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
The worst.
Friday, March 16, 2012
District Of The Day Reboot: Iowa Senate District 2, Iowa House District 3 & 4
Senate District 2
Registration: D 5581, R 23961, N 10958, total 40516, R +18380
Incumbent: Randy Feenstra, R-Hull
This is where Republicans run up the score, and no Democrats filed for any of these seats. Take Sioux County out of the state, and John Kerry wins a 98-county Iowa in 2004. Sioux County dominates new District 2, the most Republican seat in the state, much as it dominated the old seat.
Unbelievably, Feenstra's old district was even MORE Republican. He loses Lyon and northern Plymouth, and instead gets O'Brien and Cherokee, plus the eastern part of Plymouth (which he didn't have before).
This area was the scene of an epic, general election level turnout primary in 2004 as relative moderate Dave Mulder knocked off the state's leading queer-baiter of the era, Ken Veenstra. Mulder stepped down after one term, semi-voluntarily (another epic primary was likely), and Feenstra moved from the county courthouse to the Senate in 2008 with no opponent in the primary OR the general. Don't be surprised if it happens again. There's something to be said for a 99 county strategy... but there's also something to be said for not stirring up a safe local incumbent and boosting turnout.
Randy Feenstra Iowa Senate Committee finance reports
House District 3
Registration: D 4037, R 10467, N 7633, total 22146, R +6430
Incumbent: Dan Huseman, R-Aurelia (Royd Chambers, R-Sheldon, retiring)
Redistricting is a greater threat to a GOP incumbent up here than any mere Democrat, and Chambers' retirement is the most excitement this race will see. My initial bet was that it would be Huseman, who suffered a heart attack and missed the end of the 2011 session, who could step down, but I'm apparently not the world's expert on internal GOP politics in northwest Iowa.
New House 3 is basically Chambers' O'Brien County (population 14,398) and Huseman's Cherokee (12,072), with a few townships in eastern Sioux and Plymouth thrown in. Huseman's old district 53 went south and east to the Sioux City limits and included southern and eastern Plymouth. He was held to 58% by a Democrat in 2008, but went unopposed last cycle.
Daniel A. Huseman Election Committee finance reports
House District 4
Registration: D 1544, R 13494, N 3325, total 18370, R +11950; the number one GOP House seat
Incumbent: Dwayne Alons, R-Hull
Alons is one of the only senior House Republicans who was passed over for a committee chair in 2011. His God, gays and guns focus is a bit much even for his own party leadership. But they like it back home: Alons won with 82% over a Some Dude Democrat in 2008, probably the state's biggest Democrat vs. Republican margin, and that earned him a walkover in 2010.
Old District 4 covered the northern two-thirds of Sioux and went north into Lyon County. The new seat is entirely in Sioux and adds Orange City, which used to be in Chuck Soderberg's old district 3. The exclusion of Lyon makes this seat a teeny bit less red. Yes, it used to be even MORE Republican.
Dwayne Alons for Representative Committee finance reports
Original post 4/26/2011 Statewide Map: Front | Back (with City Insets) | Old Senate, House
Registration: D 5581, R 23961, N 10958, total 40516, R +18380
Incumbent: Randy Feenstra, R-Hull
This is where Republicans run up the score, and no Democrats filed for any of these seats. Take Sioux County out of the state, and John Kerry wins a 98-county Iowa in 2004. Sioux County dominates new District 2, the most Republican seat in the state, much as it dominated the old seat.
Unbelievably, Feenstra's old district was even MORE Republican. He loses Lyon and northern Plymouth, and instead gets O'Brien and Cherokee, plus the eastern part of Plymouth (which he didn't have before).
This area was the scene of an epic, general election level turnout primary in 2004 as relative moderate Dave Mulder knocked off the state's leading queer-baiter of the era, Ken Veenstra. Mulder stepped down after one term, semi-voluntarily (another epic primary was likely), and Feenstra moved from the county courthouse to the Senate in 2008 with no opponent in the primary OR the general. Don't be surprised if it happens again. There's something to be said for a 99 county strategy... but there's also something to be said for not stirring up a safe local incumbent and boosting turnout.
Randy Feenstra Iowa Senate Committee finance reports
House District 3
Registration: D 4037, R 10467, N 7633, total 22146, R +6430
Incumbent: Dan Huseman, R-Aurelia (Royd Chambers, R-Sheldon, retiring)
Redistricting is a greater threat to a GOP incumbent up here than any mere Democrat, and Chambers' retirement is the most excitement this race will see. My initial bet was that it would be Huseman, who suffered a heart attack and missed the end of the 2011 session, who could step down, but I'm apparently not the world's expert on internal GOP politics in northwest Iowa.
New House 3 is basically Chambers' O'Brien County (population 14,398) and Huseman's Cherokee (12,072), with a few townships in eastern Sioux and Plymouth thrown in. Huseman's old district 53 went south and east to the Sioux City limits and included southern and eastern Plymouth. He was held to 58% by a Democrat in 2008, but went unopposed last cycle.
Daniel A. Huseman Election Committee finance reports
House District 4
Registration: D 1544, R 13494, N 3325, total 18370, R +11950; the number one GOP House seat
Incumbent: Dwayne Alons, R-Hull
Alons is one of the only senior House Republicans who was passed over for a committee chair in 2011. His God, gays and guns focus is a bit much even for his own party leadership. But they like it back home: Alons won with 82% over a Some Dude Democrat in 2008, probably the state's biggest Democrat vs. Republican margin, and that earned him a walkover in 2010.
Old District 4 covered the northern two-thirds of Sioux and went north into Lyon County. The new seat is entirely in Sioux and adds Orange City, which used to be in Chuck Soderberg's old district 3. The exclusion of Lyon makes this seat a teeny bit less red. Yes, it used to be even MORE Republican.
Dwayne Alons for Representative Committee finance reports
Original post 4/26/2011 Statewide Map: Front | Back (with City Insets) | Old Senate, House
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
Final Filing
Well. looks like I was wrong. Joe Seng DID make the 2nd CD primary ballot after all. I've heard reports they were collecting sigs as late as last night; someone want to check them over closely?
What else we got here on the last day:
As expected, Republican Glen Massie did not file in House 26. Massie Joins his pal Kim Pearson in the One Term Club.
Republican Dan Rasmussen dropped the news last night that he is NOT running in House 64. The replacement Republican is Jim Givant of Oelwein, whose business is "Medical billing, revenue recovery and payment choices." Democrats are running Oelwein city council member Bruce Bearinger in this D-leaning seat.
Republican incumbent Chip Baltimore finally turned in his papers for House 47 He faces a rematch with the former legislator he beat by just 23 votes in 2010, Democrat Donovan Olson (who also filed today)
Another House Republican primary challenge, this one against Greg Forristall in House 22. He'll face Avoca city manager Clint Fitcher.
It looked like Republican Jake Chapman had a clear field in Dallas County based no incumbent Senate District 10. But at the tail end, Matthew Mardesen of Dallas Center made the ballot. He lost a race for Boone County sheriff in 2010.
Independence farmer Elliott Henderson is the Republican challenging Democratic incumbent Brian Schoenjahn in Senate District 32.
Adel Democrat Ken Herring, retired chief of the wildlife division of the DNR, filed in House District 19, and will oppose GOP incumbent Ralph Watts.
Retired football coach John Rose of Creston filed as a Democrat in House District 21 and will challenge GOP incumbent Jack Drake of Griswold.
In House District 35 Republican Terrance Williams, who I think is this clergyman, is challenging Democratic incumbent Ako Abdul-Samad.
Former Homeland Security officer Jeff Ibbotson apparently was interested in House District 36 months ago, but filed at the last minute. He's the third Republican to file in a very Democratic open seat.
Ankeny attorney Jacob Mason is the SIXTH Republican to file in TIWYDW. How does that NOT go to convention? The Dems finally have a candidate, too:Neal Tracy of Ankeny.
Clarke Davidson, a Ron Paul Republican Occupier, is challenging Democrat Jo Oldson in House District 41.
