Two Democrats are actively campaigning for a open Iowa House seat covering much of the city of Urbandale.
Urbandale City Council member and U.S. Air Force combat veteran Larry McBurney launched his campaign for House district 44 in September, soon after State Representative John Forbes, who has represented much of this area since 2013, announced he will run for Polk County supervisor in 2024.
Urbandale School Board member Jason Menke made his legislative campaign official on October 10.
THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
House district 44 includes most Urbandale precincts in Polk County as well as the Webster precinct to the north of Des Moines.
A solid Republican suburb for decades, Urbandale has been trending blue over the past several election cycles, especially the Polk County neighborhoods.
According to the map Josh Hughes created in Dave’s Redistricting App, residents of the precincts that are now part of House district 44 voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election by a double-digit margin: 55.0 percent to 42.9 percent for Donald Trump. Also in 2020, Democrat Theresa Greenfield outpolled Senator Joni Ernst in the area by 53.3 percent to 44.3 percent.
The latest official figures from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office indicate that as of October 2, House district 44 contains 8,461 registered Democrats, 6,994 Republicans, 6,668 no-party voters, and 181 Libertarians.
The GOP did not field a candidate against Forbes in 2022 and did not put serious money behind the party’s nominee for the Iowa House in 2020. None of this year’s candidates for Urbandale City Council are Republicans either.
I’m not aware of any announced GOP candidate in House district 44. Although there is plenty of time for others to enter this race, whoever wins the Democratic nomination will be favored to win next November. The Democratic ground game in Urbandale is among the strongest in the state, with numerous well-organized volunteers.
BACKGROUND ON LARRY MCBURNEY AND JASON MENKE
McBurney ran unsuccessfully for the Urbandale City Council in 2019 but won a four-year term in 2021. In a September 11 news release, he said he looked forward to continuing Forbes’ legacy “by fighting for the rights and freedoms of all Iowans.”
Our state’s leaders are prioritizing politics over every-day Iowans. They’re making it more difficult for many people, such as my wife, a first-generation immigrant, or my daughter, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, to call Iowa home. And as a combat veteran with PTSD, I personally struggle to find mental health resources that my fellows veterans and I need to thrive. I will take these experiences to the Capitol and work hard to make sure that Iowa prioritizes its people over politics once again.
McBurney touted his record in improving several city programs, “all while lowering the city tax levy.” For instance, the city added a mental health and substance abuse crisis intervention team to the Urbandale Police Department, added “the first all-electric vehicle to the city fleet,” and participated in the the Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot known as UpLift.
Menke has lived in Urbandale since 1993 and was elected to the school board in 2021. His campaign announcement noted that he “is focused on providing more financial support for public education in Iowa and adopting economic and social policies that work for Iowans at every income level.”
We’re at a tipping point in Iowa. The extreme policies adopted by the legislature in the last two years are devastating to public schools and the communities they serve. K-12 education used to be an economic engine for the state. We’re losing accountability of public tax money to private and for-profit interests with the voucher bill. It must be repealed, and we need lawmakers who recognize the value and importance of fully funded community schools.
Menke highlighted several other “significant issues that need to be addressed”: reproductive rights, social and health policies that “don’t ostracize marginalized, vulnerable Iowans,” and “economic policies that allow Iowa’s small business climate to flourish while protecting the interests of its workforce.”
The news release noted that Menke has worked in several sectors that are important to Iowa’s economy: health care, insurance and financial services, higher education, and now agriculture. He argued that “if we’re going to be successful in our efforts to reject extreme policies that only benefit private interests, we need to have Democratic lawmakers who have meaningful conversations with Iowans in other parts of the state. We must convince Iowans who don’t live in large cities that our values and vision are Iowa’s best way forward. I have the experience and ability to move those ideas and ideals forward.”
To follow Larry McBurney’s campaign: website, Facebook
To follow Jason Menke’s campaign: website, Facebook, X/Twitter
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post said McBurney ran successfully for the city council in 2019. He was not elected that year but did win the local election in 2021.
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Top image: official campaign photos of Larry McBurney (left) and Jason Menke.