest, “I’m thinking about it and if I’ve got something to say and something to offer … then I’ll do it, and if I don’t, I won’t.”
The Iowa mystique
Though the Democratic Party dropped Iowa as its first primary state in the last presidential cycle, Iowans have kept their political fish fry tradition alive — and so have the politicians. Along with Emanuel appearing to test the White House waters, JB Pritzker, Pete Buttigieg, Ruben Gallego and Tim Walz have also visited the Hawkeye state.
Saturday’s fish fry and a dizzying number of events beforehand gave Iowans a glimpse of Emanuel as a retail politician.
He spent Saturday morning meeting with labor leaders before visiting with the entrepreneurs behind a downtown business development incubator — a project that mirrors efforts he supported while mayor of Chicago. And on Friday, Emanuel sat down with teachers to talk about education before joining Bagniewski at the Ames vs. Roosevelt high school football game at Drake University, where he talked to parents and teens milling about watching the game.
“This is what we want in Iowa — anyone who’s running or thinking of running to come to Iowa. We want to make sure Democrats are giving Iowa the time of day. It’s grassroots. Kissing babies and coming to Friday night football games really matters,” said Iowa state Sen. Izaah Knox, who also coaches football for Roosevelt.
Tom O’Donnell, a longtime science writer who attended the fish fry with his wife, Paula Mohr, said Emanuel “is reaching for a populist message and I think that’s what Democrats need to do.”
And Iowa state Rep. Rob Johnson, who’s originally from Chicago’s South Side, praised Emanuel for not “shying away” from difficult subjects. “Chicagoans know how to shake a hand and throw a punch at the same time. And in this type of space, you need somebody who you feel is going to tell you the truth even if you don’t like it.”
Attendance at Saturday’s fish fry was more than double its usual turnout. The fresh-caught fish battered in a special recipe from Bagniewski’s parents is always a big draw. Though this year, the Iowa Democrat said it was the headliner that mattered.
“The party’s in a weird place right now nationally and statewide, and I think people really want a fighter on our side. And nobody is more aggressive in the Democratic Party than Rahm Emanuel,” said Bagniewski, who invited Emanuel to the event.
Bagniewski’s home is in Des Moines’ Beaverdale neighborhood, where Obama spoke during his reelection campaign. Residents were so taken by the visit that the neighborhood was nicknamed “Obamadale.”
For Emanuel, known as a sharp-elbowed political operator, the fish fry allows him to road test whether he can translate his insider savvy into genuine connection with everyday voters.
“I’m in the listening mode. Leaders are gonna lift the lid and check the oil and see if the spark plugs are working, which is what they should do,” he said in an interview before the fish fry.
More recently, Emanuel is known for breaking down politics as a national political commentator on TV. He pulls from his long resume: along with serving two terms as mayor, he had a stint as ambassador to Japan, was chief of staff to Obama and worked in City Hall.
“Rahm has unparalleled experience at every level of government and really keen insights. But these kinds of trips, done right, should be as much about listening and learning as speaking. It’s a chance to let people become more familiar with him but, as important, for him to become familiar with them,” said David Axelrod, who lives in Chicago and worked with him in the Obama administration.
“No matter how good or smart you are, you are going to be tested and stretched by these encounters,” Axelrod said. “If he wants to run for president, or even just hone his ideas, trips like these are essential.”
It’s unclear what place Iowa will have in any newly configured nominating calendar, but Iowa is still a state with important midterm races.
“Whether it’s fish fries or steak fries, there’s no better way to get media attention than going to Iowa or New Hampshire. It doesn’t really matter that the calendar is in doubt. It’s more about the symbolic and historical importance of the state,” said Cook Political Report’s Election Analyst David Wasserman.
Bagniewski, the former chair of the Polk County Democrats, hopes Emanuel’s message — and the fish fry’s huge turnout — is a signal to higher-ups in the Democratic Party that it’s time to return the first primary to Iowa.
The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee is meeting regularly through the spring to decide the primary calendar and whether to restore Iowa’s coveted first-in-the-nation status.
“I’m of the mind that we should do it anyway,” said Bagniewski.