Democrat Mike McRae of Des Moines, who is either a Drake law student or recent grad, is challenging GOP incumbent Peter Cornie in House District 42.
Rural Ames Democrat Becky Perkovich joined the race in no-incumbent House District 48. Former senator Rich Olive had announced here but dropped out. Perkovich will face the man who beat Olive in 2010. Senator Rob Bacon is running for this House seat to get out of a pair-up with Bill Dix.
Manly Democrat -- that's his residence, not an assessment of his machismo --Eric Hungerford is running in House District 51 against Republican incumbent Joshua Byrnes.
Democrat Chris Wilson of Oskaloosa is challenging Republican freshman Guy Vander Linden in House District 79.
In House District 82, a name familiar to Iowa City folks: Jeff Shipley. The Campaign for Liberty activist and 2009 city council candidate is in a GOP primary with 2010 near-winner James Johnson. The primary winner faces Fairfield Democrat Curt Hanson.
Bettendorf Republican Linda Miller gets her first ever Democratic opponent in House District 94: attorney Maria Bribriesco.
A second Democrat in Council Bluffs' House District 16. Youth motivational speaker Heidi Guggisberg-Coners will face housing advocate Ron Pierce for the right to challenge GOP incumbent Mary Ann Hanusa.
A second Republican in no-incumbent House District 23. Raymond Chase of Glenwood will face off with Mark Costello of Imogene in a probably decisive primary.
Now it's a three-way Republican primary in open Senate District 6. Newly elected Carroll mayor Adam Schweers announced and filed today.
In the same neighborhood, Carroll Republican Barney Bornhoft filed in House District 12 against freshman Dan Muhlbauer, the only Democrat to gain a seat from the Republicans in 2010.
What else we got here on the last day:
As expected, Republican Glen Massie did not file in House 26. Massie Joins his pal Kim Pearson in the One Term Club.
Republican Dan Rasmussen dropped the news last night that he is NOT running in House 64. The replacement Republican is Jim Givant of Oelwein, whose business is "Medical billing, revenue recovery and payment choices." Democrats are running Oelwein city council member Bruce Bearinger in this D-leaning seat.
Republican incumbent Chip Baltimore finally turned in his papers for House 47 He faces a rematch with the former legislator he beat by just 23 votes in 2010, Democrat Donovan Olson (who also filed today)
Another House Republican primary challenge, this one against Greg Forristall in House 22. He'll face Avoca city manager Clint Fitcher.
It looked like Republican Jake Chapman had a clear field in Dallas County based no incumbent Senate District 10. But at the tail end, Matthew Mardesen of Dallas Center made the ballot. He lost a race for Boone County sheriff in 2010.
Independence farmer Elliott Henderson is the Republican challenging Democratic incumbent Brian Schoenjahn in Senate District 32.
Adel Democrat Ken Herring, retired chief of the wildlife division of the DNR, filed in House District 19, and will oppose GOP incumbent Ralph Watts.
Retired football coach John Rose of Creston filed as a Democrat in House District 21 and will challenge GOP incumbent Jack Drake of Griswold.
In House District 35 Republican Terrance Williams, who I think is this clergyman, is challenging Democratic incumbent Ako Abdul-Samad.
Former Homeland Security officer Jeff Ibbotson apparently was interested in House District 36 months ago, but filed at the last minute. He's the third Republican to file in a very Democratic open seat.
Ankeny attorney Jacob Mason is the SIXTH Republican to file in TIWYDW. How does that NOT go to convention? The Dems finally have a candidate, too:Neal Tracy of Ankeny.
Clarke Davidson, a Ron Paul Republican Occupier, is challenging Democrat Jo Oldson in House District 41.
Democrat Mike McRae of Des Moines, who is either a Drake law student or recent grad, is challenging GOP incumbent Peter Cornie in House District 42.
Rural Ames Democrat Becky Perkovich joined the race in no-incumbent House District 48. Former senator Rich Olive had announced here but dropped out. Perkovich will face the man who beat Olive in 2010. Senator Rob Bacon is running for this House seat to get out of a pair-up with Bill Dix.
Manly Democrat -- that's his residence, not an assessment of his machismo --Eric Hungerford is running in House District 51 against Republican incumbent Joshua Byrnes.
Democrat Chris Wilson of Oskaloosa is challenging Republican freshman Guy Vander Linden in House District 79.
In House District 82, a name familiar to Iowa City folks: Jeff Shipley. The Campaign for Liberty activist and 2009 city council candidate is in a GOP primary with 2010 near-winner James Johnson. The primary winner faces Fairfield Democrat Curt Hanson.
Bettendorf Republican Linda Miller gets her first ever Democratic opponent in House District 94: attorney Maria Bribriesco.
A second Democrat in Council Bluffs' House District 16. Youth motivational speaker Heidi Guggisberg-Coners will face housing advocate Ron Pierce for the right to challenge GOP incumbent Mary Ann Hanusa.
A second Republican in no-incumbent House District 23. Raymond Chase of Glenwood will face off with Mark Costello of Imogene in a probably decisive primary.
Now it's a three-way Republican primary in open Senate District 6. Newly elected Carroll mayor Adam Schweers announced and filed today.
In the same neighborhood, Carroll Republican Barney Bornhoft filed in House District 12 against freshman Dan Muhlbauer, the only Democrat to gain a seat from the Republicans in 2010.
District Of The Day: The Reboot
If you're reading this, it's after 5 PM on March 16 and legislative filing for the June 5 primary is closed. I've long been promising a District Of The Day rewrite and trust me, it's on the way. In fact, it's all written. It's just that some of it is going to need to be re-written tonight.
Here's how we're going to work this. I'll do one final Who Filed Today post. Then I'll retreat to the Deeth Blog World Headquarters and start posting, a senate district at a time, starting with Senate 1/House 1 and 2, till I'm done. How long that takes depends on how fast Team Schultz posts Friday's list, how many last second surprises I get, how many Some Dudes I have to Google, and whether and when I decide sleep is important.
When it's finally posted all the way through Chuck Isenhart's House 100 in Dubuque, I'll post the whole thing as one huge file someplace, probably at the Register. Then I'm going to take a break and not post as much for a little while.
Some qualifiers. Friday's list is not "final."
1) Candidates can drop out through Wednesday the 21st. I'll update accordingly.
2) If no candidate gets 35% in the primary, the party has to have a convention. There's a couple places that might happen; the best chance is in TIWYDW.
3) Parties can nominate at a convention if no one filed in time for a primary. A nomination by convention post-primary is usually a strong indicator of Some Dude status; that's how I got into my race. But four current House freshmen, probably some sort of record, made the ballot this way in 2010: Dan Muhlbauer replaced a candidate who dropped out, Dan Kelley replaced a legislator who died, Bob Hager joined the race late, and Brian Moore was nominated at a Republican convention after losing a Democratic primary. That gives you a sense of the kind of things that happen.
4) And independents and third party candidates file later, in July-August. I'll reboot again after that, with the July 19 finance reports and the August voter registration numbers.
Voter registration numbers are as of March 1 and include both active and inactive voters. That shouldn't affect the basic party ratio, but it does puff the raw numbers in places that have lots of inactive voters like college towns.
Campaign finance numbers are through the January 19 Iowa Ethics deadline. I have links to everyone who filed by then; I only examined the numbers if multiple candidates had filed. Usually I use cash on hand as my baseline unless something else sticks out like Massive Loans To Self.
Some Dude is not a pejorative; when I ran for the House I was a Some Dude:
I'm writing from the assumption that if you're reading me, you follow Iowa politics closely. I'm not going to slow down and explain what "Map Day" means every time.
I'm not bothering with the congressional races. You can get that other places.
As always I appreciate corrections, tips, rants and feedback from my readers. And traffic. I love traffic.
Here's how we're going to work this. I'll do one final Who Filed Today post. Then I'll retreat to the Deeth Blog World Headquarters and start posting, a senate district at a time, starting with Senate 1/House 1 and 2, till I'm done. How long that takes depends on how fast Team Schultz posts Friday's list, how many last second surprises I get, how many Some Dudes I have to Google, and whether and when I decide sleep is important.
