"Sen. Thurman Gaskill, R-Corwith, today announced that he will not seek re-election to another term in the Iowa Senate when his current term expires at the end of 2008."
North-central Iowa: Franklin, Hancock, Winnebago, Worth and portions of Cerro Gordo counties.
Can a Dem win up here? Berl Priebe did for a long time, finally losing in 1996 to James Black, one of the oddities of recent years. Black abruptly resigned only a year after taking office for "family reasons," prompting Gaskill's election in one of those horrible, mid-session, doorknocking in the snow, immediate special elections. But that was in the old district, further to the west (Hancock County is the only overlap).
Gaskill then won securely but not overwhelmingly in `00. In 2001 he was paired in redistricting with fellow Merlin Bartz, who was the party insider choice for Secretary of Ag who lost in the `98 primary. After the map came out, Bartz resigned to take a Bush administration ag job so Gaskill, originally elected further west, inherited the district. On the new turf he won handily in `04.
So, as Rocco Lampone says: "Difficult. Not impossible." And one more open seat with the GOP playing defense.
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