Senate District 1
Registration: D 9162, R 19442, N 13658, total 42279, R +10280
Incumbent: David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan; holdover seat
The
dean of the Legislature, Emmetsburg Democrat Jack Kibbie, was paired up
with Johnson on Map Day. Rather than forcing Johnson into an early race
for a two year term, in a district that Kibbie himself said was
"impossible for any Democrat to win," Kibbie stepped down and Johnson
holds over to 2014.
District 1 is five whole counties in the
state's northwest corner: Dickinson and Clay, Lyon, Palo Alto and
Osceola, in order of population.
House District 1
Registration: D 3424, R 12344, N 5964, total 21741, R +8920
Incumbent: Jeff Smith, R-Okoboji, unopposed
Jeff
Smith's old very Republican district becomes a very, VERY Republican
district, and that was almost too much of a good thing. The relatively
low-key freshman drew a primary challenge from the right by Campaign For
Liberty/anti-tax advocate Kevin Wolfswinkel of Sibley (part of the new
turf for Smith), but prevailed by a 54-45% margin. That settled things,
as no Democrat filed.
July 19 Campaign Finance Report: Jeff Smith for Iowa House
House District 2
Registration: D 5738, R 7098, N 7694, total 20538, R +1360
No incumbent
This
empty seat leans Republican, sure, but it's the most Democratic in all
of northwest Iowa (#65 on the Donkey Depth Chart) and thus the only seat
in the neighborhood that the Democrats are contesting. They've
recruited a solid candidate in Spencer city council member Steve
Bomgaars.
Republicans had a contested primary. Recent law school
grad and ex-Steve King intern Megan Hess of Spencer defeated minister
Josh Davenport 54-46%.
The turf is all of Clay and Palo Alto, with
the southern third of Dickinson thrown in. Much of this was Smith's.
Palo Alto was in Democrat John Wittneben's old district 7.
July 19 Campaign Finance Report: Committee to Elect Hess, Bomgaars for State Representative
Hess raised $10,620 in the reporting period and had $6,124.61 on hand
after a contested primary. Bomgaars had $10,143.40 in the bank.
Senate District 1, House District 1 & 2: District of the Day 1 - 4/25/2011 | District of the Day 2 - 3/16/2012
The worst.
Showing posts with label David Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Johnson. Show all posts
Friday, August 17, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
District Of The Day Reboot: Iowa Senate District 37, Iowa House District 73 & 74
Senate District 37
Registration: D 16602, R 11168, N 15371, total 43197, D +5434
Incumbent: Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville; holdover seat
A new point on the compass for Bob Dvorsky. He was first elected to the House in 1986 in a seat that went west to Iowa County. When he went to the Senate in a hurry-up February 1994 mid-session special (infamous for an election day blizzard) he got a half-Johnson, half Linn district. The Linn part shrank in 2001, moving out of Cedar Rapids and becoming about a 75% Johnson seat, but the basic configuration remained.
Dvorsky's new seat goes east, picking up all of Cedar County and the city of Wilton in Muscatine County, all of which had been in Muscatine Republican Jim Hahn's territory.
But the core has always been Coralville. Within Johnson, Dvorsky sheds ground to the west this decade: Tiffin, North Liberty, Oxford, Swisher, Shueyville. He keeps Coralville, Solon, and Penn Township (the rural subdivisions north of Iowa City) and the northeast corner of the county. He also adds one precinct on the west side of Iowa City (for my locals: Iowa City 9).
Though this remains maybe a 60% Johnson County district, the addition of swingy Cedar and heavily Republican Wilton costs Dvorsky nearly 2,500 registered Democrats. But with a still solid margin he can afford it. Republicans last bothered opposing Dvorsky in 2002; he beat a Libertarian in 2010 and holds over till 2014.
Campaign finance reports: Committee to Elect Robert E. Dvorsky
House District 73
Registration: D 6836, R 6204, N 8220, total 21275, D +632
Open seat; Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton, retiring. Contested Democratic primary.
The rumor mill had buzzed for weeks and seven days before filing deadline the announcement hit: Kaufmann was stepping down and running for a job back home on the Cedar County Board of Supervisors.
County party conventions were the next day and two Kaufmanns made the rounds as son Bobby Kaufmann, 26, announced his candidacy. I dunno, but if I were 26 and running for a seat to replace my dad after his last second retirement, I would have filed as Robert or Bob, not "Bobby." In any case, Kaufmann the Younger has a clear primary field.
Democrats were geared up for this race even before Kaufmann the Elder left. The old seat was almost dead-even with a Democratic registration edge of 29 as of Map Day. The new seat leans Democratic. It keeps all of Cedar County and the GOP stronghold of Wilton, but loses the rest of the northern tier of Muscatine County: West Liberty, Atalissa and Moscow. Instead it has a much larger portion of the People's Republic: Solon and four surrounding townships, plus Scott Township, dominated by trailer courts across the road from the Iowa City limits.
