Bleeding Heartland - John Dabeet

Weekend open thread: Iowa state legislative race edition

desmoinesdem — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 12:00:00 GMT

What's on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers? A bunch of posts on Iowa House and Senate races are in the works for the next couple of weeks. Several Democratic candidates for the Iowa House have been targeted by push-polls similar to the one I received attacking Susan Judkins in House district 43. Direct mail pieces are resurrecting some of the dishonest Republican talking points of the 2010 campaign, including non-existent "heated sidewalks" allegedly funded with state money, fancy flowerpots and "bus service for lobbyists."

Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee strategists included three Iowa Senate races in the new list of 50 essential state legislative races around the country. Those are Senate district 26, where Democratic incumbent Mary Jo Wilhelm faces Republican incumbent Merlin "build my fence" Bartz, Senate district 46, pitting Republican incumbent Shawn "Go Home" Hamerlinck against challenger Chris Brase, and Senate district 49, an open seat pitting almost-elected 2010 GOP candidate Andrew Naeve against longtime teacher and planning and zoning commissioner Rita Hart on the Democratic side.

Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, who is working hard to preserve his 26-24 edge in the chamber, has chaired the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee since 2007. Republicans failed to recruit a strong candidate against Gronstal in the new Senate district 8, covering Council Bluffs and Carter Lake.

This is an open thread. If you've noticed any interesting direct mail, phone calls, radio or television commercials supporting or attacking Iowa House and Senate candidates, please post a comment here, put up your own diary, or send a message to desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com. Most of the candidates are not uploading their campaign advertising to YouTube. Remember not to hang up the phone when you get calls targeting your local state legislative candidates. Instead, take detailed notes if you can, and don't be afraid to ask the caller to repeat the questions.

UPDATE: Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak and Democratic Representative Dave Loebsack will be at today's Reichert Oktoberfest in Muscatine supporting state Senate Candidates Brase and Tom Courtney and state House Candidates John Dabeet and Sara Sedlacek.

First look at the Obama and Romney ground games in Iowa

desmoinesdem — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 11:45:00 GMT

At this time four years ago, Barack Obama's campaign had about 30 field offices up and running in Iowa, compared to six offices for Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Obama's campaign has had eight Iowa field offices open this summer and is rolling out another 26 offices around Iowa this weekend. So far, Mitt Romney's campaign has ten Iowa field offices, in addition to the unified Republican headquarters in Urbandale.

After the jump, I compare the field office locations for each presidential campaign, grouped by Iowa Congressional district. Where relevant, I've also noted competitive Iowa House and Senate districts near the Obama and Romney field offices, although I doubt either presidential campaign will do much for down-ticket Democratic or Republican candidates.
IA-01

The first Congressional district race is a rematch between Democratic incumbent Bruce Braley and Republican challenger Ben Lange, who lost narrowly in 2010. Braley has lived in Waterloo (Black Hawk County) for most of his adult life, while Lange is based in Independence (Buchanan County).

Both the Obama and Romney campaigns have field offices in Dubuque (Dubuque County) and Cedar Rapids (Linn County). Democratic incumbents are unlikely to have trouble in the Dubuque-area Iowa House and Senate races. In Linn County, Senate district 34 should be an easy hold for Democrat Liz Mathis, and there are several potentially competitive Iowa House races, including House district 66 and House district 68. The district 66 race is a rematch between Republican Renee Schulte and the Democrat she defeated in 2008, Art Staed. In district 68 Republican Nick Wagner faces Daniel Lundby. Two of the new Obama field offices are in the Cedar Rapids area: one on the west side of Cedar Rapids (near House district 66), and one in the suburb of Marion (which is part of House district 68).

For some time, the Obama campaign has had a field office in Waterloo. Several competitive statehouse races are in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls metro area: Senate district 30, where Democratic incumbent Jeff Danielson faces Matt Reisetter, a close ally of Bob Vander Plaats; House district 59, where Democrat Bob Kressig faces James Kenyon; and House district 60, where Republican Walt Rogers faces Bob Greenwood.