When it's finally posted all the way through Chuck Isenhart's House 100 in Dubuque, I'll post the whole thing as one huge file someplace, probably at the Register. Then I'm going to take a break and not post as much for a little while.
Some qualifiers. Friday's list is not "final."
1) Candidates can drop out through Wednesday the 21st. I'll update accordingly.
2) If no candidate gets 35% in the primary, the party has to have a convention. There's a couple places that might happen; the best chance is in TIWYDW.
3) Parties can nominate at a convention if no one filed in time for a primary. A nomination by convention post-primary is usually a strong indicator of Some Dude status; that's how I got into my race. But four current House freshmen, probably some sort of record, made the ballot this way in 2010: Dan Muhlbauer replaced a candidate who dropped out, Dan Kelley replaced a legislator who died, Bob Hager joined the race late, and Brian Moore was nominated at a Republican convention after losing a Democratic primary. That gives you a sense of the kind of things that happen.
4) And independents and third party candidates file later, in July-August. I'll reboot again after that, with the July 19 finance reports and the August voter registration numbers.
Voter registration numbers are as of March 1 and include both active and inactive voters. That shouldn't affect the basic party ratio, but it does puff the raw numbers in places that have lots of inactive voters like college towns.
Campaign finance numbers are through the January 19 Iowa Ethics deadline. I have links to everyone who filed by then; I only examined the numbers if multiple candidates had filed. Usually I use cash on hand as my baseline unless something else sticks out like Massive Loans To Self.
Some Dude is not a pejorative; when I ran for the House I was a Some Dude:
Some candidates start out with certain built-in advantages: They already hold office, they have personal wealth, or they have a prominent public profile. Some Dude has none of these. If you Google Some Dude's name, you'll find very little information-probably just the news article or blog post where they were first mentioned as a possible candidate. A good hint you're dealing with a Some Dude is that they're described as an "activist" or "Tea Party member" in press accounts. Note: Some Dudes sometimes win!After you run and lose three times you graduate from Some Dude to Perennial Candidate.
I'm writing from the assumption that if you're reading me, you follow Iowa politics closely. I'm not going to slow down and explain what "Map Day" means every time.
I'm not bothering with the congressional races. You can get that other places.
As always I appreciate corrections, tips, rants and feedback from my readers. And traffic. I love traffic.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Filing Day 14
Well, that Last Minute Retirement Watch post seems to have worked. Four of the seven House incumbents who hadn't filed or announced retirement made it down to Matt Schultz's office today: Dave Heaton, R-Mt. Pleasant in House District 84, Rick Olson, D-Des Moines in House District 31, and Nick Wagner, R-Marion in House District 68.
The fourth incumbent to file was Mt. Auburn Republican Dawn Pettingill in House District 75. Her opponent, Marengo Democrat Sandra Cronbaugh, also filed.
That leaves three people to watch tomorrow, all Republicans: Chip Baltimore of Boone in House 47, Dan Rasmussen of Independence in House 64, and finally Glen Massie of Warren County in House 26, who I'm pretty sure isn't running.
Lots of News To Me names today, and I'm not even going to bother much with making the narrative artistic.
A primary challenge for Keota Republican Jarad Klein, as church administrator Priscilla Marlar of rural Washigton files in House District 78. She appears to be the daughter of Rick Marlar, who ran a tea party-ish primary against Sandra Greiner in 2010.
Democrat George Yaple of Council Bluffs filed in House District 15. It's the more Democratic of the two Council Bluffs House seats; he'll face Republican Mark Brandenburg. I can't find much about Yaple, but the numbers have this seat looking winnable.
Cedar Falls veterinarian and school board member James Kenyon filed in House District 59. He has a Republican primary against Howard Lyons Jr.; the winner will face Democratic incumbent Bob Kressig in a swing seat.
There's a third Democrat in the Senate District 38 race, as Walford banker Nick Volk filed. Shelley Parbs of Urbana also filed; LaForest Sherman of Grinnell was in earlier. Winner faces GOP incumbent Tim Kapucian in a much-changed swing seat.
An unexpected Democratic primary in no-incumbent House District 72, as Nathan Wrage of Gladbrook, a school custodian and county conservation board member, filed. Tribal executive Christina Blackcloud-Garcia, who also filed today, had announced earlier and got the whole House Democrats press release rollout.
Another Democratic primary in House District 49 as Garland Bridges of Eldora joins Kevin Ericson on the ballot. The winner faces three term Republican Dave Deyoe of Nevada.
Democrat Kristen Keast of Mt. Vernon filed in open House District 95, where she'll likely oppose Center Point Republican Quentin Stanerson. Incumbent Nate Willems, D-Lisbon, is running for Senate 48.
Two Dubuque Republicans filed in Senate District 50 against Democrat Pam Jochum. Republican activist John Hulshizer Jr. lost to Jochum in a 2008 landslide. The other guy, William Johnson, I'm calling a Some Dude till he's got a name that's easier to productively Google. Almost as bad as Mark Smith.
UPDATE: A Dubuque reader informs me that this is the same Will Johnson who ran a tea party type campaign in the 1st CD primary in 2010.
Anti-abortion extremist, perennial candidate and self-proclaimed "Secretary General of the Army of God" Dave Leach made his way onto the ballot again. This is at least his seventh campaign; the most recent run was against Matt McCoy in 2010. This year he's challenging Democrat Bruce Hunter in House District 34. Republicans who don't think murdering doctors is morally justified can vote for Patti Branco in the primary instead.
Sorry, I lost my objectivity for a moment there. In filings already expected:
Republican Matt Reisetter of Cedar Falls is a top tier challenger to Democratic incumbent Jeff Danielson in Senate District 30.
Carroll County Supervisor Mark Segebart filed in Senate District 6. He has a primary with Sac County deputy sheriff Matthew Biede; the winner faces Democrat Mary Bruner in the open Steve Kettering seat.
Iowa Senate Republican leaders fall all sorts of ways; how about taking one out in a general election? Boone Democrat Shelly Stotts filed in Senate District 24 to challenge Senate GOP leader Jerry Behn.
Donna Amandus of Ft, Madison joins two other candidates on the Senate District 42 ballot. The Republicans have a primary too; winner replaces retiring Democrat Gene Fraise.
In Sioux City, Republican Greg Grupp filed in no-incumbent House District 14, which is Republican Jeremy Taylor's district without his house. Taylor stayed put in House 13 and will battle Democrat Chris Hall in the only two-incumbent general election House race; Grupp will face Taylor's 2010 opponent Dave Dawson in a D-leaning seat.
Megan Suhr, a Knoxville Democrat, filed in open House District 28 where Republican Rich Arnold is retiring. She faces the winner of a a Republican primary between Greg Heartsill and Len Gosselink.
Clive Democrat Susan Judkins is challenging Republican Chris Hagenow in House District 43.
And finally, Grimes Democrat Kelsey Clark filed in House District 39, held by Republican Erik Helland. You may have heard Helland has a primary challenger.
Stay tuned tomorrow night for the final update and the launch of the District Of The Day reboot...
The fourth incumbent to file was Mt. Auburn Republican Dawn Pettingill in House District 75. Her opponent, Marengo Democrat Sandra Cronbaugh, also filed.
That leaves three people to watch tomorrow, all Republicans: Chip Baltimore of Boone in House 47, Dan Rasmussen of Independence in House 64, and finally Glen Massie of Warren County in House 26, who I'm pretty sure isn't running.
Lots of News To Me names today, and I'm not even going to bother much with making the narrative artistic.
A primary challenge for Keota Republican Jarad Klein, as church administrator Priscilla Marlar of rural Washigton files in House District 78. She appears to be the daughter of Rick Marlar, who ran a tea party-ish primary against Sandra Greiner in 2010.
Democrat George Yaple of Council Bluffs filed in House District 15. It's the more Democratic of the two Council Bluffs House seats; he'll face Republican Mark Brandenburg. I can't find much about Yaple, but the numbers have this seat looking winnable.