David Johnson of West Branch announced early. It's his third try for the House. In 992 he ran as an independent against Dvorsky, and in 1994 he challenged Dick Myers in a primary, losing 80-20. He won a term on the West Branch city council in 2007.
The other Democrat is Solon school board member and former NCS executive Dick Schwab, who joined the race in February. Schwab has a high philanthropy profile in Johnson County and was the Press-Citizen's Person Of The Year in 2001. He's also well known for hosting weddings at his "Celebration Barn," which has put him at the center of several hot county zoning fights.
Campaign finance reports: Johnson for State House
House District 74
Registration: D 9766, R 4964, N 7151, total 21922, D +4802
Incumbent: Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville
Big growth means big changes in Dave Jacoby's lines, but District Draws Itself math means Coralville stays in one piece and dominates whatever House district it's in. Jacoby went from the city council to the House in the summer of 2003 when then minority leader Dick Myers retired. That special election, which Jacoby won with 71%, was the last time Republicans ran a candidate, and there isn't one yet this year. In fact, Jacoby's 2010 opponent Dustin Krutsinger actually left the GOP to run as a Libertarian, a sign of just how weak the GOP brand is in Johnson County. He didn't do much worse at 20%.
Last cycle, Jacoby had handled a bizarre labor-backed primary challenge (the opponent dropped out after the withdrawal deadline, then at the last minute hinted at dropping back in), winning 88% to 12%.
North Liberty grew so much that it has to be split from Coralville for the first time. Jacoby also gives up Tiffin and picks up one precinct on the west side of Iowa City. Jacoby's new district has 1000 fewer Democrats than the old, but that's more a function of shedding the excess population rather than changes in the strong Democratic edge.
Campaign finance reports: Jacoby for House
Original post 6/14/2011 Statewide Map: Front | Back (with City Insets) | Old Senate, House
Registration: D 16602, R 11168, N 15371, total 43197, D +5434
Incumbent: Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville; holdover seat
A new point on the compass for Bob Dvorsky. He was first elected to the House in 1986 in a seat that went west to Iowa County. When he went to the Senate in a hurry-up February 1994 mid-session special (infamous for an election day blizzard) he got a half-Johnson, half Linn district. The Linn part shrank in 2001, moving out of Cedar Rapids and becoming about a 75% Johnson seat, but the basic configuration remained.
Dvorsky's new seat goes east, picking up all of Cedar County and the city of Wilton in Muscatine County, all of which had been in Muscatine Republican Jim Hahn's territory.
But the core has always been Coralville. Within Johnson, Dvorsky sheds ground to the west this decade: Tiffin, North Liberty, Oxford, Swisher, Shueyville. He keeps Coralville, Solon, and Penn Township (the rural subdivisions north of Iowa City) and the northeast corner of the county. He also adds one precinct on the west side of Iowa City (for my locals: Iowa City 9).
Though this remains maybe a 60% Johnson County district, the addition of swingy Cedar and heavily Republican Wilton costs Dvorsky nearly 2,500 registered Democrats. But with a still solid margin he can afford it. Republicans last bothered opposing Dvorsky in 2002; he beat a Libertarian in 2010 and holds over till 2014.
Campaign finance reports: Committee to Elect Robert E. Dvorsky
House District 73
Registration: D 6836, R 6204, N 8220, total 21275, D +632
Open seat; Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton, retiring. Contested Democratic primary.
The rumor mill had buzzed for weeks and seven days before filing deadline the announcement hit: Kaufmann was stepping down and running for a job back home on the Cedar County Board of Supervisors.
County party conventions were the next day and two Kaufmanns made the rounds as son Bobby Kaufmann, 26, announced his candidacy. I dunno, but if I were 26 and running for a seat to replace my dad after his last second retirement, I would have filed as Robert or Bob, not "Bobby." In any case, Kaufmann the Younger has a clear primary field.
Democrats were geared up for this race even before Kaufmann the Elder left. The old seat was almost dead-even with a Democratic registration edge of 29 as of Map Day. The new seat leans Democratic. It keeps all of Cedar County and the GOP stronghold of Wilton, but loses the rest of the northern tier of Muscatine County: West Liberty, Atalissa and Moscow. Instead it has a much larger portion of the People's Republic: Solon and four surrounding townships, plus Scott Township, dominated by trailer courts across the road from the Iowa City limits.
David Johnson of West Branch announced early. It's his third try for the House. In 992 he ran as an independent against Dvorsky, and in 1994 he challenged Dick Myers in a primary, losing 80-20. He won a term on the West Branch city council in 2007.
The other Democrat is Solon school board member and former NCS executive Dick Schwab, who joined the race in February. Schwab has a high philanthropy profile in Johnson County and was the Press-Citizen's Person Of The Year in 2001. He's also well known for hosting weddings at his "Celebration Barn," which has put him at the center of several hot county zoning fights.
