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Bleeding Heartland
It's what plants crave.
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Merlin Bartz 
Tue Feb 12, 2013 at 11:30:28 AM CST
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No Republicans have announced firm plans to run for the open seat in Iowa's first Congressional district, but several people are definitely or rumored to be considering the race.
To evaluate who is best poised to win this Democratic-leaning district, it's helpful to look at where the votes are in a Republican primary as well as in a general election. After the jump I've posted a district map, the latest voter registration numbers for the 20 counties in IA-01, and a brief take on some of the possible Republican candidates.
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Mon Dec 10, 2012 at 16:35:00 PM CST
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Losing a re-election contest is no fun for any state legislator, but defeated incumbents often land on their feet. Such is the case with outgoing State Senator Merlin Bartz and State Representative Annette Sweeney.
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Sun Nov 11, 2012 at 10:50:10 AM CST
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Now that we've all had a few days to take in the election results, candidates and political activists in both parties can reflect on how our time and money could have been better spent during the campaign. After the jump I've posted links about Republican and Democratic regrets.
This is an open thread: all topics welcome.
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Wed Nov 07, 2012 at 07:25:00 AM CST
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Supporters of LGBT equality are celebrating yesterday's votes for same-sex marriage rights in Maine, Maryland, and Washington, as well as Minnesotans rejecting a constitutional amendment designed to restrict marriage rights to heterosexuals.
The election also slammed the door on any prospect of overturning marriage equality in Iowa.
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Mon Nov 05, 2012 at 19:16:09 PM CST
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Candidates for the Iowa legislature were required to submit campaign finance disclosure reports on October 19 and November 2. The Schedule E forms on "In-Kind Contributions" contained the most interesting numbers, because they showed how Democratic and Republican party leaders are allocating resources across the battleground districts.
After the jump I've enclosed in-kind contribution figures for the Senate districts expected to be in play tomorrow. Candidates running in other Senate races did not report large in-kind contributions from their respective parties.
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Sat Nov 03, 2012 at 16:15:00 PM CDT
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Three-time candidate for Iowa governor Bob Vander Plaats has made news this fall primarily on the "No Wiggins" campaign trail. However, the social conservative group he runs is supporting some Republican Iowa Senate candidates as well.
Last week the FAMiLY Leader launched radio advertising campaigns in two competitive Senate races--but notably, not in the district where Vander Plaats' longtime right-hand man Matt Reisetter is running.
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Thu Oct 25, 2012 at 14:10:00 PM CDT
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In a surprising turn of events, Republican challengers are putting an obscure vote on water bottles at the center of their attacks on Iowa Senate Democrats. Follow me after the jump for background on this year's equivalent to the non-existent "heated sidewalks" of 2010.
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Mon Oct 15, 2012 at 08:41:14 AM CDT
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(Great post. Iowa Senate District 26 is one of the tossup races that will determine control of the Senate for the next two years. - promoted by desmoinesdem)
Merlin Bartz is an Iowa State Senator who carries around an unusual picture of his opponent, State Senator Mary Jo Wilhelm. The photo is a life-size legless paper doll. At public events he sets his creepy companion in a chair next to him. If Senator Wilhelm arrives at the event, she has to move it so she can sit down.
What message do you think this sends to Iowans? To women? To Senator Wilhelm?
There is more below the fold.
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Sun Oct 14, 2012 at 07:00:00 AM CDT
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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.
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Fri Aug 24, 2012 at 06:45:00 AM CDT
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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.
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Fri Mar 16, 2012 at 20:26:59 PM CDT
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I'm posting the weekend thread early, because the filing period for primary election candidates in Iowa closed this afternoon. The Secretary of State's Office posted the full list of candidates here (pdf). John Deeth has been covering the filing on a daily basis all month at his blog. Some highlights from races I'm watching are after the jump.
This is an open thread; all topics welcome.
UPDATE: Gotta agree with Senator Chuck Grassley: the History Channel is useless.
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Wed Jan 18, 2012 at 13:04:32 PM CST
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Republican State Senator Merlin Bartz confirmed this week that he will run for re-election in the new Iowa Senate district 26. His race against Democratic incumbent Mary Jo Wilhelm is probably a must-win for Senate Democrats in order to preserve their majority. After the jump I've posted a district map. Bleeding Heartland previewed the Bartz/Wilhelm matchup here.
Bartz has given Iowa progressives plenty of reasons to want him gone, from encouraging county recorders to ignore a Supreme Court ruling to trying to block the most significant water quality regulations of the last decade. Bartz's record is so bad that even learning he "has performed for over 35 years in north and northeast Iowa with various dance bands" didn't give me any sympathy for the guy. Democrats who live within striking distance of Worth, Mitchell, Floyd, Howard, Chickasaw, Cerro Gordo, or Winneshiek counties have a golden volunteer opportunity here.
P.S. to the Des Moines Register's editorial staff: that last link was to William Petroski's blog post. I liked the dance band detail. When you read something interesting on a blog, it won't kill you to link to it. I mention this because your January 15 comment on Bartz's crusade against "obsolete" laws reads a lot like Bleeding Heartland's post from January 10.
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Tue Jan 10, 2012 at 06:35:00 AM CST
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Republican State Senator Merlin Bartz set the bar high for irony on the opening day of the 2012 legislative session. Bartz sought publicity for a bill he has introduced to remove "frivolous, obsolete, and redundant mandates" from the Iowa Code.
On the one hand, that's a worthwhile effort for the ranking member of the Iowa Senate Local Government Committee. On the other hand, a guy who's using a 19th-century law to force neighbors to pay for half of his new fence might not be the best standard-bearer for this cause.
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Wed Dec 28, 2011 at 07:23:35 AM CST
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Six days before the Iowa caucuses, no Republican candidate has a clear lead, social conservatives remain scattered among several contenders, and new television commercials are launched on almost a daily basis. Numbers from the two latest opinion polls and news from the campaign trail are after the jump, along with some commercials currently showing on Iowa tv screens.
UPDATE: Added numbers from a new CNN poll and the latest Ron Paul tv ad.
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Tue Dec 06, 2011 at 11:41:20 AM CST
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The November special election in Iowa Senate district 18 confirmed that Democrats will maintain a 26 to 24 majority in the upper chamber during the legislature's 2012 session, set to begin on January 9.
Senate Democrats and Republicans recently announced updated committee assignments. Majority and minority leadership teams are after the jump, along with all members of standing committees. I've also noted which senators are up for re-election in 2012 and which are retiring next year.
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Tue Nov 29, 2011 at 09:00:49 AM CST
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The state agency Iowa Workforce Development has replaced 36 field offices with hundreds of new "enhanced access" computer terminals this year.
Although the shuttered offices are unlikely ever to reopen, they may live on as talking points in many competitive Iowa House and Senate races next fall.
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Thu Nov 17, 2011 at 07:03:34 AM CST
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Only one Iowa Senate race in 2012 will pit Republican and Democratic incumbents against each other. First-term Democrat Mary Jo Wilhelm confirmed this week that she will seek re-election in the new Senate district 26. Her likely opponent is four-term Republican Senator Merlin Bartz. Follow me after the jump for a district map and first take on this matchup.
As a bonus, this post also covers the strangest failure to do basic damage control I've seen from a political veteran.
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Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 06:19:00 AM CST
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Continuity ruled the day as the 24 Iowa Senate Republicans elected Jerry Behn minority leader during yesterday's caucus in Des Moines. Choosing a member of the old guard to replace Paul McKinley, the senators also taught Bill Dix a lesson about timing and manners.
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