District Of The Day 3: Iowa Senate District 13, Iowa House District 25 & 26

Senate District 13
Registration: D 12584, R 14298, N 13429, total 40338, R +1714
Incumbent: Kent Sorenson, R-Indianola; holdover seat

Well, this should be a very interesting race in 2014. Kent Sorenson is a lot of things, but boring isn't one of them. He got the national spotlight in the last week of caucus season with his defection from Michele Bachmann to Ron Paul. Now his work for the jilted Bachmann is in court, with the allegation that he lifted the home schooler's email list -- PRICELESS in the context of an Iowa GOP caucus -- for Team Michele.

The lawyers can sort that out. Me? I'm District of The Day guy, and Sorenson keeps pretty much the same turf. He loses a tine piece of Warren, keeps the rest and all of Madison County. Republican on paper, but more independent than anything. No legislator is ever safe in this swingy south suburban turf.

House District 25
Registration: D 6003, R 7629, N 7017, total 20661, R +1626
Incumbent: Julian Garrett, R-Indianola

Garrett's first run was a Senate bid in 2006, which he lost to Democrat Staci Appel (she in turn lost to Sorenson in 2010). When Jodi Tymeson retired from the House in 2010, Garrett won a three-way primary with 44%, winning his Warren County part of the district and the Dallas part that's now gone, but losing Madison.

The new seat is about half Madison and half Warren; with the Dallas part gone the Warren parts grow. This helped Garrett win a rematch primary fought on friends and neighbors lines. Former Madison County supervisor Joan Acela, who finished third overall in the 2010 primary but won Madison County, tried again in 2012. She narrowly carried Madison, but Garret won a 71-29% landslide in Warren for a 58-41 district-wide win.

In the old lines, Garrett beat a late-starting Democrat in 2010 with 64%. There are two separate chunks of Warren County: a chunk south of Indianola where Garrett lives, and a northern piece that includes Norwalk. And Norwalk is home for Democrat Katie Routh, a teacher who, yes I have to say it, is the mother of Superman star Brandon Routh.

July 19 Campaign Finance Report: Garrett for Statehouse Committee, Routh for Representative Routh has a big financial lead with $13,268.02 in the bank. That includes $3000 from her famous son, but the rules say Superman gets to help his mom. There's also, with more political significance, $1500 in labor money, even though this is only the number 72 Democratic district. Some Dude doesn't get labor money, and that indicates that this candidate and this race are getting taken seriously.

Garrett has a 10 grand self-loan outstanding and spent $6,882.36 during the filing period, which includes the last days before the primary. He has $1,574.85 on hand.

House District 26
Registration: D 6581, R 6669, N 6412, total 19677, R +88
Open seat; Glen Massie, R-Des Moines retiring.

Democrat Scott Ourth is supposed to be running for re-election right now. The former Warren County administrator broke every rookie candidate fundraising record, and his opponent was a tea party Some Dude named Glen Massie.

But it was 2010.

Massie found some like-minded allies in fellow freshmen Tom Shaw and Kim Pearson. But from the very beginning it seemed like the legislature was a poor fit for Massie and vice versa. In the end, without any sort of visible announcement that I could find, two other Republicans filed and he didn't. Warren County GOP "co-chair" Steve McCoy defeated Carlisle mayor Ruth Randleman 56-44 in the primary.

Ourth never really stopped running, and the new lines and the presidential cycle make this a little friendlier district for Ourth. It sheds Norwalk to the west into Garrett's district, and gains east and south Warren territory in return.

July 19 Campaign Finance Report: Scott Ourth for State Representative, McCoy For House 26 Ourth has a 100 to 1 cash on hand advantage with $37,014.92 on hand. McCoy spent what he had and more on the primary. With $2,600 in loans out and $584.11 in bills to pay, he had just $366.88.

Senate District 13, House District 25 & 26: District of the Day 1 - 5/11/2011 | District of the Day 2 - 3/16/2012