|
Bleeding Heartland
It's what plants crave.
|
IA-03 
Fri May 10, 2013 at 01:21:40 AM CDT
|
(I've had a post in progress about De La Cerda for a long time. He is knowledgeable and expresses his views coherently, unlike a lot of first-time candidates. This guest post is a good introduction. - promoted by desmoinesdem)
The Third Congressional District already has a fine, grassroots Democrat running against Tom Latham in 2014. His name is Gabriel De la Cerda. He offers voters in the Third Congressional District of Iowa something they currently do not have. A Congressman who is beholden to them, not the Republican leadership in Washington and a Congressman that truly understands the problems working Iowans face because he is right there with you facing them daily.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 423 words in story)
|
|
Mon Apr 22, 2013 at 07:25:00 AM CDT
|
|
In late February, Representative Tom Latham (R, IA-03) indicated that he did not plan to run for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat in 2014. I took his statement at face value, especially since he told a conservative radio host that lack of interest in campaigning steered him away from a Senate race that otherwise "was a very, very good opportunity."
Some politics watchers noted that Latham carefully wrote in his e-mail to supporters, "I cannot in good conscience launch a two-year statewide campaign that will detract from the commitment I made to the people who elected me, at a time when our nation desperately needs less campaigning and more leadership." In other words, he didn't explicitly rule out joining the Senate race later. Maybe those skeptics were on to something.
|
|
There's More...
:: (5
Comments, 289 words in story)
|
|
Tue Apr 16, 2013 at 07:15:00 AM CDT
|
|
April 15 was the deadline for Congressional candidates to file reports on their fundraising and expenditures for the first quarter of 2013. Details on all of the Iowa incumbents and some other declared candidates are after the jump. At this writing, not every report has been posted on the Federal Elections Commission website. I will update this post as more information becomes available.
|
|
There's More...
:: (1
Comments, 1668 words in story)
|
|
Mon Apr 01, 2013 at 16:48:00 PM CDT
|
|
Mike Sherzan announced by e-mail this afternoon that he will not run for Congress in Iowa's third district because of "personal health issues." His full statement is after the jump. Sherzan says his campaign will return all contributions collected since he launched his candidacy last month.
I'm sure everyone in the Bleeding Heartland community joins me in wishing Sherzan a full recovery from his health problems. Any comments about the IA-03 race are welcome in this thread. Other potential Democratic candidates include former State Senator Staci Appel of Warren County and Dr. Andy McGuire, a health insurance company executive who ran for lieutenant governor in the 2006 Democratic primary.
Whoever takes on ten-term incumbent Tom Latham will face an uphill battle in the district. On paper, it looks like a tossup with 158,877 registered Democrats, 165,134 Republicans, and 156,973 no-party voters as of April 2013. However, Latham has routinely outperformed the top of the Republican ticket in his re-election campaigns.
|
|
There's More...
:: (1
Comments, 196 words in story)
|
|
Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 07:15:00 AM CDT
|
|
Iowa Democrats hoping that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack would come home to challenge Governor Terry Branstad next year will be disappointed by the latest news out of Washington.
|
|
There's More...
:: (3
Comments, 637 words in story)
|
|
Wed Mar 20, 2013 at 07:05:00 AM CDT
|
|
Dubuque business owner Rod Blum told the Marshall County Republican Central Committee this week that he plans to enter the GOP primary to represent the open first Congressional district. Blum finished a close second to Ben Lange in the 2012 IA-01 primary. Cedar Rapids business owner Steve Rathje was the first Republican to announce in IA-01. I haven't heard any news lately about other possible Republican candidates in the first district, like State Representative Walt Rogers or former Secretary of State Paul Pate.
Iowa House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer predicted on Sunday that the first Iowa woman elected governor or to Congress will be a Republican. If no Democratic woman steps up in IA-01, I believe Upmeyer will be proven right. I have heard from several independent sources that State Senator Liz Mathis is privately telling Democrats she won't run for Congress. Senate President Pam Jochum took herself out of the running last month. Former Iowa House Speaker Pat Murphy is the only declared Democratic candidate so far. State Senator Steve Sodders is talking with potential supporters about the race.
I haven't heard about any Republican planning to run against four-term Democrat Dave Loebsack in IA-02. For now, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee does not appear worried about holding this district.
According to the Des Moines rumor mill, former State Senator Staci Appel is considering a run for Congress in IA-03. Appel lives in Warren County and served one term in the Iowa Senate before losing to Republican Kent Sorenson in 2010. Mike Sherzan is currently the only declared Democratic challenger to ten-term Republican Tom Latham.
I haven't heard of any Democrats planning to challenge six-term incumbent Steve King in IA-04. I'm still confident King will not run for the U.S. Senate. But if King does leave the fourth district open, many Republicans are rumored to be thinking about that race, including Upmeyer and State Representative Chip Baltimore.