Cedar Falls veterinarian and school board member James Kenyon filed in House District 59. He has a Republican primary against Howard Lyons Jr.; the winner will face Democratic incumbent Bob Kressig in a swing seat.
There's a third Democrat in the Senate District 38 race, as Walford banker Nick Volk filed. Shelley Parbs of Urbana also filed; LaForest Sherman of Grinnell was in earlier. Winner faces GOP incumbent Tim Kapucian in a much-changed swing seat.
An unexpected Democratic primary in no-incumbent House District 72, as Nathan Wrage of Gladbrook, a school custodian and county conservation board member, filed. Tribal executive Christina Blackcloud-Garcia, who also filed today, had announced earlier and got the whole House Democrats press release rollout.
Another Democratic primary in House District 49 as Garland Bridges of Eldora joins Kevin Ericson on the ballot. The winner faces three term Republican Dave Deyoe of Nevada.
Democrat Kristen Keast of Mt. Vernon filed in open House District 95, where she'll likely oppose Center Point Republican Quentin Stanerson. Incumbent Nate Willems, D-Lisbon, is running for Senate 48.
Two Dubuque Republicans filed in Senate District 50 against Democrat Pam Jochum. Republican activist John Hulshizer Jr. lost to Jochum in a 2008 landslide. The other guy, William Johnson, I'm calling a Some Dude till he's got a name that's easier to productively Google. Almost as bad as Mark Smith.
UPDATE: A Dubuque reader informs me that this is the same Will Johnson who ran a tea party type campaign in the 1st CD primary in 2010.
Anti-abortion extremist, perennial candidate and self-proclaimed "Secretary General of the Army of God" Dave Leach made his way onto the ballot again. This is at least his seventh campaign; the most recent run was against Matt McCoy in 2010. This year he's challenging Democrat Bruce Hunter in House District 34. Republicans who don't think murdering doctors is morally justified can vote for Patti Branco in the primary instead.
Sorry, I lost my objectivity for a moment there. In filings already expected:
Republican Matt Reisetter of Cedar Falls is a top tier challenger to Democratic incumbent Jeff Danielson in Senate District 30.
Carroll County Supervisor Mark Segebart filed in Senate District 6. He has a primary with Sac County deputy sheriff Matthew Biede; the winner faces Democrat Mary Bruner in the open Steve Kettering seat.
Iowa Senate Republican leaders fall all sorts of ways; how about taking one out in a general election? Boone Democrat Shelly Stotts filed in Senate District 24 to challenge Senate GOP leader Jerry Behn.
Donna Amandus of Ft, Madison joins two other candidates on the Senate District 42 ballot. The Republicans have a primary too; winner replaces retiring Democrat Gene Fraise.
In Sioux City, Republican Greg Grupp filed in no-incumbent House District 14, which is Republican Jeremy Taylor's district without his house. Taylor stayed put in House 13 and will battle Democrat Chris Hall in the only two-incumbent general election House race; Grupp will face Taylor's 2010 opponent Dave Dawson in a D-leaning seat.
Megan Suhr, a Knoxville Democrat, filed in open House District 28 where Republican Rich Arnold is retiring. She faces the winner of a a Republican primary between Greg Heartsill and Len Gosselink.
Clive Democrat Susan Judkins is challenging Republican Chris Hagenow in House District 43.
And finally, Grimes Democrat Kelsey Clark filed in House District 39, held by Republican Erik Helland. You may have heard Helland has a primary challenger.
Stay tuned tomorrow night for the final update and the launch of the District Of The Day reboot...
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Last Minute Surprise Watch
With two days of filing left, the gaps in the candidate list stand out more than the names. I count only six seven legislative incumbents, all in the House, who haven't either filed or announced a retirement. Who's going to be our last second surprise? Or did we already get that with Jeff Kaufmann and Tom Rielly?
The one I'm watching is Warren County's House 26. There were rumors even in his first year that the incumbent, Republican freshman Glen Massie, might not run. His tea party ally, Kim Pearson, has already called it quits after one term. Two other Republicans have filed here. Democrat Scott Ourth probably would have won in any year other than 2010 and never really stopped running. So at this point it surprises me more if Massie DOES file tomorrow or Friday.
No one of either party has filed in Henry County based House 84. The incumbent, Republican Dave Heaton, is in his early 70s. I expect Heaton runs again, but this is the other one to keep an eye on.
The other four, I suspect, are all just being slowpokes: Rick Olson, D-Des Moines, House District 31; Dan Rasmussen, R-Independence, House District 64; Nick Wagner, R-Marion, House District 68; and Dawn PettingillD R-Mt. Auburn, House District 75. UPDATE: one I missed on the first go round, Boone Republican Chip Baltimore in House 47.
The one I'm watching is Warren County's House 26. There were rumors even in his first year that the incumbent, Republican freshman Glen Massie, might not run. His tea party ally, Kim Pearson, has already called it quits after one term. Two other Republicans have filed here. Democrat Scott Ourth probably would have won in any year other than 2010 and never really stopped running. So at this point it surprises me more if Massie DOES file tomorrow or Friday.
No one of either party has filed in Henry County based House 84. The incumbent, Republican Dave Heaton, is in his early 70s. I expect Heaton runs again, but this is the other one to keep an eye on.
The other four, I suspect, are all just being slowpokes: Rick Olson, D-Des Moines, House District 31; Dan Rasmussen, R-Independence, House District 64; Nick Wagner, R-Marion, House District 68; and Dawn Pettingill
Day 13 of Filing
Bruce Braley, Steve King and John Archer turned their paperwork in to Matt Schultz today, meaning the congressional ballot is probably complete. (And no, Joe Seng ain't gonna get the signatures.)
For my local readers, Democrat Sally Stutsman tops the filing for the day. The county supervisor filed in no-incumbent House District 77. Republican Steve Sherman is also in the race in this Democratic, all-Johnson seat.
Most of the filing today is in the News To Me department.
Democrat Ron Pierce, a community housing activist, filed in House District 16. That's the more Republican of the two Council Bluffs seats, where Mary Ann Hanusa is staying and running.
None of the rest of today's News To Me filings seems like game-changers.
Vicki Stogdill of Des Moines challenged Janet Petersen as a tea party independent in a 2010 House race. She's challenging Petersen again, only this time she's a Republican and it's in Senate District 18.
A second Republican is taking on the difficult task of running in Petersen's solidly Democratic old House Seat, House District 36. At least Tony Seliquini didn't move to the district after announcing for a Knoxville Senate seat like primary rival Larry Steele did. Democrats have a multi-candidate primary, and the winner there is a heavy favorite in the fall.
Panora Democrat Greg Nepstad filed in House District 20 against Republican Clel Baudler. I wonder if there's a primary challenger lurking, too; Clel got on the wrong side of the gun lobby during the Stand Your Ground debate.
Republican Howard Lyon Jr. of Cedar Falls filed in swingy House District 59. The incumbent is Democrat Bob Kressig.
Some Dude is gender neutral: Republican Patti Branco filed in House District 34, a solid Democratic Des Moines seat held by Bruce Hunter.
Maxwell Democrat Kevin Ericson is running in the outlying Story County seat, House District 49, against GOP incumbent Dave Deyoe.
In House District 55, a THIRD Republican joins the race against Democratic incumbent Roger Thomas: West Union minister Marshall Nessa.
Republican Gabe Swersie is making his third consecutive run in Newton-based House District 29. Paul Bell won the 2008 race with 61%. After Bell died in 2010, Democrats ran Dan Kelley who beat Swersie by a much closer 274 votes. The combination of the open seat and the GOP wave probably contributed to the close race, and Kelley picked up 1000 Democrats in redistricting.
Republicans go from no candidates to two in open Senate District 6, as Sac County sheriff's deputy Matthew Biede files. Carroll County Supervisor Mark Segebart has also announced. The primary winner faces Carroll Democrat Mary Bruner, who also filed today, in the race to succeed retiring Republican Steve Kettering.
Among announcements we expected:
Both Mike Gronstal and his opponent, Council Bluffs Republican Al Ringgenberg, filed, to make the Million Dollar Race in Senate District 8 official. (If it really IS gonna be a Million Dollar Race Ringgenburg needs to step up his fundraising...)
