Democrat Brenneman in Open House 44

The first Democrat has announced in one of those This Is Where Your District Went seats, open House 44 in Dallas County.

West Des Moines Fire Fighter Eric Brenneman announced today that he is running for State Representative in the newly created House District 44; a district that includes the Dallas County portions of the Cities of West Des Moines, Clive and Waukee.

Brenneman, who is running as a Democrat, states “I believe the next generation of leaders must put the future well being of the State of Iowa above partisan politics, I feel this can be accomplished through actively listening to the public and working with conviction to find solutions for our difficult problems. I believe these results will create a solid foundation for continued growth and success for the State of Iowa.”

Waukee grew from just over 5,000 people in the 2000 census to nearly 14,000 in 2010, and becomes the anchor of this seat, which also includes the Dallas County parts of Clive and West Des Moines. That was all in the old Ralph Watts district 47, which doubled in population. Watts sheds all this and stays with western Dallas in House District 19.

This turf is fairly solid for the GOP, but Democrats are making a serious effort in the corresponding Senate 22 race with Desmund Adams. The GOP primary in that race, between mobile incumbent Pat Ward and minister Jeff Mullen, should be nasty, but the GOP seems to have settled on Dallas County GOP chair Rob Taylor right away in the House race.

In other announcement news, Democratic Sen. Brian Schoenjahn announces for a third term in Senate 32. Bleeding Heartland wrote this one up so I'll spare the redundancy. No GOP names yet.