Democrat Dabeet Announces in House 91

See, when your candidate is not Some Dude, this is how you do it. Step 1: Big press release from party.

MCC Business Department Chair Dabeet to Run for State Representative in Muscatine

Muscatine, Iowa – The Chair of the Business Department at Muscatine Community College John Dabeet today announced that he will run for state representative in District 91, which includes the city of Muscatine and eastern Muscatine County.

Step 2: It gets picked up by the Register right away, not just by a goofy blogger with a goofy hat and a case of OCD (Obsessively Compulsive about Districts).

The press release gets demographically interesting further down:

Dabeet, a Christian, is currently serving as President of the national Americans & Palestinians for Peace organization and has been involved in a host of other activities and organizations in Muscatine. He is Past President of Muscatine Sister City Association and former Chair of the Diversity Service Center of Iowa, which is based in Muscatine. For eight years, he served on the Board of Directors for the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Apparantly, even in the post long form birth certificate era, and even with all sorts of Chamber of Commercy credentials, there's still a need for that "a Christian" emphasis.

“As state representative, I will put aside the partisanship and listen to the people of our community. I look forward to engaging the citizens of Muscatine just like I engage my students in the classroom and seek their input on the critical issues our state faces. It’s a humbling experience to run for state representative and I’m excited to meet Muscatine residents at their doorstep,” said Dabeet, who received the Excellency in Volunteerism Award from the Greater Muscatine
Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2002-2003.

This seat had been ancestrally Republican for about forever until Democrat Nathan Reichert foiled the comeback attempt of my former opponent, Barry Brauns, in 2004 when Jim Hahn moved over to the Senate. Reichert had a target on his back every cycle, but held on till Mark Lofgren knocked him off in 2010.

This is a District Draws Itself seat, as the city of Muscatine is 75% of ideal district size. It also keeps suburban Bloomington Township (a GOP stronghold) and the same three townships in eastern Muscatine County including Stockton. It adds the Fruitland area, which adds a little population and makes a swing seat even closer, with just a slight GOP edge. Definitely winnable for a Democrat in a good year, but it'll take some work as Muscatine is historically low turnout.