A new Obama field office is opening in Grinnell (Poweshiek County). During the last decade, this relatively liberal college town helped elect former Democratic State Representative Eric Palmer and retiring Democratic State Senator Tom Rielly. Now Poweshiek County is part of Iowa Senate district 38, where Republican incumbent Tim Kapucian faces Shelley Parbs, and the open House district 76, where Democrat Rachel Bly faces Republican David Maxwell. Representative Braley grew up in the small town of Brooklyn and may have a strong GOTV push for his Congressional campaign in this county.

A new Obama field office is opening in Independence (Buchanan County), where Republican Congressional challenger Lange lives and practices law. Lange's campaign is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, however.

A new Obama field office is opening in Cresco (Howard County), in the northeast part of the state. This county is part of Iowa Senate district 26, expected to be one of the marquee statehouse races. The clash of two incumbents features Democrat Mary Jo Wilhelm and Republican Merlin "Build My Fence" Bartz.

A new Obama field office is opening in Maquoketa (Jackson County). Former Democratic State Representative Tom Schueller is favored to win his Iowa House seat back from GOP incumbent Brian Moore in House district 58, which includes all of Jackson County.

UPDATE: There is also a Marshall County Democratic Party office in Marshalltown, which is handling GOTV for candidates up and down the ticket. Marshall County is part of Iowa Senate district 36, where Democratic incumbent Steve Sodders faces Jane Jech.

IA-02

The second Congressional district race pits Democratic incumbent Dave Loebsack against Republican John Archer. Loebsack relocated to Iowa City (Johnson County) last year after redistricting put his Linn County home in IA-01. Archer lives in the Quad Cities area (Scott County). Loebsack has not represented that county before.

Both the Obama and Romney campaigns have field offices in Iowa City, Davenport (Scott County), and Burlington (Des Moines County). The state House and Senate seats in the Burlington and Iowa City areas should be safe for Democrats, but part of Johnson County is in the open House district 73, where there is no clear favorite between Republican Bobby Kaufmann (son of retiring GOP House Speaker Pro-Tem Jeff Kaufmann) and Democrat Dick Schwab.

Several competitive statehouse races are the Quad Cities area, including Senate district 46, where Republican incumbent Shawn Hamerlinck faces Chris Brase, House district 93, where Democratic incumbent Phyllis Thede faces Mark Nelson, and House district 92, where Republican incumbent Ross Paustian faces former State Senator Frank Wood.

Six of the new Obama field offices opening this weekend are in IA-02, including one in Coralville, a rapidly-growing suburb of Iowa City (Johnson County). Democratic Iowa House incumbent Dave Jacoby is unopposed here.

An Obama field office is opening in Washington (Washington County). There aren't competitive statehouse races here. Republican Sandy Greiner represents this area in the Iowa Senate but is not up for re-election this year. Republican House incumbent Jarad Klein is unopposed in the new district 78.

An Obama field office is opening in Newton (Jasper County). For the last decade, this county was part of IA-03. The Iowa Senate seat that includes most of Jasper County is not on the ballot in 2012. The Newton area is part of House district 15, where Democratic incumbent Dan Kelley has a rematch against his 2010 opponent Gabe Swersie.

An Obama field office is opening in Fort Madison (Lee County). Senate district 42 is open but should be a Democratic hold for Rich Taylor; this part of the state has a Democratic voter registration advantage and a strong organized labor presence.

An Obama field office is opening in Fairfield (Jefferson County). The Iowa Senate seat that covers this area is not on the ballot in 2012. Fairfield is part of House district 82, where Democratic incumbent Curt Hanson faces James Johnson, who nearly defeated a different Democratic State Representative in 2010.

An Obama field office is opening in Oskaloosa (Mahaska County). Republicans are favored to win the local House and Senate races.

It's worth nothing that the Obama campaign does not have an office in Ottumwa (Wapello County). For decades, unionized workers and their relatives produced a lot of votes for Iowa Democrats in the Ottumwa area. Democratic turnout was poor here in 2010, which partly explains why State Senator Keith Kreiman lost by a dozen votes in what had been considered a safe seat. Both Fairfield and Oskaloosa are about a 30-minute drive from Ottumwa. UPDATE: The Iowa Democratic Party's website lists a coordinated GOTV headquarters in Ottumwa.

