Filing Day 10

Nomination petition signatures just turned in! Thanks to all who helped. @johndeeth - pls add to your tally. pic.twitter.com/1boof7Ha1z
— Brad Anderson (@BradAndersonIA) March 7, 2014

And so I have, Brad, and so I have. It'll be nice to have a Secretary of State whose main goal is helping people vote,but this race has changed a lot since Anderson announced last year. GOP incumbent Matt Schultz switched over to try for Tom Latham's open congressional seat, and now Anderson is likely to face political job hopper Paul Pate, who had this job for one term in the `90s, instead.

Brad gets top billing because he gave me the personal shout-out, but Monica Vernon will be higher up on the ballot. The Cedar Rapids city council member filed in what looks to be a five way Democratic primary in the open 1st CD.

Some Dude Joe Grandanette, who claims to be responsible for Tom Latham's retirement, filed in the 3rd CD today. Grandanette had launched an... um... uphill primary challenge prior to Latham's retirement, but surprisingly he failed to clear the field. Still, he called dibs and is first!, which some candidates have claimed entitles them to a clear shot at a nomination.

With the legislators back home, no incumbents filed today and very little legislative action.

Nathan Blake is one of the three announced Democrats in open Senate District 17 in Des Moines, which Jack Hatch is vacating to run for governor. Two big South Side names, Tony Bisignano and Ned Chiodo, are also running in what promises to be an epic primary in a safe Democratic district.

Urbandale teacher Jerry Kinder is challenging Jake Highfill in the House 39 Republican primary. Highfill was the only one of a dozen GOP primary challengers to knock off an incumbent (Erik Helland) in 2012. That was after an ethics complaint that Helland had tried to nudge Highfill out of the race with a job offer. Post-primary, stories surfaced about some scrapes with the law Highfill had in his not so long ago college days here in the People's Republic. The district's party demographics carried Highfill to a decent but not great win over an OK Democratic opponent, yet it's not a shock that someone sees an opportunity.

Mark Cisneros, a Muscatine Republican, filed in open House 91, which Mark Lofgren is leaving for a likely congressional primary loss. Cisneros faces Gary Carlson in a primary where two other candidates dropped out. Winner faces Democrat John "We Got" Dabeet, Lofgren's 2012 opponent.