The Clash of The Titans Republican Primary in House District 50 is official, as co-incumbents Pat Grassley and Annette Sweeney both filed. This ruins my theory that a last-minute job offer would get Sweeney out.
I also, briefly, had a theory that Sweeney might try House District 54, but tripled-up House majority leader Linda Upmeyer called dibs on that and made the move official today.
Two House Republicans facing primary challenges from young candidates filed. Tom Shaw of Laurens filed in House District 10, where he faces a primary challenge from Maison Bleam. And Erik Helland of Johnston made it official in House District 39. Opponent Jake Highfill yesterday accused Helland of trying to buy him out of the race with a job.
Matt DeVries is the FIFTH Republican candidate to file in no-incumbent House District 37 in Ankeny, and as far as I know the last. I'm officially making TIWYDW an acronym.
In the most Democratic seat held by a Republican House District 58, former Rep. Tom Schueller, D-Maquoketa, is trying to come back against the guy who unexpectedly knocked him off in 2010, Republican Brian Moore of Zwingle.
And in the next district over, Democrat Nancy Dunkel of Dyersville is the first to file in strongly Democratic House District 57. Republican Steve Lukan is not running for re-election.
Democrat Bruce Bearinger of Oelwein filed in the very winnable House District 64. GOP incumbent Dan Rasmussen had to sit out a term, losing to Gene Ficken in 2008 but winning the 2010 rematch. And that was on better turf for a Republican.
Democrat Mark Seidl of Cedar Rapids was a top-tier challenger to Renee Schulte in 2010, but the climate was too toxic for Democrats to play offense and he lost by 1100. This year redistricting puts Seidl in House District 67, where he's challenging speaker Kraig Paulsen.
The routine incumbent section is getting slim. With filing today by Senators Dick Dearden, D-Des Moines in Senate District 16 and Liz Mathis, D-Cedar Rapids in Senate District 34, every senator has either filed or announced retirement. On the House side, we have Anesa Kajtazovic, D-Waterloo in House District 61.
For my local readers, Democrat Sally Stutsman tops the filing for the day. The county supervisor filed in no-incumbent House District 77. Republican Steve Sherman is also in the race in this Democratic, all-Johnson seat.
Most of the filing today is in the News To Me department.
Democrat Ron Pierce, a community housing activist, filed in House District 16. That's the more Republican of the two Council Bluffs seats, where Mary Ann Hanusa is staying and running.
None of the rest of today's News To Me filings seems like game-changers.
Vicki Stogdill of Des Moines challenged Janet Petersen as a tea party independent in a 2010 House race. She's challenging Petersen again, only this time she's a Republican and it's in Senate District 18.
A second Republican is taking on the difficult task of running in Petersen's solidly Democratic old House Seat, House District 36. At least Tony Seliquini didn't move to the district after announcing for a Knoxville Senate seat like primary rival Larry Steele did. Democrats have a multi-candidate primary, and the winner there is a heavy favorite in the fall.
Panora Democrat Greg Nepstad filed in House District 20 against Republican Clel Baudler. I wonder if there's a primary challenger lurking, too; Clel got on the wrong side of the gun lobby during the Stand Your Ground debate.
Republican Howard Lyon Jr. of Cedar Falls filed in swingy House District 59. The incumbent is Democrat Bob Kressig.
Some Dude is gender neutral: Republican Patti Branco filed in House District 34, a solid Democratic Des Moines seat held by Bruce Hunter.
Maxwell Democrat Kevin Ericson is running in the outlying Story County seat, House District 49, against GOP incumbent Dave Deyoe.
In House District 55, a THIRD Republican joins the race against Democratic incumbent Roger Thomas: West Union minister Marshall Nessa.
Republican Gabe Swersie is making his third consecutive run in Newton-based House District 29. Paul Bell won the 2008 race with 61%. After Bell died in 2010, Democrats ran Dan Kelley who beat Swersie by a much closer 274 votes. The combination of the open seat and the GOP wave probably contributed to the close race, and Kelley picked up 1000 Democrats in redistricting.
Republicans go from no candidates to two in open Senate District 6, as Sac County sheriff's deputy Matthew Biede files. Carroll County Supervisor Mark Segebart has also announced. The primary winner faces Carroll Democrat Mary Bruner, who also filed today, in the race to succeed retiring Republican Steve Kettering.
Among announcements we expected:
Both Mike Gronstal and his opponent, Council Bluffs Republican Al Ringgenberg, filed, to make the Million Dollar Race in Senate District 8 official. (If it really IS gonna be a Million Dollar Race Ringgenburg needs to step up his fundraising...)
The Clash of The Titans Republican Primary in House District 50 is official, as co-incumbents Pat Grassley and Annette Sweeney both filed. This ruins my theory that a last-minute job offer would get Sweeney out.
I also, briefly, had a theory that Sweeney might try House District 54, but tripled-up House majority leader Linda Upmeyer called dibs on that and made the move official today.
Two House Republicans facing primary challenges from young candidates filed. Tom Shaw of Laurens filed in House District 10, where he faces a primary challenge from Maison Bleam. And Erik Helland of Johnston made it official in House District 39. Opponent Jake Highfill yesterday accused Helland of trying to buy him out of the race with a job.
Matt DeVries is the FIFTH Republican candidate to file in no-incumbent House District 37 in Ankeny, and as far as I know the last. I'm officially making TIWYDW an acronym.
In the most Democratic seat held by a Republican House District 58, former Rep. Tom Schueller, D-Maquoketa, is trying to come back against the guy who unexpectedly knocked him off in 2010, Republican Brian Moore of Zwingle.
And in the next district over, Democrat Nancy Dunkel of Dyersville is the first to file in strongly Democratic House District 57. Republican Steve Lukan is not running for re-election.
Democrat Bruce Bearinger of Oelwein filed in the very winnable House District 64. GOP incumbent Dan Rasmussen had to sit out a term, losing to Gene Ficken in 2008 but winning the 2010 rematch. And that was on better turf for a Republican.
Democrat Mark Seidl of Cedar Rapids was a top-tier challenger to Renee Schulte in 2010, but the climate was too toxic for Democrats to play offense and he lost by 1100. This year redistricting puts Seidl in House District 67, where he's challenging speaker Kraig Paulsen.
The routine incumbent section is getting slim. With filing today by Senators Dick Dearden, D-Des Moines in Senate District 16 and Liz Mathis, D-Cedar Rapids in Senate District 34, every senator has either filed or announced retirement. On the House side, we have Anesa Kajtazovic, D-Waterloo in House District 61.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Filing Day 12
Just three days to go after today, and the candidate list is starting to fill up. Still a few gaps: we havent's seen Bruce Braley or Steve King yet.
Close to home, West Liberty Democrat Sara Sedlacek makes it official in House District 88 against Republican Tom Sands of Wapello. Democrats made a serious effort in this swing seat in 2008 but left Sands unopposed in 2010. (Democrats also made a less serious effort here in 1996.)
In the News To Me department: Another couple of Republican primary challenges. In House District 24 restaurant owner Jane Jensen of Clarinda files against incumbent Cecil Dolecheck of Mt. Ayr.
Brett H. Nelson of Saylor Township filed in House District 38, the south Ankeny seat held by Kevin Koester. Nelson ran for this seat in 2002, finishing fourth in a four way primary. Don't forget: Koester tried to step up to the Senate in the 2011 special election (won by Jack Whitver), but was one of the first candidates eliminated at the party convention. Democrat John Phoenix awaits the winner here in a swing seat.
Stephanie Jones of Knoxville is the third Republican to file in open Senate District 14, the Paul McKinley seat.
Some Dude Alert: Republican Joe Corbin, a Ron Paul backer, filed in heavily Democratic House District 32, held by first-term Dem Ruth Ann Gaines.
In expected filings:
The two two incumbent senator races are official. Senators Jim Hahn, R-Muscatine and Shawn "Go Home" Hamerlinck, R-Dixon are facing off in Senate District 46. The winner faces Muscatine Democrat Chris Brase in November. All three filed today.
