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Bleeding Heartland
It's what plants crave.
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IA-Gov 
Thu May 23, 2013 at 10:25:00 AM CDT
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A new statewide poll by Quinnipiac University shows Governor Terry Branstad's approval rating comfortably in positive territory, but Iowans split down the middle on whether he should be re-elected.
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Fri May 17, 2013 at 07:10:00 AM CDT
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It's time for a new thread on the open first Congressional district seat. So far former Iowa House Speaker Pat Murphy is the only declared Democratic candidate. Former State Senator Swati Dandekar formed an exploratory committee last week. State Senator Jeff Danielson of the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area has said he's keeping his options open. I expect a decision relatively soon after the legislative session wraps up.
Cedar Rapids City Council member Monica Vernon "is nearly ready to announce" her candidacy, Rick Smith reported. She was first elected to the council in 2007, switched parties in 2009, and was re-elected in 2011. Cedar Rapids plaintiff's attorney Dave O'Brien may also run, Jennifer Jacobs reported. O'Brien's background is similar to Bruce Braley's before his first campaign in 2006.
State Representative Tyler Olson, who also chairs the Iowa Democratic Party, hasn't ruled out running for Congress, but some Polk County Democrats believe that if he runs for higher office next year, it will be against Governor Terry Branstad.
On the Republican side, Cedar Rapids business owner Steve Rathje and Dubuque business owner Rod Blum are already seeking the nomination in IA-01. Once the legislature adjourns for the year, my hunch is that a Republican lawmaker will join the race. State Representative Walt Rogers of the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area confirmed earlier this year that he's thinking about it.
The Iowa Republican's Kevin Hall reported last month that former Secretary of State and Cedar Rapids Mayor Paul Pate is "90 percent" likely to run for office in 2014. I think Pate would be a strong general election candidate but might have trouble winning an IA-01 GOP primary. It's also possible that he may run for Secretary of State again if Matt Schultz goes for the open U.S. Senate seat.
Current Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett is running for re-election and seems to have ruled out the IA-01 race, judging from his recent comments to Todd Dorman.
After the jump I've posted the latest voter registration numbers for the 20 counties in IA-01. Linn County is the largest by population, but it doesn't dominate the district. About 30 percent of the registered Democrats, 28 percent of the Republicans, and 27 percent of the no-party voters in IA-01 live in Linn County.
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Tue May 14, 2013 at 09:48:00 AM CDT
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Does anyone still doubt that Governor Terry Branstad plans to run for a sixth term next year? Those not convinced should read Mike Wiser's report on the full-time staffer just hired by Branstad's re-election campaign.
Meanwhile, Democratic State Senator Jack Hatch dropped a couple of hints lately about a possible run for governor.
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 at 15:35:00 PM CDT
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Last week Governor Terry Branstad finally introduced legislation to enact his Healthy Iowa Plan instead of the Medicaid expansion foreseen under the 2010 federal health insurance reform law. Strangely, neither the governor's office nor the Iowa House Republican caucus held a news conference or even posted a press release about House Study Bill 232. The bill arrived at the statehouse on Thursday, April 4, after many legislators had left for the weekend.
So far House and Senate Republicans appear united behind Branstad's approach, while the governor's office strives to counter the obvious case against his plan (costs more, covers less). I've posted arguments for both sides and other news links after the jump.
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Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 16:35:00 PM CDT
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Bob Krause, a veterans advocate and former state representative, confirmed by e-mail today that he has filed papers creating a committee to explore a run for Iowa governor in 2014. He plans a formal announcement in the coming weeks.
Krause was the first declared Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate the last time Senator Chuck Grassley was on the ballot. He finished a distant second to Roxanne Conlin in the 2010 primary, receiving just under 13 percent of the vote. Earlier this year, Krause ruled out running for Senator Tom Harkin's seat but said he was considering a campaign for governor or for Congress next year.
Krause knows Governor Terry Branstad well, because for six years during the 1970s, the two men represented neighboring Iowa House districts (two halves of the same Iowa Senate district).
