Iowa wildflower Wednesday: Dayflower

I’m bending the rules today, since the dayflower originated in Asia, not North America. However, the plant has gone native throughout most of the U.S. and is common in Iowa. Dayflower spreads easily, so some gardeners consider it an undesirable weed, but it’s not as invasive as the plants on Iowa’s noxious weeds list.

This post does contain one undisputed Iowa wildflower: a Jack-in-the-pulpit with a seed pod visible where the flower used to be.

This is an open thread: all topics welcome.

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Another deadlocked poll, another new Obama ad in Iowa

Republican nominee Mitt Romney leads President Barack Obama in Iowa by 47 percent to 46 percent, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll of 500 “Likely Iowa Voters” conducted on June 11. Romney’s lead is within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent. Click here for survey questions; full results and cross-tabs are available only to Rasmussen subscribers.

The Obama campaign’s relentless stream of television advertising in Iowa is another sign that this state could go either way in November. Follow me after the jump for the latest commercial, which went on the air yesterday. It’s the second Obama ad this month that casts a negative light on Romney’s record as governor of Massachusetts.

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Nice work if you can get it

Would you like to earn $90,000 a year supervising three employees, about whose work you have no expertise or professional background?

Sorry, you can’t get that job. In fact, you can’t even apply for that job, because Governor Terry Branstad considered no one else before giving the position to retiring Iowa House Republican Steve Lukan.

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President of Iowa/Nebraska NAACP resigns over marriage equality

Reverend Keith Ratliff announced this week that he is resigning as president of the Iowa/Nebraska branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People “due to the NAACP’s position and support of same sex marriage.” A high-profile opponent of marriage equality in Iowa, Ratliff was unhappy last month when the national NAACP board adopted a resolution on civil marriage rights for LGBT couples without informing board members in advance about plans to vote on the issue. He asserted that the organization should focus on other issues of more importance to the African-American community.

On June 6, Ratliff released a statement thanking the NAACP and all those he worked with in that organization. He refused multiple media requests for further comment.

The Iowa/Nebraska NAACP is scheduled to hold its annual statewide conference in Des Moines on June 9. I assume delegates will choose a new president or at least an interim president at that time. Local NAACP branch presidents in Iowa had very different reactions to the national board’s resolution in support of civil marriage rights for same-sex couples.

IA-01: Braley, Lange camps trade shots on electability

Representative Bruce Braley’s re-election campaign called attention yesterday to the political composition of Iowa’s new first Congressional district and to Ben Lange’s underwhelming performance in the IA-01 primary. Lange’s campaign responded with a less-than-convincing case for the GOP nominee’s strong prospects of beating the three-term Democratic incumbent this November.

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Iowa wildflower Wednesday: Daisy fleabane

I’m posting the Wednesday open thread early today. All topics are welcome.

Daisy fleabane is this week’s featured Iowa wildflower, but since my photos didn’t come out as well as I’d hoped, I enclosed some extras after the jump too. The first bonus picture shows fruit growing on a may apple (umbrella plant), previously seen at Bleeding Heartland in April. The last two pictures are of Dame’s rocket, a pink or light purple flower that is native to Europe but commonly found across Iowa.

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Iowa primary election results thread

Polls closed across Iowa at 9 pm, and I will update this post periodically as results come in from around the states. Any comments related to today’s elections are welcome in this thread.

P.S.- As expected, Wisconsin Democrats fell short in their effort to recall Republican Governor Scott Walker.

UPDATE: Results are after the jump.  

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Updated voter registration numbers in Iowa's Congressional districts

For the third month in a row, registered Republicans in Iowa slightly outnumber registered Democrats. The latest figures from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office (pdf) show 663,969 active no-party voters statewide, 607,936 active Republicans, and 595,423 active Democrats. After the jump I’ve posted the latest active voter registration numbers in all 99 Iowa counties, grouped by Congressional district. The most evenly-split county is Decatur in south-central Iowa, with 1,749 registered Democrats, 1,783 Republicans, and 1,775 no-party voters as of June 1.

Any comments about the 2012 elections in Iowa are welcome in this thread. The deadline to enter Bleeding Heartland’s 2012 Iowa primary election prediction contest is Tuesday, June 5, at 7 am.

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Weekend open thread: Pre-primary edition

What’s on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers? It’s perfect weather for last-minute campaigning, and there are lots of competitive races around the state. Anyone out canvassing for a legislative, Congressional or county candidate?

I posted my Iowa primary predictions in the contest thread and encourage you to do the same before 7 am on Tuesday.

All topics are welcome in this thread.

Johnson County Dem Primary

(This will be one of the most closely-watched primary elections at the county level next Tuesday. - promoted by desmoinesdem)

The most exciting race in Johnson county isn't the 2nd Congressional District, or even State House District 73 – its the race for county auditor.  

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NBC/Marist poll shows Obama and Romney tied in Iowa

A new poll by NBC News and the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion finds that President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney each have 44 percent support among Iowa registered voters. Details from that poll are after the jump. It finds a significant gender gap.

Speaking of which, I’ve also enclosed below a new anti-Romney commercial that Planned Parenthood Action Fund rolled out on Wednesday. It will run on broadcast and cable networks through June 19 in the Des Moines market as well as West Palm Beach, Florida and northern Virginia. I saw it on a cable network Thursday evening.

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