Any comments about next year's Congressional races in Iowa are welcome in this thread. A Congressional map is after the jump, along with the latest voter registration numbers in each district and Stuart Rothenberg's comments on why he does not consider Latham or King vulnerable in 2014.
|
|
There's More...
:: (7
Comments, 184 words in story)
|
|
Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 10:05:00 AM CDT
|
|
Happy St. Patrick's Day to Bleeding Heartland readers who celebrate the occasion. This is an open thread; all topics are welcome. For a laugh, enjoy The Onion's recent write-up of Iowa fashion week: "The big themes this season are 'roomy,' 'loose,' and 'comfortable.'"
After the jump I've posted a few links about health and happiness, including details from Gallup's 2012 report on well-being in the United States. Iowa ranked ninth on the "Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index" but was not one of the "elite five states" that have shown consistently high levels of resident well-being over five years.
|
|
There's More...
:: (2
Comments, 814 words in story)
|
|
|
|
Thu Mar 07, 2013 at 08:20:00 AM CST
|
|
Yesterday the U.S. House approved a bill to fund the federal government through the remainder of the current fiscal year. Dave Loebsack (IA-02) was one of 53 House Democrats to vote for the spending bill, along with most of the Republican caucus. Follow me after the jump for details and the latest sleight of hand by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 1130 words in story)
|
|
|
|
Thu Feb 14, 2013 at 14:56:34 PM CST
|
|
Bob Krause announced today that he will not seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2014 "as long as Bruce Braley is in the race," but may consider running for governor or for Congress next year. Krause was the first declared challenger to Senator Chuck Grassley in 2009. He finished a distant second to Roxanne Conlin in the 2010 Democratic primary.
Krause now lives in the Des Moines area, so a Congressional bid would presumably be in the third district. So far Mike Sherzan is the only declared challenger to 10-term incumbent Republican Tom Latham.
The full statement from Krause is after the jump. He and Governor Terry Branstad go way back; during the 1970s, they served in the Iowa House at the same time, representing districts next door (two halves of the same Iowa Senate district).
|
|
There's More...
:: (2
Comments, 326 words in story)
|
|
Mon Feb 11, 2013 at 16:06:28 PM CST
|
|
Democrat Mike Sherzan announced today that he is running for Congress in Iowa's third district. I've enclosed his press release after the jump, along with excerpts from Sherzan's comments to the National Journal. He's on Facebook here and on Twitter here. For now, the Sherzan for Iowa website is only set up to collect donations and the names of volunteers.
Bleeding Heartland covered Sherzan's biography in this post. If Republican incumbent Tom Latham decides to run for the open U.S. Senate seat, I expect several other Democrats to run in the IA-03 primary, including possibly State Senator Matt McCoy. Otherwise, the field may be clear for Sherzan to take on Latham, which will be an uphill battle. On paper, this looks like a swing district, with 159,939 active registered Democrats, 166,109 Republicans, and 157,442 no-party voters as of February 2013. But Latham consistently outperforms the top of the Republican ticket and gained more votes than Mitt Romney in every IA-03 county last November.
|
|
There's More...
:: (3
Comments, 583 words in story)
|
|
Sat Feb 09, 2013 at 20:55:54 PM CST
|
|
What's on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers? A few links related to Iowa demographics are after the jump, along with highlights from this week's "Iowa Press" program, featuring Republican Party of Iowa Chair A.J. Spiker and Iowa Democratic Party Chair Tyler Olson.
This is an open thread.
|
|
There's More...
:: (2
Comments, 1671 words in story)
|
|
Tue Feb 05, 2013 at 09:35:46 AM CST
|
Representative Tom Latham (IA-03) told journalists in Washington yesterday that he is thinking about running for the U.S. Senate in 2014. He declined to specify when he will announce his plans, but he said he will "make my own decision" rather than be influenced by Representative Steve King (IA-04). Deirdre Walsh reported for CNN,
Pressed if he thinks a Senate bid by King could hurt the GOP's chances of taking the seat - something other national Republicans have expressed concerns over - Latham told reporters outside the House floor that King is "a very viable member of Congress."
If Latham wants the Senate seat, he would be advised to announce sooner rather than later. A few days ago, King told conservative talk radio host Larry O'Connor that he is "fifty-fifty" on running for the Senate seat. Click through to listen to King's comments. In weighing his decision, he is considering "whether the energy is out there" to support his bid and "whether we can raise the money" for a statewide race. I still expect King to stay in IA-04, where he's safe for the next decade, but he may be tempted to take on the Republican establishment.
The least likely scenario in my mind is Latham and King running against each other in a GOP primary. If one of them announces a Senate campaign, the other will stay out. A new Wenzel Strategies poll of "likely Republican primary voters" in Iowa found that King would be the early leader in a Senate primary, with Latham in second place and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds third. Public Policy Polling surveyed Iowa Republicans over the weekend and found King leading among moderates as well as among respondents who described themselves as "very conservative."