Also today, Krause called for the resignation of Iowa Veterans Affairs Commission member Dan Gannon, a Branstad appointee who represents the Vietnam Veterans of America on that commission. I've posted a press release from Krause after the jump, which explains the background. In an e-mail to Veterans Affairs Commission members and staff, Gannon said that he doesn't trust Krause or the 501(c)3 charity Krause leads, the Veterans National Recovery Center. That organization advocates for services to assist veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
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Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 07:15:00 AM CDT
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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.
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Sun Feb 17, 2013 at 07:25:00 AM CST
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What's on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers? This is an open thread.
The Des Moines Register continues to release bits and pieces from the latest Iowa poll conducted by Selzer & Co. After the jump I've posted some of the more important findings, other than the IA-Sen numbers, which I discussed in this post. Like the Iowa .Gif-t Shop blog, I found it bizarre that the Register asked respondents whether they'd be "thrilled," "mildly happy," or "don't really care" about the prospect of certain national retailers opening an Iowa store.
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Fri Feb 15, 2013 at 07:37:21 AM CST
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You have to hand it to the Republican strategists behind a new vehicle that may collect tens of thousands of names and addresses for future use by Governor Terry Branstad's re-election campaign.
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Thu Feb 14, 2013 at 14:56:34 PM CST
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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).
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Mon Feb 11, 2013 at 08:43:28 AM CST
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Iowa Senate President Pam Jochum does not plan to run for the open seat in Iowa's first Congressional district but is considering a run for governor in 2014, she confirmed in a telephone interview today.
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Sat Feb 09, 2013 at 20:55:54 PM CST
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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.
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Wed Feb 06, 2013 at 18:23:26 PM CST
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Governor Terry Branstad is a "pretty clear favorite" for re-election, according to a new Iowa poll by Public Policy Polling.
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Sun Feb 03, 2013 at 07:45:00 AM CST
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What's on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers? This is an open thread. To get a conversation started, I posted a bunch of links about campaign finance after the jump, focusing on news related to Iowa's 2014 contests for U.S. senator and governor.
At the end I included an old but "new to me" story about Ron Paul's habit of double-billing travel expenses. What will his admirers in the Liberty movement say?
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Sat Jan 26, 2013 at 09:49:52 AM CST
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Terrible news for Iowa Democrats: Senator Tom Harkin told Tom Beaumont of the Associated Press that he will retire rather than seek re-election in 2014. Not only will there be an open seat at the top of the ticket, the Iowa Democratic Party won't be able to count on Harkin's millions to fund a decent coordinated GOTV campaign in a midterm election year. Even if Democrats manage to win that statewide race while Governor Terry Branstad's also on the ballot, we will lose an Iowan in charge of a powerful Senate committee. Incoming Iowa Democratic Party Chair Tyler Olson has a difficult road ahead.
Representative Bruce Braley is likely to run for Harkin's seat, and unless either Tom or Christie Vilsack is interested, the primary would probably be uncontested. The silver lining here is a chance to elect a woman to Congress in IA-01. Iowa Senate President Pam Jochum would be my first choice, but there are many capable Democratic women in those 20 counties.
An excerpt from Braley's appearance on Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" this weekend is after the jump. I'll post further updates there. UPDATE: Much more is below, including the statement from Harkin's office.
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Tue Jan 22, 2013 at 15:55:00 PM CST
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State Representative Tyler Olson told Radio Iowa's O.Kay Henderson that he has enough support on the Iowa Democratic Party's State Central Committee to be chosen as state party chair this Saturday. Some background information on Olson is after the jump.
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Sun Jan 13, 2013 at 12:45:00 PM CST
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Today's Sunday Des Moines Register features a long story by Jennifer Jacobs about Representative Bruce Braley considering a run for governor in 2014.
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Sat Dec 29, 2012 at 20:10:00 PM CST
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Judging from this thread, Bleeding Heartland readers are interested in scenario spinning about the 2014 Iowa gubernatorial election. Former Governor Chet Culver is among several Democrats considering the race. I've posted a few thoughts about that prospect after the jump.
This is an open thread: all topics welcome.
UPDATE: Dave Wasserman continues to update presidential election popular vote totals on this spreadsheet. As of December 29, Barack Obama has exceeded 51 percent of the popular vote and is nearly 5 million votes ahead of Mitt Romney: 65,892,366 votes to 60,926,847 votes.
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