The only two incumbent Senate general election will be in Senate District 26 between Democrat Mary Jo Wilhelm and Republican Merlin Bartz. Both filed today.
(Last minute surprise watch: In the one two House incumbent primary, House 50, neither Annette Sweeney or Pat Grassley has filed yet...)
Warren County Democrat Scott Ourth, an unexpected top-tier loser in 2010, is making another try in House District 26. Ourth lost to Republican Glen Massie, who hasn't filed yet. Two other Republicans, Steve McCoy and Ruth Randleman, filed yesterday.
Democrat Eric Brenneman of West Des Moines filed in Dallas-based, no-incumbent House District 44.
Waterloo Democrat Bob Greenwood is running in House District 60 against first term Cedar Falls Republican Walt Rogers.
Hillsboro Republican Lee Harder, who finished a distant third in the 2008 2nd Congressional District primary, made it official in Senate District 42. He's an underdog in a primary against Lee County Supervisor Larry Kruse in this open seat. Democrats have a three way primary to succeed the retiring Gene Fraise.
Republican David Maxwell of Gibson files in no-incumbent House District 76. He has a primary with Larry Wilson of Grinnell. The Democrats are running Rachel Bly, also of Grinnell.
Charges flying in one GOP primary:
Routine incumbents filing today::
Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, in Senate District 20
Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, in Senate District 50
Mark Brandenburg, R-Council Bluffs, in House District 15.
Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, in House District 18.
Bob Kressig, D-Cedar Falls, in House District 59.
Kirsten Running-Marquardt, D-Cedar Rapids, in House District 69.
Mark Lofgren, R-Muscatine, in House District 91
And Dan Dolan filed in the 2nd Congressional District - as a Republican, which should reassure the Monroe County Democrats. For those who didn't hear, Dolan started speaking at the wrong party's covention in Albia Saturday.
Close to home, West Liberty Democrat Sara Sedlacek makes it official in House District 88 against Republican Tom Sands of Wapello. Democrats made a serious effort in this swing seat in 2008 but left Sands unopposed in 2010. (Democrats also made a less serious effort here in 1996.)
In the News To Me department: Another couple of Republican primary challenges. In House District 24 restaurant owner Jane Jensen of Clarinda files against incumbent Cecil Dolecheck of Mt. Ayr.
Brett H. Nelson of Saylor Township filed in House District 38, the south Ankeny seat held by Kevin Koester. Nelson ran for this seat in 2002, finishing fourth in a four way primary. Don't forget: Koester tried to step up to the Senate in the 2011 special election (won by Jack Whitver), but was one of the first candidates eliminated at the party convention. Democrat John Phoenix awaits the winner here in a swing seat.
Stephanie Jones of Knoxville is the third Republican to file in open Senate District 14, the Paul McKinley seat.
Some Dude Alert: Republican Joe Corbin, a Ron Paul backer, filed in heavily Democratic House District 32, held by first-term Dem Ruth Ann Gaines.
In expected filings:
The two two incumbent senator races are official. Senators Jim Hahn, R-Muscatine and Shawn "Go Home" Hamerlinck, R-Dixon are facing off in Senate District 46. The winner faces Muscatine Democrat Chris Brase in November. All three filed today.
The only two incumbent Senate general election will be in Senate District 26 between Democrat Mary Jo Wilhelm and Republican Merlin Bartz. Both filed today.
(Last minute surprise watch: In the one two House incumbent primary, House 50, neither Annette Sweeney or Pat Grassley has filed yet...)
Warren County Democrat Scott Ourth, an unexpected top-tier loser in 2010, is making another try in House District 26. Ourth lost to Republican Glen Massie, who hasn't filed yet. Two other Republicans, Steve McCoy and Ruth Randleman, filed yesterday.
Democrat Eric Brenneman of West Des Moines filed in Dallas-based, no-incumbent House District 44.
Waterloo Democrat Bob Greenwood is running in House District 60 against first term Cedar Falls Republican Walt Rogers.
Hillsboro Republican Lee Harder, who finished a distant third in the 2008 2nd Congressional District primary, made it official in Senate District 42. He's an underdog in a primary against Lee County Supervisor Larry Kruse in this open seat. Democrats have a three way primary to succeed the retiring Gene Fraise.
Republican David Maxwell of Gibson files in no-incumbent House District 76. He has a primary with Larry Wilson of Grinnell. The Democrats are running Rachel Bly, also of Grinnell.
Charges flying in one GOP primary:
A candidate challenging incumbent state Rep. Erik Helland for his western Polk County seat in the Iowa House has accused the lawmaker of offering him a job to stay out of the race.Democrat Kelsey Clark awaits the winner. As of today, Helland had not yet filed.
Jake Highfill, a University of Iowa student who lives in Johnston, alleges Helland implored him to drop his bid for the new 39th District seat and offered in exchange to hire Highfill as a legislative clerk and to find him a job on a Republican campaign throughout the 2012 election season.
Routine incumbents filing today::
And Dan Dolan filed in the 2nd Congressional District - as a Republican, which should reassure the Monroe County Democrats. For those who didn't hear, Dolan started speaking at the wrong party's covention in Albia Saturday.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Day 11 of Filing
Friday night's big news was Wilton Republican Jeff Kaufmann announcing he was not seeking re-election in House District 73. Today, we got the follow-up the rumor mill had told us about: son Bobby Kaufmann, 26, will run in dad's seat. He'll face the winner of the Democratic primary between Dick Schwab of Solon and David Johnson of West Branch.
Another son of a legislator filed today in a very different story. Daniel Lundby of Marion is the son of the late Mary Lundby, former Senate Republican leader. But Daniel filed as a Democrat. It's a symbolically powerful statement about the end of Mary Lundby's brand of pragmatic moderation, as Daniel hopes to take the House seat she once held, now District 68, from Republican Nick Wagner.
There may be another last-second retirement. We have two filings in Warren County's House District 26. Neither of them is the incumbent, tea partier Glen Massie. There was talk Massie might pull a Pearson and quit after a single term, and now that I think about it I don't remember seeing an actual Massie announcement... The two who filed today are Warren County GOP "co-chair" (sic) Steve McCoy and Carlisle mayor Ruth Randleman.
Republican Andrew Wilson of Burlington appears to be Some Dude, but that's more opposition than Dennis Cohoon usually gets in solidly Democratic House 87.
Dubuque Republican Paul Kern gave then-speaker Pat Murphy a scare at the polls in 2010; Kern is back for another try in House 99
Also news to me, though apparently she's all over the web: Cedar Rapids Republican Randi Shannon filed in Senate District 34, now held by Democrat Liz Mathis.
And Republican Brian Cook of Manchester files in no-incumbent Senate District 48. He has a primary with Dan Zumbach; winner sees Rep. Nate Willems, D-Lisbon, in November.
In the overlapping House seat, House District 95, Center Point Republican Quentin Stanerson files.
In filings we already expected, two more Republican candidates file in This Is Where Your District Went, House 37: John Landon and Stacey Rogers. That brings the total filed to four in the more Republican of the two Ankeny seats.
In the other Ankeny seat, Democrat John Phoenix filed in House District 38. He's challenging GOP incumbent Kevin Koester, who also filed today, in a swing seat.
Democrat now officially have a three way primary in open House District 36 as William Rock files. He has my favorite committee name: Citizens For Rock. Sounds like a lost Tenacious D track. The other Dems are Marti Anderson and Cara Kennedy-Ode; winner is a heavy November favorite.
In no-incumbent Senate District 4, Democrat Bob Jennings filed; the GOP has a primary between Dennis Guth and former senator Jim Black.
Democrat Steve Bomgaars filed in no-incumbent Huse District 2, where he'll face the winner of a GOP primary between Megan Hess and Josh Davenport.
Both announced Republicans filed in House District 55, held by Democrat Roger Thomas. Spillville mayor Michael Klimesh, who lost a 2010 race, will face Dustin Noble of Decorah in the primary.
Non-filing news: Shelley Parbs of Urbana is the second Democrat to announce in Senate District 38, joining LaForest Sherman (who filed today). The winner faces GOP incumbent Tim Kapucian in a much-changed swing seat. Bleeding Heartland has a good look.