Campaign finance reports: Johnson for State House
House District 74
Registration: D 9766, R 4964, N 7151, total 21922, D +4802
Incumbent: Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville
Big growth means big changes in Dave Jacoby's lines, but District Draws Itself math means Coralville stays in one piece and dominates whatever House district it's in. Jacoby went from the city council to the House in the summer of 2003 when then minority leader Dick Myers retired. That special election, which Jacoby won with 71%, was the last time Republicans ran a candidate, and there isn't one yet this year. In fact, Jacoby's 2010 opponent Dustin Krutsinger actually left the GOP to run as a Libertarian, a sign of just how weak the GOP brand is in Johnson County. He didn't do much worse at 20%.
Last cycle, Jacoby had handled a bizarre labor-backed primary challenge (the opponent dropped out after the withdrawal deadline, then at the last minute hinted at dropping back in), winning 88% to 12%.
North Liberty grew so much that it has to be split from Coralville for the first time. Jacoby also gives up Tiffin and picks up one precinct on the west side of Iowa City. Jacoby's new district has 1000 fewer Democrats than the old, but that's more a function of shedding the excess population rather than changes in the strong Democratic edge.
Campaign finance reports: Jacoby for House
Original post 6/14/2011 Statewide Map: Front | Back (with City Insets) | Old Senate, House
Friday, March 16, 2012
District Of The Day Reboot: Iowa Senate District 1, Iowa House District 1 & 2
Senate District 1
Registration: D 9992, R 19370, N 16400, total 45779, R +9378
Incumbent: David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan (Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg retiring) Holdover seat
"It's impossible, I think, for any Democrat to win that district," Jack Kibbie said on Map Day, and so it surprised no one when the Emmetsburg Democrat announced his retirement. While Kibbie has been collecting farewell accolades from his fellow legislators during his final session, Republican David Johnson settles in until the 2014 election.
District 1 is five whole counties in the state's northwest corner: Dickinson and Clay, Lyon, Palo Alto and Osceola, in order of population. (Census trivia: Dickinson and Clay recorded EXACTLY the same population: 16,667.) Johnson keeps Dickinson, his home county Osceola and most of Clay (including the city of Spencer). He loses O'Brien and a sliver of Sioux to Randy Feenstra, and instead gets blood-red Lyon County, which he had in his 1990s House district. He also picks up Kibbie's base, Palo Alto.
Johnson, 60, moved over from the House in 2002 and was comfortable in old Senate District 3; 59% in 2006 and unopposed in 2010.
Campaign finance reports: David Johnson for Senate District 3 (sic)
House District 1
Registration: D 4035, R 11957, N 7379, total 23380, R +7922
Incumbent: Jeff Smith, R-Okoboji; primary challenge
Too much of a good thing? Jeff Smith's old very Republican district becomes a very, VERY Republican district, and that in turn brings him a primary challenge.
Campaign For Liberty/anti-tax advocate Kevin Wolfswinkel of Sibley takes a confrontational stance:
Smith's old district 6 was basically Spirit Lake, Okoboji and Spencer. In the new map he keeps almost all of the Iowa Great Lakes population core in the northern two-thirds of Dickinson, then heads west to Osceola and Lyon. The new turf makes up 60 percent of the district, which Wolfswinkel pointedly called "new" District 1 in his announcement.
Smith won an easy primary and had no opposition in the 2010 general to take over old district 6 from fellow Republican Mike May. Jeff Smith for Iowa House had $2723 on hand on January 19; Wolfswinkel had not yet opened a committee.
With a GOP margin this big, Democrats can't even hope for an extreme nominee to give them a shot here, and no Democrat filed.
House District 2
Registration: D 5957, R 7413, N 9021, total 22399, R +1456
No incumbent; contested Republican primary
This empty seat is all of Clay and Palo Alto, with the southern third of Dickinson thrown in. Much of this was Smith's. Palo Alto was in Democrat John Wittneben's old district 7.
Recent law school grad and ex-Steve King intern Megan Hess of Spencer got in early. Minister Josh Davenport joined the race in March.
House 2 is a Republican seat, true, with a registration edge of 1459. But it's a veritable People's Republic compared to the other northwest Iowa seats. Jack Kibbie's base is in Palo Alto, and Marcy Frevert lasted a long time before she retired and handed off to Wittneben last year. House Democrats seem to have recruited a solid candidate in Spencer city council member Steve Bomgaars. He comes from a background teaching American government, and Hess was once one of his students.
Bomgaars seems to be playing down party ID and has taken a no "special interest" money pledge. That shows on the January 19 campaign finance report; Committee to Elect Hess has raised $15,945 to Steven K Bomgaars for State Representative's $7,618; Davenport didn't join the race till after the January 19 reports.
