Democrats are “facing a reckoning” as they move into the next election cycle, Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen told an audience at the Polk County Steak Fry, saying it's "time to decide who we are, who we are fighting for and how we are going to fight back effectively.”

Hollen was the keynote speaker at the annual fundraiser hosted by the Polk County Democratic Party Saturday, Sept. 13.

He urged the party to return boldly to its roots fighting for working class people as it looks to regain seats both in Iowa and across the country in 2026.

“We've become a party that too often trims its sails — too cautious, too rudderless, too attached to poll-washed and pundit-rinsed and donor-dried messages,” he said. “What comes out of the wash is all bleached and blow-dried.”

Van Hollen said Iow

See Full Page