The abrupt decision by Democrats in the Iowa Senate to oust their leader signaled a shift in direction as the party tries to win back the majority. Or did it?

Not so much, at least according to the new Senate minority leader, Janet Petersen.

“I think the last election cycle was a huge wave here. And so I think there’s maybe been a little bit too much emphasis on what you have to do differently,” Petersen said in an interview.

She framed the message as a contrast to this year’s Republican agenda at the Statehouse.

“I think we have a strong message to get out to Iowans … they saw what happened when Republicans took over the keys to the legislative car and they did a lot of really bad things to good Iowans,” she said.

Petersen also seemed skeptical about the idea that Democrats need to change their approach toward rural voters.

“I know that people try and say that people from the city are different from people from the rural area and small towns. And you know, when I have forums in my district and ask where people grew up, they grew up in small towns and rural parts of the state,” Petersen said. “And their concerns about what they would like to see in our state are pretty similar to what we’re seeing in rural areas.”

Former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, among others, has argued that Democrats need to relearn how to communicate with voters outside the cities and suburbs. “We forgot how to talk to folks and when we did, we often talked down,” Vilsack said at the New Democracy forum, held Oct. 13 in Des Moines.

More:Obradovich: Democrats need new rural outreach, Vilsack says

Column:Are Iowa Democrats dead to voters who lack college degrees?

If Democrats in the Senate weren’t looking to change direction, why change leaders?

“I don’t know, maybe they were looking for a scrappy entrepreneur,” Petersen said with a laugh.

Petersen, a Des Moines native, was elected by members of the Senate Democratic caucus a week ago. She is serving her second term in the Senate after 12 years in the Iowa House.

Petersen was in the spotlight this year as a fiery advocate for maintaining state support for Planned Parenthood clinics. She also is a well-known advocate for prenatal health after losing a baby in the ninth month of pregnancy to an umbilical cord complication.

In 2008, Petersen co-founded a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing stillbirths. Her background is in communication and data analysis. “I’m not an attorney,” she points out.

She replaces Sen. Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids, who had served in the position for about 11 months. Democrats lost six seats in November 2016, including longtime caucus leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs. Petersen credited the work Hogg had done to start rebuilding. Some senators, however, worried Hogg wasn’t raising enough money for the 2018 cycle.

Next year, 14 seats currently held by Democrats will be on the ballot along with 10 GOP-held seats and one independent. To regain the majority, Democrats must hold their seats and take at least six away from Republicans.

Hogg has been gracious in praising Petersen, saying he expects she’ll do a good job and wishing her well. But, he said in an interview, “I’m obviously disappointed. I will tell you I actually think they made a mistake in changing leaders.”

He doggedly defends his leadership, candidate and volunteer recruitment and fundraising for the next election. “We have raised more money than the Senate Democrats had raised at this point two years ago,” he said, adding that he has worked to expand the party’s donor base in recognition that it was harder for the minority party to raise money.

“That’s why I had this view that we needed to substantially broaden the donor base and why, to me, we needed to be increasing the number of donors, which we were doing in a significant way,” Hogg said. “And that’s a different model of fundraising.”

Hogg noted there are now Democratic challengers running in six of the 10 GOP-held seats, including five women.

Sen. Jeff Danielson, a Cedar Falls Democrat, attributed the leadership change to a “small group” of Democratic senators who were mostly worried about fundraising. “The change, I think, was about the idea that we’re going to need to raise more money than we presently are and people thought maybe Janet could be better at that,” he said.

But, he said, he does not expect a change from Hogg to Petersen to address what he considers to be serious dysfunction in the party organization. “The basic core of how we’re actually doing business has not changed and I think the change to Janet Petersen from Rob Hogg, nobody should read any sort of dramatic strategy changes into that,” he said.

Danielson does want dramatic change, however. He has been a vocal advocate of decentralizing campaign management to give candidates more control over money, messaging and strategy. He has not participated in the Senate Democrats’ coordinated campaign since he won his race in 2008 by only 22 votes. He argues that candidates know better than campaign consultants how to communicate with people in their districts.

“The pendulum effect will not save us in Iowa. The math of elections will not save us,” he said. “Hopefully, we will learn that.

I have observed Petersen through much of her legislative career and I currently live in her Senate district. She’s experienced, hard-working, well-liked in Democratic circles and savvier than she may initially appear.

I expect she’ll play hardball on the Senate Republicans’ sexual harassment lawsuit and the effects of this year’s budget shortfalls. She’ll be effective at communicating the Democrats’ message during session and during the campaign. The question is whether Democrats are going to need a lot more than a capable coach using the same old playbook.

Kathie Obradovich is the Register's political columnist. Contact: kobradov@registermedia.com Twitter: @kobradovich