Original post 4/25/2011 Statewide Map: Front | Back (with City Insets) | Old Senate, House
Registration: D 9992, R 19370, N 16400, total 45779, R +9378
Incumbent: David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan (Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg retiring) Holdover seat
"It's impossible, I think, for any Democrat to win that district," Jack Kibbie said on Map Day, and so it surprised no one when the Emmetsburg Democrat announced his retirement. While Kibbie has been collecting farewell accolades from his fellow legislators during his final session, Republican David Johnson settles in until the 2014 election.
District 1 is five whole counties in the state's northwest corner: Dickinson and Clay, Lyon, Palo Alto and Osceola, in order of population. (Census trivia: Dickinson and Clay recorded EXACTLY the same population: 16,667.) Johnson keeps Dickinson, his home county Osceola and most of Clay (including the city of Spencer). He loses O'Brien and a sliver of Sioux to Randy Feenstra, and instead gets blood-red Lyon County, which he had in his 1990s House district. He also picks up Kibbie's base, Palo Alto.
Johnson, 60, moved over from the House in 2002 and was comfortable in old Senate District 3; 59% in 2006 and unopposed in 2010.
Campaign finance reports: David Johnson for Senate District 3 (sic)
House District 1
Registration: D 4035, R 11957, N 7379, total 23380, R +7922
Incumbent: Jeff Smith, R-Okoboji; primary challenge
Too much of a good thing? Jeff Smith's old very Republican district becomes a very, VERY Republican district, and that in turn brings him a primary challenge.
Campaign For Liberty/anti-tax advocate Kevin Wolfswinkel of Sibley takes a confrontational stance:
The Republican Party and the citizens of District 1 deserve a leader who will not just give lip service to the priority issues, but will be a leader who will go to Des Moines and fight for them. Pro-life, the restoration of 2nd amendment rights and less government are party pillars, which require uncompromising dedication.Smith has been a low key freshman, compared to the Pearson-Massie-Shaw krazy kaucus, and Wolfswinkel seems ready to go that route.
Smith's old district 6 was basically Spirit Lake, Okoboji and Spencer. In the new map he keeps almost all of the Iowa Great Lakes population core in the northern two-thirds of Dickinson, then heads west to Osceola and Lyon. The new turf makes up 60 percent of the district, which Wolfswinkel pointedly called "new" District 1 in his announcement.
Smith won an easy primary and had no opposition in the 2010 general to take over old district 6 from fellow Republican Mike May. Jeff Smith for Iowa House had $2723 on hand on January 19; Wolfswinkel had not yet opened a committee.
With a GOP margin this big, Democrats can't even hope for an extreme nominee to give them a shot here, and no Democrat filed.
House District 2
Registration: D 5957, R 7413, N 9021, total 22399, R +1456
No incumbent; contested Republican primary
This empty seat is all of Clay and Palo Alto, with the southern third of Dickinson thrown in. Much of this was Smith's. Palo Alto was in Democrat John Wittneben's old district 7.
Recent law school grad and ex-Steve King intern Megan Hess of Spencer got in early. Minister Josh Davenport joined the race in March.
House 2 is a Republican seat, true, with a registration edge of 1459. But it's a veritable People's Republic compared to the other northwest Iowa seats. Jack Kibbie's base is in Palo Alto, and Marcy Frevert lasted a long time before she retired and handed off to Wittneben last year. House Democrats seem to have recruited a solid candidate in Spencer city council member Steve Bomgaars. He comes from a background teaching American government, and Hess was once one of his students.
Bomgaars seems to be playing down party ID and has taken a no "special interest" money pledge. That shows on the January 19 campaign finance report; Committee to Elect Hess has raised $15,945 to Steven K Bomgaars for State Representative's $7,618; Davenport didn't join the race till after the January 19 reports.
Original post 4/25/2011 Statewide Map: Front | Back (with City Insets) | Old Senate, House
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Schwab Announces in House 73
Solon school board member and former NCS executive Dick Schwab has jumped into the House District 73 race, which means Johnson County will see at least one Democratic primary contest this June.
Schwab has a high philanthropy profile in Johnson County and was the Press-Citizen's Person Of The Year in 2001. He's also well known for hosting weddings at his "Celebration Barn," which has put him at the center of several hot county zoning fights.
Schwab will face off in the primary with former West Branch city council member David Johnson, who announced soon after Map Day and filed yesterday, the first day candidates could turn in their papers to the Secretary of State. But the rumor mill says some local Democrats weren't optimistic about Johnson's chances.
The June 5 primary winner will be trying to replace Republican Jeff Kaufmann, first elected in 2004 and now a top member of House GOP leadership. The district covers all of Cedar County, Scott Township and Greater Metro Solon in Johnson, and the GOP stronghold of Wilton in Muscatine County. Overall the seat leans slightly Democratic, in large part because of the larger chunk of Johnson County.
As for the primary dynamic, the population breaks out about 60% Cedar County, 30 Johnson and 10 Muscatine. That's population, not Democratic primary turnout. Mileage may vary depending on what other contested races we see, if any.
