Elizabeth Warren lands coveted endorsement from Art Cullen and Storm Lake Times

Kim Norvell | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption How one small town Iowa newspaper editor works bring light to rural issues Art Cullen, editor of The Storm Lake Times and winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing, is using his newfound fame to shed light on rural issues. He moderated a Democratic presidential forum Saturday.

The Storm Lake Times, led by Pulitzer Prize winner Art Cullen, on Wednesday endorsed U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president — a highly sought-after endorsement for candidates who want to win over rural voters.

In his endorsement, Cullen wrote Warren has "developed the most extensive agenda" to lift up rural Americans. Rural Storm Lake is in deep red Buena Vista County, where registered Republicans outnumber registered Democrats 36% to 26%, and about 38% are independents.

"Warren is campaigning to give us a fighting chance," he wrote.

The senator from Massachusetts made Storm Lake one of her first stops nearly a year ago when she announced she was exploring a run for president. Three months later, she returned as an official Democratic candidate for president at a forum focused on rural issues, co-moderated by Cullen.

Warren was one of the first candidates to unveil a rural policy plan that would target the consolidation of agribusiness companies and elevate the interests of family farmers.

She later released a plan that would invest an additional $200 billion in rural communities to boost population, add new jobs and place a focus on sustainable practices that would increase farmers' pay. The multi-point plan aims to encourage people to live, work and raise families in small towns by giving them tools to thrive as rural communities across Iowa and America face declining populations, jobs and services.

Cullen specifically touted Warren's plan to empower farmers in the fight against climate change by paying farmers to sequester carbon and prevent surface water pollution.

His endorsement also gives a shoutout to other Democrats he's met with, saying any of them "would restore integrity and honor to the Oval Office." He specifically mentions U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, from Minnesota, for her understanding of rural communities.

But it's Warren who he says is his No. 1 choice for the Iowa Caucus on Feb. 3.

"Warren shows a real feeling for places left behind because she comes from there," Cullen wrote, referencing her Oklahoma upbringing. "She had hollered herself hoarse that day in January railing against the corruption on defiant display in the White House. Elizabeth Warren is fighting on principle like nobody else to give us a chance."

Cullen is the firebrand editor of The Storm Lake Times, the newspaper started by his brother in 1990. He earned the 2017 Pulitzer prize for editorial writing, which thrust him out of the 10,700-person town and into the national spotlight.

After Democrats suffered embarrassing political losses across the Midwest in 2016, he became sought after as one of the nation's leading progressive voices on rural life and politics.

Presidential candidates contacted him personally, and national media outlets frequently call on him to explain the way rural Americans perceive national political developments.

"I think they realize this election is going to be decided in the Midwest," Cullen said at the March forum on rural issues.

Kim Norvell covers growth and development for the Register. Reach her at knorvell@dmreg.com or 515-284-8259.

Your subscription makes work like this possible. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.