There is also a Clinton County Democratic Party office in Clinton, which is running GOTV for candidates up and down the ticket. Clinton county is part of the open Senate district 49, where Republican Andrew Naeve faces Democrat Rita Hart.

The Muscatine County Democratic Party has a similar campaign headquarters open in Muscatine. Part of that county is in Senate district 46 and House district 91, where Republican incumbent Mark Lofgren faces John Dabeet. The rest of the county is in House district 88, where Republican Ways and Means Committee Chair Tom Sands faces Sara Sedlacek.

IA-03

In the third Congressional district, Representative Leonard Boswell needs strong Democratic turnout, especially in Polk County, to have a chance against Republican incumbent Tom Latham. Boswell moved his official residence to Des Moines a decade ago because of redistricting. Latham moved from Ames in IA-04 to the Polk County suburbs last year because of redistricting.

Obama's statewide headquarters are on the east side of Des Moines, and four of the 26 new offices opening this weekend are in the Des Moines metro area: in the capital city on Merle Hay Road, in the northern suburb of Ankeny, in the eastern suburb of Altoona, and in the western suburb of Waukee.

The unified Republican victory office is in Urbandale, a suburb of on the west side of Des Moines, and Romney has another office in Waukee.

Polk County doesn't typically have a lot of competitive statehouse races, but redistricting has created more than usual this year. Altoona is part of the open House district 30, where Democrat Joe Riding faces Republican Jim Carley. Waukee is part of Iowa Senate district 22, where incumbent Republican Pat Ward faces Desmund Adams. The eastern half of Senate district 22 is House district 43, where Republican incumbent Chris Hagenow faces Susan Judkins Josten. Urbandale is part of House district 40, an open-seat race pitting Democrat John Forbes against Republican Mike Brown. Part of Ankeny is in House district 38, where incumbent Republican Kevin Koester faces John Phoenix. Johnston and Grimes are in the open House district 39, featuring two 20-something candidates: Democrat Kelsey Clark and Republican Jake Highfill.

Both Romney and Obama have field offices in Council Bluffs (Pottawattamie County). Although Republicans failed to field a strong challenger against Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, a lot of outside money will flow into Senate district 8 because Gronstal has done so much to block the GOP policy agenda. Democrats are looking for a potential pickup in House district 15, where Republican incumbent Mark Brandenburg faces George Yaple. Both the Latham and Boswell campaigns are likely to have a strong GOTV push in Council Bluffs, the largest city in IA-03 outside Polk County.

Four more new Obama field offices are in this Congressional district: Creston (Union County), Perry (Dallas County), Winterset (Madison County), and Indianola (Warren County). Republican statehouse incumbents are favored in most of those areas. There will be a competitive race in the open House district 26 between Democrat Scott Ourth and Republican Steve McCoy. The district covers Indianola and most of Warren County. John Deeth notes that Ourth had a 100 to 1 cash-on-hand advantage according to the latest campaign finance reports. But social conservative activists in Warren County turned out a heck of a lot of votes for Bob Vander Plaats in the 2010 GOP gubernatorial primary and delivered victory in the local Iowa House and Senate districts the same year.

IA-04

The fourth Congressional district spans 39 counties, many of which are new to Republican incumbent Steve King of Kiron (Sac County). Democratic challenger Christie Vilsack grew up in southeast Iowa and lived in the Des Moines area for more than a decade but relocated to Ames (Story County) because of this campaign.

Both the Obama and Romney campaigns have field offices in Sioux City (Woodbury County). Two competitive Iowa House races are in this county. House district 13 is a battle of two first-term House incumbents: Democrat Chris Hall and Republican Jeremy Taylor. In the open House district 14, 2010 Democratic candidate David Dawson faces Republican Greg Grupp.

Romney has a field office in Mason City (Cerro Gordo County). I am surprised that the Obama campaign doesn't have a presence here, but Mason City is not on the list of office openings this weekend. UPDATE: Vilsack's campaign has staff in Mason City, and the Cerro Gordo Democrats have a coordinated campaign office there.

Romney has a field office in Ames. I don't know why the site of Iowa State University isn't on the Obama campaign's list, because college towns were strong vote-producing areas for the president in 2008. UPDATE: Vilsack's campaign is headquartered in Ames, and the Story County Democrats office there is running GOTV for all candidates.