Schwab has a high philanthropy profile in Johnson County and was the Press-Citizen's Person Of The Year in 2001. He's also well known for hosting weddings at his "Celebration Barn," which has put him at the center of several hot county zoning fights.
Schwab will face off in the primary with former West Branch city council member David Johnson, who announced soon after Map Day and filed yesterday, the first day candidates could turn in their papers to the Secretary of State. But the rumor mill says some local Democrats weren't optimistic about Johnson's chances.
The June 5 primary winner will be trying to replace Republican Jeff Kaufmann, first elected in 2004 and now a top member of House GOP leadership. The district covers all of Cedar County, Scott Township and Greater Metro Solon in Johnson, and the GOP stronghold of Wilton in Muscatine County. Overall the seat leans slightly Democratic, in large part because of the larger chunk of Johnson County.
As for the primary dynamic, the population breaks out about 60% Cedar County, 30 Johnson and 10 Muscatine. That's population, not Democratic primary turnout. Mileage may vary depending on what other contested races we see, if any.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
District of the Day: Senate District 37, House Districts 73 and 74
District of the Day: Senate District 37, House Districts 73 and 74
Senate District 37
Registration: D 14731, R 9499, N 13327, total 37,613, D + 5232
Incumbent: Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville
One of the biggest surprises of the whole map for me was that Bob Dvorsky did not get pulled all the way into Johnson County. The People's Republic was the second fastest growing part of the state in the last decade, behind only Dallas County. We are now big enough for a second whole Senate district. Most of that growth has been in Dvorsky's old district, in places like Tiffin, North Liberty, Solon, and the I-380 corridor.
We did get our fourth whole House seat (check back Thursday for that) but instead of getting that paired with his Coralville base, Dvorsky was sent east for the first time, picking up all of Cedar County and the city of Wilton in Muscatine County, all of which had been in Muscatine Republican Jim Hahn's territory. Bob's original House district, which he won in 1986, went west to Iowa County. When he went to the Senate in a hurry-up February 1994 mid-session special (infamous for an election day blizzard) he got a half-Johnson, half Linn district. The Linn part shrank in 2001, moving out of Cedar Rapids and becoming about a 75% Johnson seat, but the basic configuration remained.
Within Johnson, Dvorsky sheds ground to the west this decade: Tiffin, North Liberty, Oxford, Swisher, Shueyville. He keeps Coralville, Solon, and Penn Township (the rural subdivisions north of Iowa City) and the northeast corner of the county. He also adds one precinct on the west side of Iowa City (for my locals: Iowa City 9).
Though this remains maybe a 60% Johnson County district, the addition of swingy Cedar County and heavily Republican Wilton costs Dvorsky nearly 2,500 registered Democrats. But with a still solid margin he can afford it. Republicans last bothered opposing Dvorsky in 2002; he beat a Libertarian in 2010 and holds over till 2014.
House District 73
Registration: D 6518, R 5718, N 7589, total 19841, D+ 800
Incumbent: Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton
Kaufmannn took over for Dan Boddicker in 2004 and has risen quickly in House GOP leadership. The old seat was almost dead-even with a Democratic registration edge of 29 as of this April. But he's been lucky with opponents. A well-funded 2006 race netted just 37%; a 2008 self-starter quit the race but neglected to take her name off the ballot, and a late-starting Dem polled just 27% in 2010 (worse than Name On The Ballot did in 2008).
But Kaufmann has more to worry about next year than the collapse of the Newt Gingrich campaign. While he keeps all of Cedar County and the GOP stronghold of Wilton, he loses the northern tier of Muscatine County: West Liberty, Atalissa and Moscow. Instead he inherits a much larger portion of the People's Republic. Last decade he had two townships, trailer court dominated Scott and negligibly small Lincoln. He keeps Scott and adds four townships to the north (Newport, Big Grove, Graham and Cedar) plus the city of Solon.
Kaufmann was one of the handful of no votes on The Map. He said it was because Cedar County was put in an urban-based Senate district. But it's worth noting that the partisan balance shifts in his own seat, which now has a Democratic registration edge of 800. West Branch city council member David Johnson has announced on the Democratic side, and other names are in the rumor mill.
House District 74
Registration: D 8213, R 3781, N 5738, total 17772, D+ 4432
Incumbent: Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville
Big growth means big changes in Dave Jacoby's lines, but District Draws Itself math means Coralville stays in one piece and dominates whatever House district it's in. Jacoby went from the city council to the House in the summer of 2003 when then minority leader Dick Myers retired. That special election, which Jacoby won with 71%, was the last time Republicans ran a candidate. In fact, Jacoby's 2010 opponent actually left the GOP to run as a Libertarian, a sign of just how weak the GOP brand is in Johnson County. He didn't do much worse at 20%.
Earlier in the year, Jacoby had handled a bizarre labor-backed primary challenge (the opponent dropped out after the withdrawal deadline, then at the last minute hinted at dropping back in), winning 88% to 12%.