Lee Harder (the article gets his name wrong) of Hillsboro is the second Republican to announce in open Senate District 42 (the Gene Fraise seat). Harder finished a distant third in the 2008 2nd Congressional District primary. Lee County supervisor Larry Kruse announced before Fraise retired; the Democrats have a three-way primary.
Routine Incumbents filing today:
Tom Courtney, D-Burlington, in Senate District 44
Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames in House District 45
Lisa Heddens, D-Ames in House District 46
Dave Deyoe, R-Nevada in House District 49
Josh Byrnes, R-Osage in House District 51
Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls in House District 60
Renee Schulte, R-Cedar Rapids in House District 66
House speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha in House District 67
Jerry Kearns, D-Keokuk in House District 83
Tom Sands, R-Wapello in House District 88
And oh yeah, someone named Vilsack.
Another son of a legislator filed today in a very different story. Daniel Lundby of Marion is the son of the late Mary Lundby, former Senate Republican leader. But Daniel filed as a Democrat. It's a symbolically powerful statement about the end of Mary Lundby's brand of pragmatic moderation, as Daniel hopes to take the House seat she once held, now District 68, from Republican Nick Wagner.
There may be another last-second retirement. We have two filings in Warren County's House District 26. Neither of them is the incumbent, tea partier Glen Massie. There was talk Massie might pull a Pearson and quit after a single term, and now that I think about it I don't remember seeing an actual Massie announcement... The two who filed today are Warren County GOP "co-chair" (sic) Steve McCoy and Carlisle mayor Ruth Randleman.
Republican Andrew Wilson of Burlington appears to be Some Dude, but that's more opposition than Dennis Cohoon usually gets in solidly Democratic House 87.
Dubuque Republican Paul Kern gave then-speaker Pat Murphy a scare at the polls in 2010; Kern is back for another try in House 99
Also news to me, though apparently she's all over the web: Cedar Rapids Republican Randi Shannon filed in Senate District 34, now held by Democrat Liz Mathis.
And Republican Brian Cook of Manchester files in no-incumbent Senate District 48. He has a primary with Dan Zumbach; winner sees Rep. Nate Willems, D-Lisbon, in November.
In the overlapping House seat, House District 95, Center Point Republican Quentin Stanerson files.
In filings we already expected, two more Republican candidates file in This Is Where Your District Went, House 37: John Landon and Stacey Rogers. That brings the total filed to four in the more Republican of the two Ankeny seats.
In the other Ankeny seat, Democrat John Phoenix filed in House District 38. He's challenging GOP incumbent Kevin Koester, who also filed today, in a swing seat.
Democrat now officially have a three way primary in open House District 36 as William Rock files. He has my favorite committee name: Citizens For Rock. Sounds like a lost Tenacious D track. The other Dems are Marti Anderson and Cara Kennedy-Ode; winner is a heavy November favorite.
In no-incumbent Senate District 4, Democrat Bob Jennings filed; the GOP has a primary between Dennis Guth and former senator Jim Black.
Democrat Steve Bomgaars filed in no-incumbent Huse District 2, where he'll face the winner of a GOP primary between Megan Hess and Josh Davenport.
Both announced Republicans filed in House District 55, held by Democrat Roger Thomas. Spillville mayor Michael Klimesh, who lost a 2010 race, will face Dustin Noble of Decorah in the primary.
Non-filing news: Shelley Parbs of Urbana is the second Democrat to announce in Senate District 38, joining LaForest Sherman (who filed today). The winner faces GOP incumbent Tim Kapucian in a much-changed swing seat. Bleeding Heartland has a good look.
Lee Harder (the article gets his name wrong) of Hillsboro is the second Republican to announce in open Senate District 42 (the Gene Fraise seat). Harder finished a distant third in the 2008 2nd Congressional District primary. Lee County supervisor Larry Kruse announced before Fraise retired; the Democrats have a three-way primary.
Routine Incumbents filing today:
And oh yeah, someone named Vilsack.
Names Emerge at Weekend Conventions
Normal people have March Madness and a 68 slot bracket. I have Filing Deadline Week and there's 252 lines to fill.
Notes from the weekend political party conventions are still trickling in. I do get word from the Johnson County GOP convention that one of Jeff Kaufmann's sons is running in the House 73 seat where Dad announced his retirement Friday night, but my source didn't catch the first name. There's three sons: Robert, Jacob, and John. John Kaufmann co-chaired the Muscatine County Pawlenty campaign (Jeff is a Newt guy).
A few Democratic convention notes in the Bleeding Heartland comments:
Former state representative Donovan Olson, D-Boone, is making a comeback attempt against the man who beat him, Republican Chip Baltimore, in House 47. Also out of the Boone County Democratic convention, teacher Shelly Stotts is challenging Senate Minority Leader Jerry Behn in Senate District 24.
In Polk County, Drake law student Kelsey Clark of Grimes is challenging Republican Erik Helland in House 39.
And on the Republican side, Crawford County Supervisor Mark Segebart announced in open Senate District 6, where the GOP's Steve Kettering is retiring. Democrats have a strong candidate in Mary Bruner, and there were reports that the GOP had been having candidate recruitment trouble here.
That's all I got; you heard any other good ones?
Notes from the weekend political party conventions are still trickling in. I do get word from the Johnson County GOP convention that one of Jeff Kaufmann's sons is running in the House 73 seat where Dad announced his retirement Friday night, but my source didn't catch the first name. There's three sons: Robert, Jacob, and John. John Kaufmann co-chaired the Muscatine County Pawlenty campaign (Jeff is a Newt guy).
A few Democratic convention notes in the Bleeding Heartland comments:
Former state representative Donovan Olson, D-Boone, is making a comeback attempt against the man who beat him, Republican Chip Baltimore, in House 47. Also out of the Boone County Democratic convention, teacher Shelly Stotts is challenging Senate Minority Leader Jerry Behn in Senate District 24.
In Polk County, Drake law student Kelsey Clark of Grimes is challenging Republican Erik Helland in House 39.
And on the Republican side, Crawford County Supervisor Mark Segebart announced in open Senate District 6, where the GOP's Steve Kettering is retiring. Democrats have a strong candidate in Mary Bruner, and there were reports that the GOP had been having candidate recruitment trouble here.
That's all I got; you heard any other good ones?
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Uncommited Dems Viable in Johnson County
This may be the only place in the state, but the Uncommitted preference group reached 15% viability at the Johnson County Democratic convention.
Numbers are pretty much all I have to report, since I missed all the speeches. I was in my usual convention role as credentials committee co-chair, which means I'm the dude doing the delegate data entry. That kept me in the Credentials Bunker from 8 AM till 11, and that seems to be when the speeches happened. I'd also decided that I was going to skip the platform this year, so once my services were no longer required I escaped and rode my bike.
But here's the numbers. On caucus night the Johnson County delegates split 202 for the president and 23 uncommitted. Uncommitted was able to fill all 23 of their seats and picked up five more from switches at check in. (Some of those were folks from places where uncommitted was non-viable on caucus night.) That was enough to put them over viability.
Team Uncommitted had more alternates present than seats available. They picked up another five delegates when Team Obama agreed to seat their extra five people. In turn, the uncommitteds agreed to seat five extra Obama people who hadn't been elected as delegates on caucus night, but were present and wanted to participate. Mostly that was people like elected officials. Those numbers weren't a quid pro quo, they just happened to match. So everybody who wanted a seat got a seat.
That's the Johnson County Democrats tradition: be inclusive whenever possible. Both teams were all happy friendly donkeys together. The biggest headache I had at credentials was someone whose name was spelled wrong in the caucus notes. Oh, THAT's why I couldn't find you. Compared to our usual issues, this was nuthin'.
Uncommitted then picked up four people from Obama at realignment, but lost one who switched from Uncommitted to Obama.
The final count was Obama 152, Uncommitted 36, which translated to 61 district/state delegates for Obama and 15 for uncommitted. Delegate elections were solved by our favorite method: put your hand down to be an alternate. But the platform committee seats were the real prizes, and we had to vote through multiple ballots on those.
