State Representative Kim Pearson told the Des Moines Register’s Jason Clayworth that she is “not sure whether she’ll pursue another term [in the Iowa House] or embrace another avenue to promote her ideas.” Altoona City Council member Joe Riding, a Democrat, declared his candidacy in the swing House district 30 over the summer. Bleeding Heartland previewed that race here. Whether or not Pearson runs in 2012, House district 30 will be a competitive race.

Pearson also told Clayworth that she is actively recruiting primary challengers to some House Republican incumbents. She didn’t name names, but I discuss some of the possible targets after the jump.

Speaking to the Register’s Clayworth,

Pearson wouldn’t pinpoint which sitting Republican lawmakers she will target, noting that candidates have about six months to make such an announcement and that timing is part of the strategy.

“I’m looking and they’re seeking me,” Pearson said.

Pearson and Republican legislative leaders clashed over several issues during the 2011 legislative session, but abortion was the biggest flashpoint. Right off the bat, she and a colleague refused to support a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks gestation, because it didn’t go far enough to restrict reproductive rights. Her opposition forced GOP leaders to run that bill through another committee.

In late June, while legislators raced to avoid a state government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year, Pearson and several other House Republicans held up final approval of the health and human services appropriations bill. Rejecting legislative language that had bipartisan support for more than three decades, they sought changes to end all Medicaid coverage of abortions in Iowa. A late compromise allowed both pro-choice and anti-choice legislators to save face, but Pearson and three other Republicans voted against the health and human services budget on the House floor. In addition, they submitted an official “dissent from House File 649” to the House chief clerk. Their dissent appeared in the House Journal for June 30 (pdf file):

We are submitting our official protest votes with regards to House File 649 on the thirtieth day of June in the 2011 year of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The bill is injurious to the citizens of Iowa because “[T]o compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” Thomas Jefferson

Representative Glen Massie

Representative Kim Pearson

Representative Tom Shaw

Representative Jason Schultz

Most of the House Republican caucus went along with the compromise language on Medicaid funding, and any of them could attract an anti-abortion primary challenger on those grounds. However, my guess is that Republicans who did not stand with Pearson on the so-called “personhood” bill are most likely to face competitive primaries next spring. House File 153 would recognize and protect life from the moment of conception. In theory, all GOP legislators in Iowa oppose abortion rights, but many balk at personhood legislation, because it would prohibit certain forms of birth control as well as all abortions regardless of the mother’s circumstances.

House File 153 didn’t advance past the informal “funnel” deadline, but Pearson refused to give up the fight. During one of the Iowa House overtime sessions in May, she sought to suspend the rules in order to bring a different abortion-related bill to the House floor. The idea was to use an amendment to substitute the language of House File 153 for that other bill. Pearson’s legislative manuever failed, but the procedural vote clarified which Republicans were willing to go to the mat to define life as beginning at conception.

In addition to Pearson, the following 23 Republicans joined Democrat Dan Muhlbauer in voting to suspend the rules on May 10:

Dwayne Alons

Richard Anderson

Mark Brandenburg  

Royd Chambers

Betty De Boef

Cecil Dolecheck

Joel Fry

Pat Grassley

Chris Hagenow

Bob Hager  

Ron Jorgensen

Jared Klein

Kevin Koester

Brian Moore

Glen Massie  

Dawn Pettengill  

Walt Rogers

Jason Schultz

Tom Shaw

Jeff Smith

Chuck Soderberg

Annette Sweeney

Jeremy Taylor

My hunch is that Pearson is not recruiting challengers to any of those incumbents. Grassley and Sweeney will face each other in the GOP primary to represent the new House district 50.

On the other hand, the following 33 House Republicans voted with most of the Democratic caucus against suspending the rules, which would have allowed Pearson to force a floor vote on personhood language.

Rich Arnold

Chip Baltimore

Clel Baudler

Josh Byrnes  

Peter Cownie

Dave Deyoe *assistant majority leader

Jack Drake

Greg Forristall

Julian Garrett

Mary Ann Hanusa

Dave Heaton  

Lee Hein

Erik Helland *majority whip

Lance Horbach

Stewart Iverson

Jeff Kaufmann *speaker pro tem

Mark Lofgren

Steven Lukan *assistant majority leader

Linda Miller

Steven Olson  

Kraig Paulsen *speaker

Ross Paustian  

Scott Raecker

Dan Rasmussen  

Henry Rayhons

Thomas Sands

Dave Tjepkes

Linda Upmeyer *majority leader

Jim Van Engelenhoven

Guy Vander Linden

Nick Wagner

Matt Windschitl *assistant majority leader

Gary Worthan

Bonus hypocrisy points go to the nine Republicans who voted against Pearson’s motion despite having co-sponsored House File 153 (the original personhood bill) earlier in the session: Rasmussen, Rayhons, Iverson, Helland, Hanusa, Windschitl, Van Engelenhoven, Anderson and Drake. Dissatisfied conservatives might be particularly motivated to target those incumbents. All but Van Engelenhoven (who has announced his retirement) are expected to run for re-election in 2012.

Representative Renee Schulte of Cedar Rapids deserves special mention as well. She appeared to dodge the May 10 vote on Pearson’s motion, leaving the chamber abruptly after participating in all other House roll call votes that day. Schulte won a second term easily in 2010 but won by just 13 votes in 2008. She will seek re-election in a more Democratic-leaning district next year.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen and Majority Whip Erik Helland declined to bash Pearson when Clayworth asked them to comment on her primary recruiting strategy. Fellow first-term Iowa House Republican Josh Byrnes was more outspoken, telling the Des Moines Register today,

“What Rep. (Kim) Pearson is doing here is almost trying to create that environment that we’re seeing on a federal level and it’s not healthy,” said Rep. Josh Byrnes, R-Osage. “If we create an environment like that how will we ever get anything done? I don’t think that’s what our constituents want.” […]

Byrnes said his constituents are irritated that social issues continue to dominate the legislature and generally favor a pro-jobs focus.  He considers himself a fiscal conservative and social moderate.

“Part of this is what my constituents are telling me,” Byrnes said. “They are saying, “We didn’t send you to Des Moines to debate a lot of these social issues, we want you to create jobs.'”

He continued: “It is disappointing. I had no idea this article was coming out and the first thing, at the top of the headlines it says she’s seeking candidates against her own party. I just think it’s bad business. It’s bad practice and it’s unfortunate.”

I’m not surprised that Byrnes is annoyed with Pearson. Byrnes won an open-seat race in the old House district 14 in 2010. Redistricting put him in the new House district 51, a swing district where most of the voters have never seen his name on a ballot before. First-term Republicans like Byrnes are probably more vulnerable than old-timers to primary challengers, especially where redistricting has pushed the newcomers into unfamiliar territory.

Any comments about the 2012 Iowa House races are welcome in this thread.

UPDATE: John Deeth points out in the comments that Lance Horbach is retiring from the House. Meanwhile, redistricting put Pearson ally Tom Shaw in the new House district 10 along with Dave Tjepkes. A primary there is likely, and tea party activists should be out in force for Shaw.