North Liberty grew so much that it has to be split from Coralville for the first time. Jacoby also gives up Tiffin and picks up one precinct on the west side of Iowa City. (That happened to be Mary Mascher's precinct; she quickly announced her move back into her district, now numbered 86.) Jacoby's new district has 1000 fewer Democrats than the old, but that's more a function of shedding the excess population rather than changes in the strong Democratic edge.
New Map | New Map (Insets) | Old Map
Senate District 37
Registration: D 14731, R 9499, N 13327, total 37,613, D + 5232Incumbent: Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville
One of the biggest surprises of the whole map for me was that Bob Dvorsky did not get pulled all the way into Johnson County. The People's Republic was the second fastest growing part of the state in the last decade, behind only Dallas County. We are now big enough for a second whole Senate district. Most of that growth has been in Dvorsky's old district, in places like Tiffin, North Liberty, Solon, and the I-380 corridor.
We did get our fourth whole House seat (check back Thursday for that) but instead of getting that paired with his Coralville base, Dvorsky was sent east for the first time, picking up all of Cedar County and the city of Wilton in Muscatine County, all of which had been in Muscatine Republican Jim Hahn's territory. Bob's original House district, which he won in 1986, went west to Iowa County. When he went to the Senate in a hurry-up February 1994 mid-session special (infamous for an election day blizzard) he got a half-Johnson, half Linn district. The Linn part shrank in 2001, moving out of Cedar Rapids and becoming about a 75% Johnson seat, but the basic configuration remained.
Within Johnson, Dvorsky sheds ground to the west this decade: Tiffin, North Liberty, Oxford, Swisher, Shueyville. He keeps Coralville, Solon, and Penn Township (the rural subdivisions north of Iowa City) and the northeast corner of the county. He also adds one precinct on the west side of Iowa City (for my locals: Iowa City 9).
Though this remains maybe a 60% Johnson County district, the addition of swingy Cedar County and heavily Republican Wilton costs Dvorsky nearly 2,500 registered Democrats. But with a still solid margin he can afford it. Republicans last bothered opposing Dvorsky in 2002; he beat a Libertarian in 2010 and holds over till 2014.
House District 73
Registration: D 6518, R 5718, N 7589, total 19841, D+ 800
Incumbent: Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton
Kaufmannn took over for Dan Boddicker in 2004 and has risen quickly in House GOP leadership. The old seat was almost dead-even with a Democratic registration edge of 29 as of this April. But he's been lucky with opponents. A well-funded 2006 race netted just 37%; a 2008 self-starter quit the race but neglected to take her name off the ballot, and a late-starting Dem polled just 27% in 2010 (worse than Name On The Ballot did in 2008).But Kaufmann has more to worry about next year than the collapse of the Newt Gingrich campaign. While he keeps all of Cedar County and the GOP stronghold of Wilton, he loses the northern tier of Muscatine County: West Liberty, Atalissa and Moscow. Instead he inherits a much larger portion of the People's Republic. Last decade he had two townships, trailer court dominated Scott and negligibly small Lincoln. He keeps Scott and adds four townships to the north (Newport, Big Grove, Graham and Cedar) plus the city of Solon.
Kaufmann was one of the handful of no votes on The Map. He said it was because Cedar County was put in an urban-based Senate district. But it's worth noting that the partisan balance shifts in his own seat, which now has a Democratic registration edge of 800. West Branch city council member David Johnson has announced on the Democratic side, and other names are in the rumor mill.
House District 74
Registration: D 8213, R 3781, N 5738, total 17772, D+ 4432
Incumbent: Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville
Big growth means big changes in Dave Jacoby's lines, but District Draws Itself math means Coralville stays in one piece and dominates whatever House district it's in. Jacoby went from the city council to the House in the summer of 2003 when then minority leader Dick Myers retired. That special election, which Jacoby won with 71%, was the last time Republicans ran a candidate. In fact, Jacoby's 2010 opponent actually left the GOP to run as a Libertarian, a sign of just how weak the GOP brand is in Johnson County. He didn't do much worse at 20%.
Earlier in the year, Jacoby had handled a bizarre labor-backed primary challenge (the opponent dropped out after the withdrawal deadline, then at the last minute hinted at dropping back in), winning 88% to 12%.
North Liberty grew so much that it has to be split from Coralville for the first time. Jacoby also gives up Tiffin and picks up one precinct on the west side of Iowa City. (That happened to be Mary Mascher's precinct; she quickly announced her move back into her district, now numbered 86.) Jacoby's new district has 1000 fewer Democrats than the old, but that's more a function of shedding the excess population rather than changes in the strong Democratic edge.
New Map | New Map (Insets) | Old Map
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Democrat Johnson announces in House 73
Democrat Johnson announces in House 73
Other names are in the rumor mill, but the first Democratic candidate has officially announced in House District 73.
The West Branch Times reports that West Branch city council member David Johnson is seeking the Democratic nomination to face Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton.
