Who would have believed it back when Greg Ganske seemed like Newt Gingrich’s last friend left in Iowa? Within the last ten days, five six separate pollsters have released surveys showing former the House speaker with a clear lead among likely Republican caucus-goers.

The November special election in Iowa Senate district 18 confirmed that Democrats will maintain a 26 to 24 majority in the upper chamber during the legislature’s 2012 session, set to begin on January 9.

Senate Democrats and Republicans recently announced updated committee assignments. Majority and minority leadership teams are after the jump, along with all members of standing committees. I’ve also noted which senators are up for re-election in 2012 and which are retiring next year.

Without Congressional action, a temporary payroll tax cut intended to stimulate the economy will expire on December 31 of this year. Last week the Senate defeated two proposals to extend the tax cut; Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin were on opposite sides of both votes.

The U.S. House passed another bill on December 2 seeking to complicate rule-making by federal agencies. Tom Latham (IA-04) and Steve King (IA-05) voted for H.R. 3010, the Regulatory Accountability Act, as did every Republican present. Nineteen House Democrats (the usual Blue Dog suspects) voted with the majority for this bill. Dave Loebsack (IA-02) and Leonard Boswell (IA-03) opposed the legislation, despite having crossed the aisle the previous day to support a different GOP effort to limit business regulations.

Iowa Republican caucus-goers have switched their allegiance from one joke candidate selling books to another. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich leads the field in the latest poll by Selzer and Co for the Des Moines Register. Meanwhile, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney trails the latest “not Romney” contender by a larger margin than in the Register’s other polls this year.

Many Iowa Democrats have been expecting Senator Tom Harkin to retire when his current term expires in 2014. However, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions indicated yesterday that he plans to run for re-election at least one more time.

The U.S. House approved a bill yesterday to make it more difficult for federal agencies to issue rules affecting small businesses. All House Republicans present voted for H.R. 527, as did 28 Democrats, including Leonard Boswell (IA-03) and Dave Loebsack (IA-02). However, Boswell and Loebsack supported various amendments that would have weakened the bill.

Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Des Moines-based Planned Parenthood of the Heartland by December 31 of this year, the leaders of both affiliates announced today.  

Yesterday the U.S. House approved H.R. 3094, the Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act. The bill seeks to reverse proposed National Labor Relations Board actions that could make it easier for organized labor to win union elections. Although the bill has no chance of clearing the U.S. Senate, yesterday’s vote could reverberate in some of next year’s Congressional races in Iowa.

When an elected official wants a certain phrase or point of view to be transmitted in a news story, a spokesperson often has to do the heavy lifting. Governor Terry Branstad’s communications director Tim Albrecht showed this week how pros get the job done while explaining an apparent contradiction in the governor’s stance on the federal health insurance reform law.

The state agency Iowa Workforce Development has replaced 36 field offices with hundreds of new “enhanced access” computer terminals this year.

Although the shuttered offices are unlikely ever to reopen, they may live on as talking points in many competitive Iowa House and Senate races next fall.

Democrat-turned-Republican Brian Moore announced yesterday that he will seek a second term in the Iowa House, setting up a re-match with Democrat Tom Schueller in the new district 58.  

While former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney campaigned in Des Moines last week, Representative Leonard Boswell publicly criticized the Republican presidential front-runner for the second time this month. The eight-term Democrat authored a guest column in the November 16 Des Moines Register criticizing Romney’s position on health care for veterans. His latest attack focused more broadly on Romney’s position on taxes and entitlement programs.

Just in time for the busiest shopping weekend of the year, the Iowa Public Interest Research Group released a detailed new report on toy safety.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the Bleeding Heartland community. I’ve posted a few holiday-related links below.

Democrat David Dawson will make a second bid for the Iowa House in 2012. Follow me after the jump for background on his campaign in the new Iowa House district 14.

The non-profit organization Iowa Rivers Revival is accepting nominations through December 20 for the fifth Iowa River Town of the Year award. Details on the award criteria and past winners are after the jump.

Yet another Republican presidential candidates’ debate takes place tonight in Washington. CNN’s Wolf Blitzer will moderate as eight candidates discuss foreign policy: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain, Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Senator Rick Santorum, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, and Representatives Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul.

A foreign policy debate should allow Paul to stand out from the crowd. My guess is that Santorum will take the lead in challenging his call to negotiate with potential enemies and end most U.S. military interventions.

The latest CNN/ORC International nationwide poll indicates that Newt Gingrich is indeed the new Republican flavor-of-the-week, leading Romney by 24 percent to 20 percent. I expect several rivals for the “not Romney” niche to take Gingrich on tonight. Romney will probably sail above the fray.

Share any thoughts about tonight’s debate or the Republican presidential race in this thread. UPDATE: I posted a few thoughts after the jump.

Democrats finally have an announced candidate in Iowa Senate district 46, one of their best pickup opportunities in the legislature’s upper chamber. A district map is after the jump, along with background on Muscatine firefighter Chris Brase and the two incumbent senators who are potential GOP nominees.

Least surprising news bulletin of the year: the Congressional “super committee” failed to agree on a plan to reduce the U.S. deficit. Reaction from most of the Iowans in Congress is after the jump.