Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee officials have not commented publicly on State Senator Joe Seng’s possible challenge to Representative Dave Loebsack in Iowa’s second district. However, the DCCC has commissioned a robo-poll on the potential IA-02 primary.

John Deeth and his wife both got the automated poll Monday evening. After asking about the respondent’s opinion on Loebsack and Seng and preference in a possible primary, the poll included questions testing messages each candidate might use against the other:

Question 4: Agree or disagree with following statement (badly paraphrased): I’m outraged by the radical Republican attempts to turn back the clock and limit women’s access to contraception attacks on contraception. We need a congressman who will stand up to the radical Republicans (agree)

Question 5: Agree or disagree: I’m deeply troubled by the Obama administration’s attempts to impose its will and limit freedom. We need a congressman who will stand up to Obama for our religious freedom. (disagree)

Clearly the DCCC is taking no chances. I am surprised to see them poll now rather than wait until after March 16, the deadline for Seng to submit nominating papers to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office. I am still not convinced Seng is serious about this race. If he has supporters circulating petitions at Democratic and/or Republican county conventions on March 10, then we can assume he is committed to challenging Loebsack. Even then, he may not qualify for the ballot.

Questions 4 and 5 on the DCCC’s robo-poll were inspired by Seng’s comments to Ed Tibbetts of the Quad-City Times last week.

[Seng] said he’s upset that Iowa’s Democrats didn’t vote for the South Korea trade deal, which President Barack Obama signed. Seng chairs the state Senate Agriculture Committee. He also said the Obama administration’s rule requiring insurers of church-affiliated organizations, such as colleges and hospitals, to cover the cost of contraceptives for their employees also played a role in his decision.

“There’s a religious liberty issue,” said Seng, who is Catholic.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been critical of the Obama administration rule, and last month, many parishes across the country, including in Davenport, saw letters read objecting the original rule, which has since been moderated.

Seng said he was upset by the situation, but that was just one issue that played a part in his decision.

Looking at Seng’s official website today, I noticed that his bio says nothing about being a moderate Democrat, nor does it take a stand on abortion rights, trade agreements, or health insurance coverage of contraception.

Dr. Joe Seng was elected in 2010 to his third term in the Iowa Senate. He represents Senate District 43, which includes Davenport on the eastern border of Iowa. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served one term in the Iowa House of Representatives. Previous to State Office, he served as Mayor ProTem and Alderman at large for the City of Davenport.

Senator Seng is chair of the Agriculture Committee and vice-chair of the Ways & Means Committee. He also serves on the Commerce, Ethics, and Natural Resources & Environment committees, as well as the Economic Development Subcommittee.

Joe is active in the Davenport community as a member of the Knights of Columbus, Midwest National Rail Compact, NAACP, and as president and CEO at Marquette Academy.

Joe has received national recognition from the American Humane Society for his efforts to prevent animal cruelty. He has also been honored by many Iowa organizations, including the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association and was named Legislator of the Year by the Izaak Walton League. Joe has also served as President for the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association and the President of the Iowa Health Council.

Joe graduated from Lost Nation Community High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State University. He owns and operates St. Francis Veterinarian Hospital in Davenport.

Joe has one daughter, Heidi, and two grandsons, Gavin and Finn.

I bet the American Humane Society wishes they could take that one back. Little did they know they were giving an award to a senator who would lead the charge for a law to suppress exposure of alleged animal cruelty at Iowa agricultural facilities.

Getting back to IA-02: the DCCC doesn’t typically release results from this kind of poll. That said, if Seng qualifies for the ballot, we’ll soon get a hint of whether Democrats in Washington consider him a real threat to Loebsack. Leonard Boswell’s campaign relentlessly attacked primary challenger Ed Fallon in March, April and May 2008. If Loebsack’s team or the DCCC go after Seng, it will signal that the poll showed real weakness for Loebsack even in a primary. The DCCC already indicated concern about Loebsack’s re-election prospects, adding him to the Frontline program for vulnerable incumbents at the end of 2011.