Johnson said he plans to run on “a conglomeration of issues ranging from the lack of funding for our institutions of higher education as well as K-12 and preschool, the need for tax increment finance reform, reform in the regulation of our utilities, corporate income tax reform as well as eliminating corporate welfare at all levels.”
The Cedar County based House District 73 (numbered 79 in the old map) changes significantly. It loses most of northern Muscatine County, except for the city of Wilton. It also takes in a much larger part of eastern Johnson County, including the city of Solon.
The changes give the new district a Democratic voter registration edge of 800. Kaufmann's old district was almost exactly evenly split between the parties. Johnson toldthe West Branch paper:
Update: Blog for Iowa's Paul Deaton (who lives in the district) notes: "Two others are mulling a run in HD73. Informal Meetup of HD 73 Dems Thursday April 28 7PM Agave Restaurant West Branch all Democrats welcome."
Other names are in the rumor mill, but the first Democratic candidate has officially announced in House District 73.
The West Branch Times reports that West Branch city council member David Johnson is seeking the Democratic nomination to face Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton.
Johnson said he plans to run on “a conglomeration of issues ranging from the lack of funding for our institutions of higher education as well as K-12 and preschool, the need for tax increment finance reform, reform in the regulation of our utilities, corporate income tax reform as well as eliminating corporate welfare at all levels.”
The Cedar County based House District 73 (numbered 79 in the old map) changes significantly. It loses most of northern Muscatine County, except for the city of Wilton. It also takes in a much larger part of eastern Johnson County, including the city of Solon.
The changes give the new district a Democratic voter registration edge of 800. Kaufmann's old district was almost exactly evenly split between the parties. Johnson toldthe West Branch paper:
“Jeff will be a formidable candidate, even with the redistricting,” Johnson said. “But I believe that by starting my ground campaign this summer, I will be able to have sufficient one-on-one contact with my constituents to give the voters a sense of who I am, and what I intend to do. Constituents need to have a real connection and accessibility to their representatives. I intend to give them that. There is no doubt that a lot of voters see Jeff as having a pleasant personality, so the task for me will be to run against his record.”If he's elected it could be confusing: there's already a David Johnson in the Legislature, Senator David Johnson of Ocheyedan (who was featured in our first District Of The Day).
Update: Blog for Iowa's Paul Deaton (who lives in the district) notes: "Two others are mulling a run in HD73. Informal Meetup of HD 73 Dems Thursday April 28 7PM Agave Restaurant West Branch all Democrats welcome."
Monday, April 25, 2011
District of the Day: Senate District 1, House District 1 and 2
District of the Day: Senate District 1, House District 1 and 2
Senate District 1
Registration: D 9761, R 18,483, N 14,968, total 43,229, R + 8722
Incumbents: Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg and David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan
UPDATE April 25: First day, first district, first update. Alert reader Beth Schopis notes that Kibbie told a local forum on April 13: "I'm not going to run in 2012. Remember, you heard it here first." Thanks for the many years of service, Jack. This means no race in Senate 1 next year as Johnson will hold over.
We start with a big one: two senators of opposite parties paired. District 1 is five whole counties in the state's northwest corner: Dickinson and Clay, Lyon, Palo Alto and Osceola, in order of population. (Census trivia: Dickinson and Clay recorded EXACTLY the same population: 16,667.)
Senate President Kibbie keeps only Palo Alto from his 2000s district; he had Dickinson and Clay in the 90s. He loses Emmet and Kossuth, which go east into open District 4, and Pocahontas, Humboldt, and a sliver of Webster, which go south to Ft. Dodge's Daryl Beall.
Johnson keeps Dickinson, his home county Osceola and most of Clay (including the city of Spencer). He loses O'Brien and a sliver of Sioux to Randy Feenstra, and instead gets blood-red Lyon County, which he had in his 1990s House district.
Kibbie, at 81 the oldest legislator, has served consecutively in the Senate since 1988, and also served eight years in the House and Senate in the 1960s. He was re-elected with 71% in 2008 in old district 4 against a "Grassroots For Life Party" candidate ("Tea Party" didn't enter the nomenclature till 2009). Johnson, 60, moved over from the House in 2002 and was comfortable in old Senate District 3; 59% in 2006 and unopposed in 2010.
KICD radio offered a story with a lot of regional roundup the day the Legislature approved the map:
House District 1
Registration: D 3936, R 11,506, N 6802, total 22,251, R+ 7570
Incumbent: Jeff Smith, R-Okoboji
Smith, 43, won an easy primary and had no opposition in the 2010 general to take over old district 6 from fellow Republican Mike May. KICD:
House District 2
Registration: D 5825, R 6977, N 8166, total 20,978, R+ 1152
No incumbent
This empty seat is all of Clay and Palo Alto, with the southern third of Dickinson thrown in. Much of this was Smith's. Palo Alto was in Democrat John Wittneben's old district 7.
