Democratic delegates in Iowa Senate district 18 nominated former television news anchor Liz Mathis last night for the November 8 special election. No other candidate sought the nomination. Republicans picked businesswoman and Linn County GOP co-chair Cindy Golding in a three-way nominating contest last week.

Both Mathis and Golding indicated yesterday that they will focus on jobs and the economy rather than social issues during the short campaign.

The American Research Group released a new poll of likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers today. It was the first Iowa poll showing former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney ahead since before Texas Governor Rick Perry announced his candidacy in August.

The Board of Regents voted unanimously yesterday to hire the next president of Iowa State University: Steven Leath, the University of North Carolina System’s vice president of research.

President Barack Obama has failed to deliver on so many campaign promises that some Democrats wonder why they should bother voting for him in 2012. The best argument for re-electing Obama is the impact a Republican president could have on the justice system.

I just learned that Obama is already letting Republicans select some of his U.S. attorney nominees. In fact, Republicans recommended five of the six new U.S. attorneys the Senate confirmed yesterday.

First-term State Senator Bill Dix e-mailed fellow Iowa Senate Republicans today calling for a caucus and leadership election this Thursday morning in Des Moines. Dix has long been rumored to have his eye on Paul McKinley’s position as Senate minority leader.

John Carlson’s latest column for the Sunday Des Moines Register was provocatively headlined, “How Iowa Democrats sold Christie Vilsack down the ol’ river.” Rarely have I ever agreed with Carlson’s political columns, but he makes a strong case here.

A bipartisan vote in the U.S. Senate today appears to have prevented a federal government shutdown after the current fiscal year ends on September 30. Senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin both supported the deal.  

Two-term State Senator Pat Ward will face at least one Republican primary challenger in the new Iowa Senate district 22, covering Waukee, Clive, Windsor Heights and part of West Des Moines. The lead pastor at a large Waukee church announced his candidacy yesterday.

At the Moving Planet climate change event in Des Moines on Saturday, I heard a few activists talk about organizing against former State Senator Swati Dandekar’s confirmation to the Iowa Utilities Board. The Iowa Senate will consider her nomination during the 2012 legislative session.

I would advise environmentalists not to waste their time on that particular hopeless cause. Senate Democrats may be unhappy that Governor Terry Branstad jeopardized their control of the chamber by nominating Dandekar, but they are not going to block her confirmation.

Former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain crushed Texas Governor Rick Perry today in a Florida straw poll. Cain had some momentum in Iowa during the spring, but Representative Michele Bachmann quickly eclipsed him with the tea party crowd, and his top Iowa staffers quit in July. Then Cain finished fifth behind Rick Santorum in the Ames straw poll. Could Cain regain traction with conservative Iowa caucus-goers not satisfied with any of the front-runners? Spin your scenarios here.

This is an open thread. What’s on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers?

The “single greatest roll-back of Clean Air Act protections in history” passed the U.S. House today on a largely party-line 249 to 169 vote (roll call). Iowa’s Leonard Boswell was one of 19 House Democrats to vote with most Republicans in favor of this bill. Details are below.

The U.S. just voted 59 to 36 to table the House version of a continuing resolution funding the federal government through November 18. Senator Tom Harkin voted with all but one Democrat to table the House legislation; Senator Chuck Grassley voted with most of his fellow Republicans against tabling the resolution. Details are below.

The U.S. House narrowly approved a continuing resolution last night to fund the federal government through November 18. The resolution was slightly different from the version that failed in the House on Wednesday, but Iowa’s representatives voted the same way.  

Linn County Republican Party co-chair Cindy Golding won the GOP nomination for the November 8 special election in Iowa Senate district 18 tonight. To my surprise, Golding won enough votes on the first ballot against Mary Rathje and Matt Dummermuth.

UPDATE: Republicans will need a new candidate for the Cedar Rapids suburban swing district in 2012, even if Golding wins this year’s special election. Details are at the end of this post.

Nine Republican presidential candidates are debating in Orlando tonight at an event sponsored by Google, Fox News and the Florida Republican Party. Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson will be on stage along with the eight candidates who participated in two debates earlier this month. I don’t know what they’ll tell us tonight that we didn’t hear at the Reagan Library or at the CNN/Tea Party Express debate, but I’ll update this post later with highlights.

Meanwhile, use this thread for any comments about tonight’s debate or the presidential campaign in general. Representative Thad McCotter, who has been excluded from all televised debates so far, announced today that he’s out of the race. He will back former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Few people besides former Iowa House Speaker Chris Rants will notice McCotter’s absence.

Iowans will gather in at least eleven cities and towns this weekend as part of the Moving Planet rally for action on climate change. Groups organizing the effort include 350.org, Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, Oxfam and the World Council of Churches. Click here to search for rallies, walks and bike rides taking place in 175 countries.

Details on the planned events in Iowa on September 24 and 25 are after the jump. I hope to see some Bleeding Heartland readers on the bicycle ride through downtown Des Moines.

Less than 10 days before the current fiscal year ends, Congress has not approved any appropriations bills for fiscal year 2012. Yet again, continuing funding resolutions are needed to prevent the federal government from shutting down after September 30. Yesterday Representative Tom Latham was the only Iowan to vote yes as the U.S. House failed to approve a continuing resolution backed by Republican leaders.

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.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell officially died yesterday, allowing tens of thousands of gay and lesbian troops on active duty to stop hiding their sexual orientation. The latest Military Times reader survey indicated growing acceptance for allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. While that survey does not use random sampling methods, its findings mirror many polls that have shown dwindling support for the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

Now that enlisted men and women can stop hiding same-sex relationships, future legal battles over partner and spousal military benefits appear inevitable.  

Former local television news reporter and anchor Liz Mathis confirmed today that she will be the Democratic candidate to replace Swati Dandekar in Iowa Senate district 18.