Five of the new Obama field offices are in IA-04: Algona (Kossuth County), Spencer (Clay County), Denison (Crawford County), Iowa Falls (Hardin County), and Boone (Boone County). Competitive statehouse races are thin on the ground in IA-04, but House district 47, containing most of Boone County, will be a hard-fought rematch between Republican State Representative Chip Baltimore and the Democrat he beat by a couple dozen votes in 2010, Donovan Olson.

UPDATE: The Webster County Democrats have a field office in Fort Dodge that is running GOTV in the area.

First look at Democratic prospects for Iowa House gains

desmoinesdem — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:15:00 GMT

The redistricting process and several Republican retirements have created many pickup opportunities for Iowa House Democrats. The devastating 2010 election left them nowhere to go but up in the lower chamber, where Republicans currently enjoy a 60 to 40 majority. Relatively few sitting House Democrats represent vulnerable districts.

Speaking to activists at the Polk County Democratic convention on March 10, I heard lots of optimism about the House races. After the jump I've posted some early thoughts on the seats up for grabs.
Of the 40 current Iowa House Democrats, two opted to retire from the legislature. Kurt Swaim and Andrew Wenthe were paired with fellow Democratic incumbents Curt Hanson and Roger Thomas, respectively. Two other Democratic representatives, Janet Petersen and Nate Willems, decided to run for the Iowa Senate rather than seek re-election to the House.

That leaves 36 Iowa House Democrats seeking re-election. Of those, 15 do not have a Republican opponent and are therefore virtually assured of winning another term: Rick Olson, Kevin McCarthy, Brian Quirk, Sharon Steckman, Deborah Berry, Tyler Olson, Kirsten Running-Marquardt, Todd Taylor, Dave Jacoby, Jerry Kearns, Vicki Lensing, Mary Mascher, Cindy Winckler, Mary Wolfe, and Chuck Isenhart.

I must point out that at this stage in 2010, State Representatives John Beard and Tom Schueller didn't have Republican opponents either, yet both ended up losing in November. I don't expect any of the currently unchallenged House Democrats to meet the same fate.

Another 14 Democratic incumbents have Republican competition but shouldn't have any trouble winning re-election in their strongly Democratic districts: Helen Miller, Pat Murphy, Jim Lykam, Dennis Cohoon, Mary Gaskill, Mark Smith, Anesa Kajtazovic, Lisa Heddens, Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, Jo Oldson, Ako Abdul-Samad, Bruce Hunter, Ruth Ann Gaines, and Dan Kelley. Disclaimer: several Democrats thought to be "safe" lost in 2010, and more could fall if 2012 turns out to be another horrible year for Democrats generally.

The last seven Democratic House incumbents face potentially difficult re-election battles, either because of the partisan lean of their district, because they are relatively new to politics, or because they have drawn a particularly strong opponent.

John Wittneben in the new district 7. He won an open seat by a few dozen votes in 2010, and his new district no longer has a strong Democratic voter registration advantage. Two Republicans filed to challenge him: Mark Frakes and Tedd Gassman.

Dan Muhlbauer is another first-term Democrat, having won an open-seat race against an unbelievably weak Republican candidate. Muhlbauer's new district is a tiny bit more Democratic, but if Republican candidate Barney Bornhoft has the faintest clue, he should be a stronger opponent than the man Muhlbauer beat in 2010.

Chris Hall also won an open seat in 2010. He is the only House Democrat who will face a sitting House Republican in the general election. First-term GOP State Representative Jeremy Taylor decided to run here after the new map placed his house outside of his current district. He proved himself to be a strong campaigner by almost beating a Democratic incumbent in 2008 and winning an open seat in 2010.

Roger Thomas has more experience in the House, but the new district 55 has a GOP voter registration advantage, unlike the seat where Thomas was previously elected. Three Republicans filed to challenge him: Michael Klimesh, Marshall Nessa, and Dustin Noble.

Bob Kressig has won re-election by narrow margins several times. The winner of the GOP primary between James Kenyon and Howard Lyon will face Kressig in the new district 59.

Curt Hanson won a 2009 special election and his 2010 re-election in a Republican-leaning district, so he stands a decent chance of overcoming the voter registration disadvantage in the new district 82. Two Republicans have filed for this seat: James Johnson and Jeff Shipley.

