Friday, March 16, 2012

District Of The Day Reboot: Iowa Senate District 3, Iowa House District 5 & 6

Senate District 3
Registration: D 10429, R 16740, N 15045, total 42245, R +6311
Incumbent: Bill Anderson, R-Pierson; holdover seat

This seat opened up in 2010 when Ron Weick retired after being overthrown as Senate GOP leader after just one session. Adding to the indignity, Weick's chosen successor was pushed out of the race by ex-King/Grassley staffer Bill Anderson, who went on to a relatively easy general election win in old district 27.

The old seat included the southern end of Sioux City and Sergeant Bluff as half the district, then went northeast to Cherokee County (the old Dan Huseman house seat). Anderson's new seat keeps south Sioux City, but then wraps around the rest of the city to pick up most of Plymouth County. As a result the seat gets a little more Republican. Anderson, who hasn't made many waves yet, holds over till 2014.

Friends of Bill Anderson finance reports

House District 5
Registration: D 4487, R 9324, N 7725, total 21552, R +4837
Incumbent: Chuck Soderberg, R-Le Mars

Soderberg, 53, first went to the house in 2004 from old district 3 when Ralph Klemme retired, with a solid primary win and no general election opponent. Soderberg got a 2008 challenge by self-starter Democrat T.J. Templeton, who wasted a little on-line money and lost by more than three to one. No one bothered in 2010, and no Democrats is bothering yet in 2012.

Soderberg loses southern Sioux County, and Orange City, to Dwayne Alons, and instead gets rural parts of north and west Woodbury. He loses more than 2000 Republicans as a result, but the seat is still solid red.
Charles Soderberg for House finance reports
House District 6
Registration: D 5942, R 7416, N 7320, total 20693, R +1474
Incumbent: Ron Jorgensen, R-Sioux City - primary challenge

This was the Chris Rants seat till he left, with a brief run for governor, in 2010. Jorgensen took over old district 54, defeating `08 Rants opponent Carlos Venable-Ridley with relative ease. Jorgensen keeps roughly the same south chunk of Sioux City (the line moves a few blocks south in places) and gains a few rural townships and along with them a few hundred Republicans.

Primary challenger Matthew Ung of Sioux City is young, teapartyish, and writes letters to the editor in bulk. Unlikely... but should something weird happen, the seat is within reach for a Democrat. There isn't one yet.

Ronald Jorgensen for Iowa House finance reports

Original post 4/27/2011 Statewide Map: Front | Back (with City Insets) | Old Senate, House

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