About half the Iowa delegates at this week’s Democratic National Convention made the trip to Chicago aboard Amtrak. Gregory Christensen, vice chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, was temporarily called “the conductor” by his fellow travelers because it was his idea.
“I was trying to think of a fun way for our delegates to get to Chicago in a safe way and a way to kind of get everyone there sort of close to the same time,” Christensen said.
Since they bought the tickets together and got a group rate, the cost of one ticket is about what it costs to park a vehicle in Chicago for a single day. “We’re saving money. I would like to think that we’re also saving the environment a little bit by not having a bunch of cars out on the road,” Christensen said. “…On top of that, it’s our way of sort of tipping the hat to Joe Biden and the Democrats — and a few Republicans — who helped get that bipartisan infrastructure bill done.”
The infrastructure bill Biden signed into law in 2021 is providing millions to upgrade Amtrak, which Biden used to commute between D.C. and Delaware when he was a U.S. Senator. Christensen also noted the Iowa Democrats rode the California Zephyr and the line starts at San Francisco Bay. “Kind of neat that we’re back in Chicago for what will be the launching point for hopefully the first black woman president of the United States and we’re taking a train from her home state of California to get there,” Christensen said.
A couple of Iowa Democrats in western Iowa boarded the California Zephyr in Omaha. Others got aboard at stations in Osceola, Ottumwa and Mount Pleasant. Christensen said they had some strategy sessions and phone time during the trip. “Some cold calls to voters,” Christensen said, “making sure that they’ve got a plan to vote.”
Christensen said he helped one Iowan re-register to vote. The person had been purged from the rolls because they hadn’t voted in recent elections.
