Iowa remembers 39th president, Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday
By ROBIN McCLELLAND – Globe Gazette, Mason City, Iowa (TNS)
WATERLOO – With his grassroots approach and friendly demeanor, former President Jimmy Carter made an impression on Iowans as a little-known candidate for president in 1975.
“Almost every Iowan met the president when he started his campaign in the Iowa caucuses in 1975,” former U.S. Rep. Dave Nagle said.
Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 100, campaigned vigorously in Iowa during 1975. He entered hospice care nearly two years ago and his wife of 77 years, Rosalyn, died at age 96 in November 2023.
He launched his 1976 presidential candidacy by focusing heavily on Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, counting on a strong showing to catapult him into being a national contender.
He had served as governor of Georgia for one term and his campaign was entirely financed by public funds. He insisted on honesty, saying “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president.”
Nagle represented Iowa’s then 3rd Congressional District from 1987 to 1993. A former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, he met the former president many times, including moderating debates and being invited to White House events during Carter’s tenure.
“Jimmy Carter literally made the Iowa caucus,” Nagle said. “His presence, ability to listen, and the fact he would talk to you regardless if you were an important Democrat or a regular old voter. He had the ability to make you feel you were the most important person he ever talked to.”
Amanda Ragan was working as a Democratic activist when Carter and his family came to Iowa in 1975. She is a retired state senator and currently serves as co-chair of the Cerro Gordo County Democratic Party. “He kind of set the way to get active in the state of Iowa by bringing in lots of volunteers and connecting with them and spending the time here,” Ragan said. “They were personable as a family and he was as a candidate. It really made you think that people were listening.”
It was Carter’s genuineness that made an impression on many Iowans. Retired U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, in a statement, described Carter’s time in Iowa. “I had the pleasure of campaigning with Jimmy Carter in 1975 in the old 5th Congressional District I represented during my first term in the U.S. Congress,” Harkin said. “There was no group of Democrats too small for him to meet with, and I remember him driving to Atlantic, Iowa to meet with 10 people on a cold winter night.”
Ragan believes Carter’s outsider image drew Iowans to him.
“He wasn’t from Washington. I know a peanut farmer is a lot different than the agriculture we see in Iowa, but there is something to be said about understanding farming in that way. Back then, it was another reason to relate. I think people like to be able to relate to the people that they’re voting for.”
Susan Bangert of Mason City was a student at Iowa State University when Carter was campaigning in the state. He and his wife, Rosalyn, met with voters at the Memorial Union on campus. Candidates greeted potential voters in small groups, in a mock-caucus style.
“He was giving away free peanuts to get students to come and listen to their pitch,” Bangert said. “He really struck me as a minister, and Rosalyn was like a minister’s wife. They seemed very sincere, decent people. He wasn’t a very strong speaker, though.”
Bangert ended up supporting Morris Udall in her caucus, but voted twice for Carter when he was on the national ballot. Bangert praised Carter’s work on the Middle East peace talks, his appeal for environmental science, efforts to eradicate Guinea Worm and enduring work with Habitat for Humanity. She’ll remember him for for those things, and said his legacy is “the dignity of living a good life to help your fellow man. I’ve read many of his books. He’s also a poet, and his stories of growing up in Georgia I’ll always remember.”
Carter’s presidency was marred by crises. He served one term as the 39th president, losing his reelection bid to Ronald Reagan.
He may be best known for his life after the presidency. “I can say what I like. I can meet whom I want. I can take on projects that please me and reject the ones that don’t,” Carter said.
Those projects have included authoring multiple books, engaging in foreign diplomacy, monitoring foreign elections and winning a 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. For years, Carter taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia.
JoAnn Hardy, former chair of the Cerro Gordo County Democratic Party, visited Plains with husband Russ to see the Habitat for Humanity headquarters.
“We went down with Ed and Estelle Gabel. Estelle and Russ started our local Habitat for Humanity. We had heard that Carter taught Sunday school class 40 Sundays a year,” Hardy said.
She described the little church as prepared for the flow of visitors.
“They had a routine and an overflow room. He comes across as very soft spoken. His faith is very deep and informs everything that he does. And that really comes across when he talks. It was amazing to get to meet him,” Hardy said.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a statement Monday and ordered flags to fly at half-staff until sunset Jan. 28.
“President Carter lived a great life marked by service to his country. Volunteering his time to build homes for those in need well into his 90s, President Carter never stopped living his faith through service,” said Reynolds. “His belief in putting God’s love into action has inspired generations of Americans.”
The Carter family has accepted Congress’ invitation for his body to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. President Biden issued a proclamation making Jan. 9, 2025, the day of his funeral, a national day of mourning.
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