“Democrats have the momentum in this race right now and our candidates are the only ones standing up for everyday Iowans,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Sue Dvorsky. “While Terry Branstad and Chuck Grassley stand on the side of big corporations and special interests, Governor Culver and Roxanne Conlin have focused their campaigns on helping everyday Iowans.”

Event details are subject to change, an up-to-date tour schedule is available online at www.IowaDemocrats.org/tour.

The Atlantic:

In Iowa, Republicans have returned a higher percentage of their early requests–roughly 7 out of 11–but Democrats have returned more ballots overall–85,000 out of 135,000.

Now, let’s look at some Iowa subroups, courtesy of internal data provided by the Democratic Party. You would expect Republicans designated as “sporadic” voters to be returning their ballots at higher rates than Democrats, regardless of the total number of Republicans registered. But Democrats actually have a slight advantage. Republicans have a small advantage among 2008 first time voters who’ve registered so far–0.6 percent. These voters comprise about 7.2 percent of all Republicans who’ve requested ballots so far. In three states measured by the DNC, regular Democratic midterm voters are returning ballots at a higher rate than Republicans, which is important because Republicans usually return their ballots earlier than Democrats.

POLITICO:

At the same time, the early-voting numbers provide evidence that the Democratic ground-level organization in some states is matching or exceeding Republicans’ enthusiasm.

Democrats point to states like Iowa, Ohio and West Virginia, where they have turned out more of their partisans than Republicans so far. And they say they’re focused on getting out voters who might not otherwise come out in an off-year election.

Associated Press:

So far more Democrats than Republicans are casting ballots in Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, Louisiana and Nevada.

Those looking to read the election tea leaves also keep an eye on which party’s voters have submitted the most applications for early ballots.

The Wall Street Journal:

In Iowa, where former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad is widely expected to unseat Democratic Gov. Chet Culver, the early vote isn’t tracking the polls. Democrats represent 47% of the early vote, and Republicans 38%.

The National Journal:

Still, a nonpartisan source agreed that the latest figures on early voting represent an improved picture for Democrats from last week.

“Compared to what first came out, Democrats have to be feeling better with the numbers now,” said Michael McDonald, a government and politics professor at George Mason University. “But a lot can still change.”

Registered Democrats lead early voting turnout in Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, and West Virginia. And the Atlas Project, a Democratic consulting group, said Friday that in some states, voters are even slightly more Democratic than in 2006, when the party took back Congress.

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“Chairman Kaine knows how important it is to reelect Governor Culver and send Roxanne Conlin to Washington, we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him back to Iowa,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky. “Tim Kaine has been an amazing voice for Democrats across the country, he knows better than anyone what can be accomplished when we have real leaders with a vision to move our nation forward.”

Kaine will arrive in Des Moines Tuesday afternoon where he will visit a volunteer phone bank and attend a house party for Democratic activists in Cedar Rapids. Wednesday morning he will meet with supporters in Waterloo at the Black Hawk County Democratic Headquarters. This is Kaine’s second trip to Iowa during this election cycle, he previously visited the Iowa State Fair and held events across the state in August.

Here are the photos:

“Sarah Palin has consistently supported extreme, Republican policies along with Terry Branstad and Chuck Grassley. These are policies aimed directly at moving our country and state backwards and they have no place in Iowa politics,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Sue Dvorsky. “While Sarah Palin has been the poster child for right-wing extremism, we have our own Sarah Palin in Terry Branstad and Chuck Grassley.”

The widespread agreement between Palin and Iowa Republicans is clear:

Healthcare Reform: Last summer as Democrats worked to end pre-existing conditions and expand access to healthcare for millions of Americans, Sarah Palin began the infamous “death panel” rumor.

Chuck Grassley endorsed Palin’s tactic of using fear to defeat reform, calling healthcare reform “a government run plan to decide when to pull the plug on grandma.”

Terry Branstad also continues to fight reform, calling on Iowans to elect Brenna Findley for Attorney General because she will join partisan Attorney Generals around the country in suing the federal government instead of implementing vital reforms and expanded coverage.

Stem Cell Research: Sarah Palin, Chuck Grassley and Terry Branstad all oppose life saving stem cell research, which Iowa has invested $30 million in. Chuck Grassley even voted twice in one year to limit stem cell research, voting against the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 and a nearly identical bill the same year.

Immigration: Sarah Palin has been an ally of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s discriminatory immigration law and has endorsed her campaign. Like Palin, Terry Branstad has advocated for Arizona-style immigration law in Iowa by proposing that citizenship status must be checked at traffic stops and that children of illegal immigrants should not be allowed to attend public school. The Grassley campaign has also stood by Jan Brewer and in support of this discriminatory law.