Phyllis Thede knocked off a GOP incumbent in 2008 and survived the 2010 wave in a Democratic-leaning seat. Her new district 93 is more evenly divided in terms of voter registration. The good news is that she doesn't appear to have drawn a particularly strong candidate in Mark Nelson.

Depending on how many of those seven incumbents hang on, Democrats will have between 29 and 36 current House members returning in 2013.

One Democratic pick-up is a lock: Republicans aren't fielding a candidate in the new House district 57, where Steve Lukan is retiring. Nancy Dunkel is the only Democrat on the ballot.

The new House district 36 should be an easy hold for the winner of the Democratic primary between Marti Anderson, Cara Kennedy-Ode, and William Rock. Janet Petersen left this district open when she decided to run for Senate district 19.

That leaves House Democrats with 31 to 38 seats--a long way from the 51 they need to win back the majority.

The optimism I heard at the convention stems from the many strong candidates Democrats are fielding in Republican-held districts.

In general, it's easier for a political party to pick up an open seat than to defeat an incumbent from the other side. The following 13 districts with no incumbent seem potentially winnable for Democrats:

* district 14, left empty under the redistricting plan. Democrats have a voter registration advantage here; their unsuccessful 2010 candidate David Dawson will face Republican Greg Grupp.

* district 26, where Republican Glen Massie opted not to seek re-election. Massie's 2010 Democratic opponent, Scott Ourth, faces the winner of the GOP primary between Ruth Randleman and Steve McCoy.

* district 28, where Republican Rich Arnold is retiring. Democrat Megan Day Suhr will face the winner of the GOP primary between Len Gosselink and Greg Heartsill (my money's on Heartsill to be the general election candidate).

* district 30, where Republican Kim Pearson opted not to seek re-election. Altoona City Council member Joe Riding is the Democratic candidate; Republicans have a primary between Jim Carley and Carol Miller.

* district 40, where Republican House Appropriations Committee Chair Scott Raecker opted not to seek re-election. Urbandale City Council member John Forbes is the Democratic candidate; he'll face business owner and veteran Mike Brown.

* district 63, left empty under the redistricting plan. Former Democratic State Senator Bill Heckroth faces Sandy Salmon here.

* district 64, where Republican Dan Rasmussen retired. Two candidates from Oelwein are on the ballot: Democratic City Council member Bruce Bearinger and Republican business owner Jim Givant. The party registration numbers lean Democratic.

* district 72, where Republican Lance Horbach retired. The voter registration numbers lean to the GOP. Dean Fisher is the only Republican on the ballot here; a Democratic primary looms between Christina Blackcloud-Garcia and Nathan Wrage.

* district 73, where House Speaker Pro Tem Jeff Kaufmann is retiring. His son, Bobby Kaufmann, is the only Republican on the ballot. He'll have name recognition going for him, but clearly he won't be nearly as tough an opponent as his father would be. Democrats have a primary here between David Johnson and Dick Schwab.

* district 76, left empty after redistricting. Grinnell City Council member Rachel Bly will face the winner of a Republican primary between David Maxwell and Larry Wilson (my money's on Wilson, a Poweshiek County supervisor).

* district 77, left empty after redistricting. The voter registration numbers give the advantage to Democrat Sally Stutsman over Republican Steve Sherman.

* district 80, left empty after redistricting. Joe Judge, the son of former Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge, is the Democratic candidate here. His GOP opponent will be Larry Sheets.

* district 95, where Democrat Nate Willems is running for the Senate instead of for a third term in the House. Two teachers will face off here: Republican Quentin Stanerson and Democrat Kristin Keast.

Obviously, Democrats aren't going to sweep all of those House races, but even winning half of them would represent a major step forward.

There are at least 12 districts Democrats can credibly play for despite the fact that Republican incumbents are seeking re-election. (I'm not saying lightning couldn't strike in some other Republican-held district, but the other Democratic challengers will face long odds given the partisan lean.)

* district 15, covering Carter Lake and the western part of Council Bluffs; first-term GOP Representative Mark Brandenburg moved into this district. The Democratic candidate is George Yaple.