UPDATE: I missed this story at the Rothenberg Political Report last night. Latham's changing the name of his campaign committee from "Latham for Congress" to "Iowans for Latham."
SECOND UPDATE: Michael Devine, a talk radio host for KVFD AM 1400 in Fort Dodge, posted on Facebook today, "Congressman Steve King told us this morning the chances are 'better than 50 percent' he will run for the Senate."
THIRD UPDATE: Excerpts from Public Policy Polling's latest Iowa poll findings are after the jump.
|
|
There's More...
:: (12
Comments, 352 words in story)
|
|
Sun Feb 03, 2013 at 14:43:46 PM CST
|
|
After a dismal performance by his political vehicles in 2012, the man once known as "Bush's brain" is working to stop unelectable Republican candidates from winning GOP primaries in 2014. Jeff Zeleny reports in today's New York Times that Karl Rove's super-PAC American Crossroads is creating the "Conservative Victory Project." One of Rove's associates confirmed that stopping Representative Steve King from becoming the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Iowa will be a priority.
Details and toplines from the first poll on the open IA-Sen race are below.
|
|
There's More...
:: (5
Comments, 1240 words in story)
|
|
Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 11:16:00 AM CST
|
|
Iowa politics watchers continue to chew over the possibilities for the open U.S. Senate race next year. To no one's surprise, Governor Terry Branstad ruled out a Senate bid this morning, saying he's never been interested in leaving Iowa to serve for six years in Washington, DC. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds told journalists that she is focused on the Branstad administration's agenda for Iowa but keeping her "options open" on the Senate race. Many other Republicans are thinking about it too, and only Representative Tom Latham has the potential to clear the field.
On the Democratic side, speculation continues to center around Representative Bruce Braley, who confirmed yesterday that he is considering running for Tom Harkin's seat. If Braley takes on the Senate race, many Democrats expect State Senator Liz Mathis to run in the first Congressional district. She is well-known among Iowans in the Cedar Rapids television market, thanks to her previous career in news broadcasting. Senate President Pam Jochum of Dubuque said today that the IA-01 race is "something to think about." Jochum indicated that to run and serve in Congress, she would need support for her developmentally disabled adult daughter, who lives with her.
Any comments related to the reshuffle in Iowa politics are welcome in this thread. UPDATE: Also no surprise: Democratic State Senator Matt McCoy of Des Moines would consider running in IA-03 if Latham goes for the Senate seat.
SECOND UPDATE: Iowa Senate Minority Leader Bill Dix ruled out running for either the U.S. Senate or IA-01 in 2014. Dix left the Iowa House in 2006 to run for the open seat in IA-01, but finished second in the GOP primary. Further updates are after the jump.
|
|
There's More...
:: (12
Comments, 384 words in story)
|
|
Thu Jan 24, 2013 at 07:20:00 AM CST
|
|
The well-informed Shira Toeplitz reported this week at Roll Call that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee may have a challenger to ten-term Republican Representative Tom Latham in Iowa's third Congressional district.
I figured that before too long, Democrats would float some possible candidates for IA-03 in 2014. I didn't figure that the leading recruit would be someone I'd never heard of.
|
|
There's More...
:: (47
Comments, 888 words in story)
|
|
Mon Jan 21, 2013 at 15:26:42 PM CST
|
|
Representative Leonard Boswell is dropping his defamation lawsuit against his 2008 Democratic primary challenger Ed Fallon, both sides confirmed today.
|
|
There's More...
:: (6
Comments, 177 words in story)
|
|
Tue Jan 15, 2013 at 19:33:20 PM CST
|
|
The U.S. House approved a Disaster Relief Appropriations Act primarily aimed at Hurricane Sandy victims tonight, but Iowans Tom Latham (IA-03) and Steve King (IA-04) were among the majority of House Republicans who voted against the bill.
UPDATE: Added King's comment below.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 970 words in story)
|
|
Thu Dec 13, 2012 at 16:17:46 PM CST
|
|
The U.S. House of Representatives took 40 minutes on the floor this morning to recognize Leonard Boswell's public service during his military career, time in the Iowa Senate, and 16 years in Congress. Radio Iowa posted a link to the full audio from today's proceedings. Republican Tom Latham, who defeated Boswell in IA-03 last month, opened the tribute with warm remarks about his colleague. He also read out comments sent by many Iowans, including Governor Terry Branstad and Ken Sagar of the Iowa Federation of Labor. Iowans can e-mail their own remarks to Boswell.Tribute@mail.house.gov today. Those e-mails will supposedly be part of the official Congressional record.
After the jump I've enclosed some excerpts from today's speeches and public statements released about Boswell's retirement. Any memories about Leonard Boswell are welcome in this thread.
UPDATE: Added a touching story about Boswell below.
|
|
There's More...
:: (2
Comments, 901 words in story)
|
|
|
|
|
|
![[Bleeding Heartland Logo]](http://www.bleedingheartland.com/upload/logo.jpg){kind=logo}
