District Of The Day 3: Iowa Senate District 47, Iowa House District 93 & 94

Senate District 47
Registration: D 11607, R 14331, N 15918, total 41891, R +2724
Incumbent: Roby Smith, R-Davenport; holdover seat

Two consecutive incumbents have been knocked off in primaries here. In 2006, longtime moderate Maggie Tinsman lost to newcomer Dave Hartsuch, who then BARELY won the general over Phyllis Thede. Hartsuch lost a landslide to Bruce Braley in the 2008 congressional race, then lost his 2010 primary. The winner was Roby Smith, who had lost a 2006 House race one district to the west.

Democrats were optimistic enough that they, too, had a primary. Phyllis Thede's husband David was favored, but lost a bit of an upset to Richard Clewell. In retrospect, Democratic hopes to win this seat probably vanished when Hartsuch lost the primary, as Smith handily won the general with 59%.

The lines change little. Bettendorf (along with the enclaved cities of Riverdale and Panorama Park) remains whole and remains the anchor. of the seat The district gains about 800 Republicans.

House District 93
Registration: D 6383, R 6239, N 7496, total 20139, D +144
Incumbent: Phyllis Thede, D-Bettendorf

Thede came back after her narrow Senate loss to beat Jamie Van Fossen (the son) 56-44% in 2008. Republicans made a serious comeback effort in 2010 with former Davenport city council member Carla Batchelor, but Thede held on by 233 votes.

Given that margin, the line changes are significant, as Thede loses more than half of what had been an 1145 Democratic registration edge. But she drew a weak Republican opponent in Mark Nelson, last seen on a ballot as the 2006 Libertarian nominee for lieutenant governor.

July 19 Campaign Finance Report: Thede for Iowa, Mark Nelson For Iowa Thede has $4,940.69  in the bank, not a lot for an incumbent. Nelson ha $2,740.61.

House District 94
Registration: D 5224, R 8092, N 8422, total 21752, R +2868
Incumbent: Linda Miller, R-Bettendorf

Miller knocked off moderate Joe Hutter in the same 2006 primary where Hartsuch teabagged Tinsman to death. She beat Hutter (as an independent) again in the general with no Democrat running.

Miller had no opposition in 2008 or 2010, but this cycle draws her first ever Democratic opponent: attorney Maria Bribriesco.

This is still basically the Bettendorf district, though a slightly bigger piece gets carved out; at 33,217 population, Bettendorf is just a little too big for The District Draws Itself. Miller picks up the northwest part of Davenport from Thede, and Pleasant Valley Township east of the city limits. This gives her a slightly stronger GOP registration edge.

July 19 Campaign Finance Report: Concerned Citizens for Miller, Maria Bribriesco for Iowa Miller leads Bribriesco in cash on hand, $32,471.14 to $8,133.12.

Senate District 47, House District 93 & 94: District of the Day 1 - 6/28/2011 | District of the Day 2 - 3/17/2012