* district 38, where Ankeny Republican Kevin Koester, who was elected from a solidly Republican district, has to seek re-election in an evenly divided seat. John Phoenix is the Democratic candidate here (Koester also has a primary challenger).

* district 43, where Republican Chris Hagenow will be favored but Democrat Susan Judkins has a strong resume.

* district 47, where Democrat Donovan Olson is seeking a rematch with Chip Baltimore, who defeated him by a narrow margin in 2010.

* district 56, where Patti Ruff is running against first-term Republican Bob Hager.

* district 58, where former State Representative Tom Schueller is seeking a rematch with surprise 2010 winner Brian Moore.

* district 60, now represented by first-term Republican Walt Rogers. Bob Greenwood is the Democratic challenger in this Waterloo/Cedar Falls district.

* district 66, where Democrat Art Staed is challenging the Republican who beat him in 2008, Renee Schulte. The voter registration numbers lean Democratic, but Schulte has proved herself to be a strong campaigner.

* district 68, where Daniel Lundby, the son of the late Republican State Senator Mary Lundby, will be a big underdog against two-term Republican Nick Wagner.

* district 88, where House Ways and Means Committee Chair Tom Sands will be heavily favored against Democrat Sara Sedlacek.

* district 91, where 2010 winner Mark Lofgren is up against Democrat John Dabeet.

* district 92, where 2010 GOP winner Ross Paustian (an unsuccessful House candidate in 2008) is up against former State Senator Frank Wood.

Again, Democrats are not going to sweep these races, but having so many GOP-held seats in play will be helpful. Every dollar House Republican leaders spend defending their own incumbents is a dollar they can't spend targeting the vulnerable House Democrats.

It's also worth noting that eleven sitting House Republicans face primary challengers. As a result, many Republicans in safe seats will have to spend money on their own re-election campaigns, rather than in districts Democrats are targeting.

I don't see the House changing hands in 2013, but with good campaigning and GOTV, Democrats should be able to climb most of the way out of their 60-40 hole.

Any comments about the Iowa House races are welcome in this thread.

Iowa House district 91 preview: Mark Lofgren vs John Dabeet

desmoinesdem — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:46:13 GMT

The list of potentially competitive Iowa House districts without a Democratic candidate shrank yesterday when the chair of the Muscatine Community College Business Department, John Dabeet, announced that he'll stand in the new Iowa House district 91.
Most voters in the new House district 91 reside in the city of Muscatine. The district also includes the small town of Fruitland as well as some rural areas in eastern Muscatine County.

Neither party has a clear advantage in terms of voter registration. According to the Iowa Secretary of State's Office, House district 91 contained 6,350 Democrats, 6,559 Republicans, and 8,474 no-party voters as of February 2012 (pdf).

Republicans take an incumbency advantage into this race. State Representative Mark Lofgren easily defeated three-term Democratic incumbent Nathan Reichert by more than 1,400 votes in 2010. It was Lofgren's first attempt at elected office. From his official bio:

Mark Lofgren is a life-long resident of Muscatine, Iowa. He graduated from Muscatine High School in 1980 and the University of Iowa with a BBA Finance degree. He has a Chartered financial consultant designation from the American College and is currently working on his Masters in Financial Services. After nearly 10 years working and building a successful real estate business, Mark decided to go into investments and opened Lofgren Investments in 1996. Mark is an avid runner and has coached track, soccer, and basketball throughout the years. Mark is married to Paula, a teacher librarian in the Muscatine Community School District. Together they have four children.

Lofgren serves on the Iowa House Economic Growth, Education, Human Resources, and Natural Resources committees. Unlike a few Iowa House Republican freshmen who made waves last year, Lofgren didn't rock the boat. I am not aware of him voting against the House GOP leadership on any significant bills during the 2011 session.

Lofgren doesn't come across as a policy wonk. Commenting on Governor Terry Branstad's 2012 condition of the state address, he told the Muscatine Journal,

Lofgren said he thinks Branstad "really cares about the issues. I think the education blueprint thing, he is passionate about that. I think he really cares with his family members there - he's got four granddaughters - so I think he's very passionate about that.
"I think the third-grade literacy thing, is a tough issue.
"The property tax, he has a lot of passion about that. That all goes back to Keynesian supply-side economics. He's trying to create an environment where businesses want to locate in the state.
"I think the Senate's (commercial property tax) bill doesn't go far enough."

