Declaring that “Iowans are tired of being lied to by their elected leaders in order to win their vote,” Eddie Mauro announced today that he may seek the Democratic nomination in the third Congressional district. “It is not enough to vent about these problems or politicians; we need to step up and get involved.”
Mauro ran against State Representative Jo Oldson in last year’s Democratic primary for Iowa House district 41, campaigning as a “fearless advocate” for policies to promote stronger schools and better-paid teachers, a “living wage for all Iowans,” better air and water quality, and more investment in roads and transit.
He received about a third of the vote in that primary, but as Pat Rynard pointed out,
this time he’ll be in a large field of first-time candidates and won’t be challenging an incumbent one-on-one. And in his race with Oldson he was still able to put up very large margins of victories in the handful of South Side precincts within that house district. For 2018 he’ll have the entire South Side that he can turn out, an area that will already be targeted heavily by other campaigns, especially if Polk County Supervisor Johnny Mauro draws a tough reelection primary challenge.
State Senator Matt McCoy, who said earlier this year that he might run for Congress, is rumored to be considering a campaign for supervisor in John Mauro’s district. If he runs for that seat, voter participation on the south side of Des Moines will go through the roof for the June 2018 primary.
Eddie Mauro’s messaging for his Iowa House race highlighted his experience as a baseball coach, but he told me last year that through his work as president of the wholesale insurance firm UIG, he works with insurance agents in many cities and small towns all over the state. I’ve posted more background on Mauro below. You can follow his exploratory campaign on the web or on Facebook.
Cindy Axne, Theresa Greenfield, Paul Knupp, and Heather Ryan have already launched their campaigns in IA-03. In addition to Mauro, Pete D’Alessandro and Austin Frerick are considering the race.
Aside from Frerick, all of the confirmed or possible challengers to Representative David Young live in Polk County, along with roughly two-thirds of registered Democratic voters in IA-03. Axne grew up on the south side of Des Moines, but Mauro has stronger roots in the area, since Axne chose to raise her family in West Des Moines.
This Congressional district will almost certainly be targeted by both parties in 2018. The sixteen counties in IA-03 contain 163,722 active registered Democrats, 175,348 Republicans, and 166,385 no-party voters, according to the latest figures from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office.
Mauro’s press release today signaled that he plans to link Young to the president:
Despite the demand for change that Iowans wanted in 2016, Donald Trump and David Young have failed to deliver. They said what they needed to say to win the vote, yet issue after issue, the policies Trump and Young are now supporting will make the struggles of the average Iowan worse.
Most people who will cast a ballot in the 2018 Democratic primary strongly disapprove of Trump. I am skeptical about the tactic as a winning message for the general election campaign, though. Young votes for many terrible policies, but he doesn’t come across like the president in terms of demeanor. As much as possible, he avoids commenting on what Trump says or does. Although the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran television commercials in 2016 trying to tie Young to the GOP presidential nominee, our U.S. House representative outperformed Trump in the IA-03 counties by about 5 points. So even if the president is very unpopular in Iowa next fall, voters may not take out their anger on the Congressional incumbent who shows up at events all over the district every month.
Any comments about the race in IA-03 are welcome in this thread.
From the “Meet Mauro” page on Eddie Mauro’s campaign website, posted before last year’s Democratic primary in Iowa House district 41.
EDDIE J. MAURO is a Des Moines native who has lived in the district for more than 20 years. A graduate of Dowling High School, he earned his Bachelor of Science from Simpson College and holds a Theology Certificate from Creighton University. Eddie is founder and President/COO of UIG, an innovative wholesale insurance firm serving insurance agencies in Iowa and across the U.S. He and his wife Sharilyn have shared 25 years together and have two children, Dominic and Mia. […]
As part of his commitment to helping others reach their full potential, Eddie currently serves on the board of directors for the South Suburban YMCA of Greater Des Moines. He is also a member of the Immigration Committee for the Iowa Catholic Conference, as well as the Legislative Committee for the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa. Eddie volunteers for several impactful local organizations, including, YMCA Board of Managers, Knights of Columbus and AMOS. He is also a dedicated youth sports coach.
Eddie believes in the power of education and spent several years as a teacher at Seymour Community Schools in Seymour, Iowa, and Saint Anthony School of Des Moines. During his tenure at Saint Anthony, he received the Iowa Governor’s Volunteer Award, the Salvation Army Volunteer of the Year Award, President’s Youth Services Award and was nominated as Reader’s Digest Teacher of the Year.
Eddie was also an integral member of the Dowling High School athletic program for more than 10 years, serving as head coach for the baseball team and assistant coach for the football team. In addition, he put his talent to work for the Cincinnati Reds as a recommending scout, and the Iowa Cubs Organization as a volunteer assisting with player development. Eddie currently serves as the head coach for the Lincoln High School baseball team.
Eddie’s valuable experience in education, business, coaching and volunteering has helped him understand the challenges facing Iowa families, business owners and outreach organizations. He’s ready to step up and be a voice for positive change in our state.