This could be an escape route for Royd Chambers, who is paired with fellow Republican Dan Huseman in new District 3. But his no vote on the map makes me think he quits or dukes it out in a primary instead. It's an opportunity for a Spencer or Emmetsburg Republican such as 2010 candidate Lannie Miller, who lost to Wittneben on turf that leaned Democratic. And Democrats like Kibbie have won in this general area in living memory. (Indeed, if Kibbie were younger this might be a place for one of those Senate to House moves we sometimes see in map years.) Longtime rep Marcy Frevert voluntarily retired last year and saw Wittneben hang on to the seat.
Links: New Map | New Map (Insets) | Old Map
Senate District 1
Registration: D 9761, R 18,483, N 14,968, total 43,229, R + 8722
Incumbent
UPDATE April 25: First day, first district, first update. Alert reader Beth Schopis notes that Kibbie told a local forum on April 13: "I'm not going to run in 2012. Remember, you heard it here first." Thanks for the many years of service, Jack. This means no race in Senate 1 next year as Johnson will hold over.
We start with a big one: two senators of opposite parties paired. District 1 is five whole counties in the state's northwest corner: Dickinson and Clay, Lyon, Palo Alto and Osceola, in order of population. (Census trivia: Dickinson and Clay recorded EXACTLY the same population: 16,667.)
Senate President Kibbie keeps only Palo Alto from his 2000s district; he had Dickinson and Clay in the 90s. He loses Emmet and Kossuth, which go east into open District 4, and Pocahontas, Humboldt, and a sliver of Webster, which go south to Ft. Dodge's Daryl Beall.
Johnson keeps Dickinson, his home county Osceola and most of Clay (including the city of Spencer). He loses O'Brien and a sliver of Sioux to Randy Feenstra, and instead gets blood-red Lyon County, which he had in his 1990s House district.
Kibbie, at 81 the oldest legislator, has served consecutively in the Senate since 1988, and also served eight years in the House and Senate in the 1960s. He was re-elected with 71% in 2008 in old district 4 against a "Grassroots For Life Party" candidate ("Tea Party" didn't enter the nomenclature till 2009). Johnson, 60, moved over from the House in 2002 and was comfortable in old Senate District 3; 59% in 2006 and unopposed in 2010.
KICD radio offered a story with a lot of regional roundup the day the Legislature approved the map:
Kibbie (noted) "it's impossible I think for any Democrat to win that district. It is a big plus for the Republicans." He noted his pleasure with the current map and the previous one but says "I'm not satisfied whatsoever with the way the map is. It is always hard to elect a Democrat in Northwest Iowa but this makes it worse."The even-odd factor comes into play here. (Even-number Senate districts normally go on the ballot in presidential years; odd numbers are on the governor cycle.) Kibbie is at the end of a four year term. If he stays and runs, it would force Johnson to run two years early for a two year term. But with Kibbie himself saying it's "impossible" to win this district, that's a big ask to make of a guy who'll be 84 by Election Day 2012. Kibbie says he'll announce his plans post-session, word is he's expected to retire. That would let Johnson hold over till 2014.
Senator Johnson tells KICD News "personally I don't have a problem with the plan to reconfigure the district I currently represent." He did express disappointment with O'Brien County not being included in the proposal.
House District 1
Registration: D 3936, R 11,506, N 6802, total 22,251, R+ 7570
Incumbent: Jeff Smith, R-Okoboji
Smith, 43, won an easy primary and had no opposition in the 2010 general to take over old district 6 from fellow Republican Mike May. KICD:
Smith would be included in House District 1 which would be comprised of the upper two thirds of Dickinson County, as well as Osceola County which is currently represented by Republican Royd Chambers and Lyon County which is represented by Republican Dwayne Alons.Smith's old district 6 was basically Spirit Lake, Okoboji and Spencer. In the new map he keeps almost all of the Iowa Great Lakes population core of Dickinson and heads west to Osceola and Lyon. His old very Republican district becomes a very, VERY Republican district.
House District 2
Registration: D 5825, R 6977, N 8166, total 20,978, R+ 1152
No incumbent
This empty seat is all of Clay and Palo Alto, with the southern third of Dickinson thrown in. Much of this was Smith's. Palo Alto was in Democrat John Wittneben's old district 7.
This could be an escape route for Royd Chambers, who is paired with fellow Republican Dan Huseman in new District 3. But his no vote on the map makes me think he quits or dukes it out in a primary instead. It's an opportunity for a Spencer or Emmetsburg Republican such as 2010 candidate Lannie Miller, who lost to Wittneben on turf that leaned Democratic. And Democrats like Kibbie have won in this general area in living memory. (Indeed, if Kibbie were younger this might be a place for one of those Senate to House moves we sometimes see in map years.) Longtime rep Marcy Frevert voluntarily retired last year and saw Wittneben hang on to the seat.
Links: New Map | New Map (Insets) | Old Map
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