I would expect a member of the House Education Committee to have a more substantive comment on the governor's education reform plans. Lofgren's mostly got the property-tax talking points down, except that supply-side economics is very different from Keynesian economics. On the contrary, supply-side economics was developed in opposition to Keynesian economics.

Lofgren's campaign website hasn't been updated since the 2010 election, but I assume he will seek a second term. I've heard no hint that he plans to retire.

Several Iowa legislators defeated in 2010 are attempting comebacks this year, but Reichert showed no interest in a rematch against Lofgren. The former House Democrat continues to teach economics at Muscatine Community College, where he has worked since 2008.

One of Reichert's faculty colleagues threw his hat in the ring. From the Iowa House Democrats February 20 press release:

The Chair of the Business Department at Muscatine Community College John Dabeet today announced that he will run for state representative in District 91, which includes the city of Muscatine and eastern Muscatine County.
"I'm proud of my work helping people in Muscatine get the skills they need to land a good-paying job, continue their education, or start their own business. Community colleges are the key to growing Iowa's skilled workforce and strengthening the middle class," said Dabeet, a Democrat. "My top priorities in the Iowa House will be making sure every Iowan gets a world class education from preschool to higher education and helping local communities create jobs."
Now in his 17th year at Muscatine Community College, Dabeet teaches economics and statistics in addition to his duties chairing the Business Department. He is also the student government advisor and serves on Eastern Iowa Community College district wide globalization initiative as well as the student council. Dabeet is also an adjunct professor at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant.
"As state representative, I will put aside the partisanship and listen to the people of our community. I look forward to engaging the citizens of Muscatine just like I engage my students in the classroom and seek their input on the critical issues our state faces. It's a humbling experience to run for state representative and I'm excited to meet Muscatine residents at their doorstep," said Dabeet, who received the Excellency in Volunteerism Award from the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2002-2003.
Dabeet, a Christian, is currently serving as President of the national Americans & Palestinians for Peace organization and has been involved in a host of other activities and organizations in Muscatine. He is Past President of Muscatine Sister City Association and former Chair of the Diversity Service Center of Iowa, which is based in Muscatine. For eight years, he served on the Board of Directors for the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
John and his wife, Abeer, have two twin boys, Nabeel and Anton, who are three years old. He received Sister Cities International 50th Anniversary Distinguish Volunteer Award in 2006, was nominated by his students for Who's Who of America's Best Teachers, and received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching at MCC.

Teachers and community college professors often make good legislative candidates, because they are personally acquainted with so many local families. Dabeet's close contacts with the Chamber of Commerce crowd could help him gain crossover votes in the business community.

Like John Deeth, I noticed that the press release seemed to go out of the way to mention that Dabeet is a Christian. On the other hand, most Democrats running for the Iowa House or Senate do mention a religious affiliation in their campaign announcements and official bios.

Democrats are sure to target House district 91, not only because the party recently held this seat and has a strong candidate in Dabeet, but also because the district is half of Iowa Senate district 46, a potential pickup for Democrats. Republican incumbent Senators Jim Hahn and Shawn Hamerlinck appear likely to duke it out in a primary. The winner of the June primary will face Democrat Chris Brase, a Muscatine firefighter.

The other half of Senate district 46 is House district 92, where former Democratic State Senator Frank Wood is challenging first-term Republican Representative Ross Paustian.

Republicans won't let this district go without a fight. Emily Lofgren, the daughter of Mark Lofgren, serves on the Iowa GOP State Central Committee. She managed her father's successful 2010 campaign, and I assume she'll play a major role in his re-election effort.

I also expect the advocacy group Iowans for Tax Relief to be heavily involved in the House district 91 campaign. David Stanley, who represented the Muscatine area in the state legislature during the 1960s and 1970s, founded Iowans for Tax Relief in 1978. Despite major staff turnover in the spring of 2011, Iowans for Tax Relief is still based in Muscatine, and Stanley remains the organization's chairman.

Any relevant comments are welcome in this thread.

P.S.- Muscatine is one of the 36 cities that lost its Iowa Workforce Development field office in 2011.