I heard that Dave Loebsack stopped by but it was right at credentials crunch time. Absolutely no sign of Joe Seng people, if there even are any.
Numbers are pretty much all I have to report, since I missed all the speeches. I was in my usual convention role as credentials committee co-chair, which means I'm the dude doing the delegate data entry. That kept me in the Credentials Bunker from 8 AM till 11, and that seems to be when the speeches happened. I'd also decided that I was going to skip the platform this year, so once my services were no longer required I escaped and rode my bike.
But here's the numbers. On caucus night the Johnson County delegates split 202 for the president and 23 uncommitted. Uncommitted was able to fill all 23 of their seats and picked up five more from switches at check in. (Some of those were folks from places where uncommitted was non-viable on caucus night.) That was enough to put them over viability.
Team Uncommitted had more alternates present than seats available. They picked up another five delegates when Team Obama agreed to seat their extra five people. In turn, the uncommitteds agreed to seat five extra Obama people who hadn't been elected as delegates on caucus night, but were present and wanted to participate. Mostly that was people like elected officials. Those numbers weren't a quid pro quo, they just happened to match. So everybody who wanted a seat got a seat.
That's the Johnson County Democrats tradition: be inclusive whenever possible. Both teams were all happy friendly donkeys together. The biggest headache I had at credentials was someone whose name was spelled wrong in the caucus notes. Oh, THAT's why I couldn't find you. Compared to our usual issues, this was nuthin'.
Uncommitted then picked up four people from Obama at realignment, but lost one who switched from Uncommitted to Obama.
The final count was Obama 152, Uncommitted 36, which translated to 61 district/state delegates for Obama and 15 for uncommitted. Delegate elections were solved by our favorite method: put your hand down to be an alternate. But the platform committee seats were the real prizes, and we had to vote through multiple ballots on those.
I heard that Dave Loebsack stopped by but it was right at credentials crunch time. Absolutely no sign of Joe Seng people, if there even are any.
Friday, March 09, 2012
Kaufmann Not Running
Muscatine Journal has the scoop:
This opens up Democratic leaning House District 73: all of Cedar County, greater metro Solon and Scott Township in Johnson, and the city of Wilton in Muscatine. On paper it leans Democratic, especially as an open seat.
Democrats have two candidates. Former West Branch city council member David Johnson got in early. It's his third run for the House. He challenged Bob Dvorsky as an independent in 1992, then primaried Dick Myers in 1994 (losing 80-20).
Solon school board member Dick Schwab, a well-known local philanthropist and retired NCS executive, got into the race in late February.
The primary winner faces... who knows? Does Kaufmann have a successor ready to go? Watch the Cedar County convention tomorrow.
Aside: Jeff and I don't agree on a lot but he was always a friend to the Deeth Blog; a regular reader and a good interview. He'd even send me the occasional email to stick up for himself. Thanks for your service, Jeff.
House Speaker Pro Tem Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton, will not run for a fifth term in November.This had been in the rumor mill for a couple weeks, though I never heard the county supervisor angle.
Kaufmann, 49, said Friday he plans to make the announcement during the county conventions he’ll be attending Saturday.
In a letter Kaufmann sent as part of his legislative newsletter Saturday, the Muscatine Community College instructor said he plans to instead run for a seat on the Cedar County Board of Supervisors.
“Those of you who know me well know that this has been a goal of mine much longer than my first run for the State Legislature (in 2004),” he wrote. “I plan to work hard for your vote.”
This opens up Democratic leaning House District 73: all of Cedar County, greater metro Solon and Scott Township in Johnson, and the city of Wilton in Muscatine. On paper it leans Democratic, especially as an open seat.
Democrats have two candidates. Former West Branch city council member David Johnson got in early. It's his third run for the House. He challenged Bob Dvorsky as an independent in 1992, then primaried Dick Myers in 1994 (losing 80-20).
Solon school board member Dick Schwab, a well-known local philanthropist and retired NCS executive, got into the race in late February.
The primary winner faces... who knows? Does Kaufmann have a successor ready to go? Watch the Cedar County convention tomorrow.
Aside: Jeff and I don't agree on a lot but he was always a friend to the Deeth Blog; a regular reader and a good interview. He'd even send me the occasional email to stick up for himself. Thanks for your service, Jeff.
Week Two of Filing Ends
The slowest day yet for filing, with just four candidates turning in papers on a day with the legislature back home.
It was so slow that we'll start with a non-filing announcement in House District 75 from businesswoman Sandra Cronbaugh, a Marengo Democrat. Democrats took over the Benton County based seat in 2004, but lost it in 2007 when Dawn Pettingill switched over to the Republicans on the last day of session. Needless to say the Dems would really like this one back.
No filing at all in the Senate today, and three previously expected open seat House candidates.
Spencer Republican minister Josh Davenport made it official in House District 2. Davenport has a primary against Megan Hess; winner sees Democrat Steve Bomgaars.
Marti Anderson of Des Moines joins the field in open House District 36, the seat Janet Petersen is leaving for the Senate. Care Kennedy-Ode is filed, William Rock is announced, other names are mentioned. Winner is a heavy favorite over Some Dude Republican Larry Steele.
Urbandale Democrat John Forbes filed in open House District 40, where Republican Scott Raecker is retiring. Mike Brown is the only name I've heard from the GOP side.
And in our Routine Incumbent Announcement Of The Day, we have Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines, in House District 35. No other names mentioned, so Ako may be on track for his first uncontested primary since taking over for Ed Fallon in 2006.
Look for the pace to pick up Monday as late-starters get their papers passed around at county conventions. The big surprises start on about Wednesday...
It was so slow that we'll start with a non-filing announcement in House District 75 from businesswoman Sandra Cronbaugh, a Marengo Democrat. Democrats took over the Benton County based seat in 2004, but lost it in 2007 when Dawn Pettingill switched over to the Republicans on the last day of session. Needless to say the Dems would really like this one back.
No filing at all in the Senate today, and three previously expected open seat House candidates.
Spencer Republican minister Josh Davenport made it official in House District 2. Davenport has a primary against Megan Hess; winner sees Democrat Steve Bomgaars.
Marti Anderson of Des Moines joins the field in open House District 36, the seat Janet Petersen is leaving for the Senate. Care Kennedy-Ode is filed, William Rock is announced, other names are mentioned. Winner is a heavy favorite over Some Dude Republican Larry Steele.
Urbandale Democrat John Forbes filed in open House District 40, where Republican Scott Raecker is retiring. Mike Brown is the only name I've heard from the GOP side.
And in our Routine Incumbent Announcement Of The Day, we have Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines, in House District 35. No other names mentioned, so Ako may be on track for his first uncontested primary since taking over for Ed Fallon in 2006.
Look for the pace to pick up Monday as late-starters get their papers passed around at county conventions. The big surprises start on about Wednesday...
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Day 9 of Filing
The Republican 1st Congressional District primary is now official, as Rod Blum joins Ben Lange on the ballot.
That tops today's list of filing, but my local readers will be more interested in Dick Schwab. The Solon school board member filed in House District 73. He'll have a Democratic primary with former West Branch city council member David Johnson; the winner faces GOP incumbent Jeff Kaufmann of Wilton in a Democratic-leaning district.
We have two News To Me Republican primary challenges, in what's starting to look like a trend. Matthew Ung of Sioux City House District 6, held by fellow Republican Ron Jorgensen. He's young, he's teapartyish, he writes letters to the editor in bulk... he's Some Dude.
James Demichelis, Jr. of Chariton ran a a Democrat against Rich Arnold in 2008. This year he filed as a Republican and is challenging freshman Rep. Joel Fry, R-Osceola in House District 27. S - O - M - _, D - U - D - _ , can I buy an E.
In another GOP primary challenge, Kevin Wolfswinkel of Sibley is challenging Rep. Jeff Smith, R-Okoboji, in House District 1. Both filed today; Wolfswinkel seems to be running to the right.
Larry McKibben is officially on the comeback trail. The Marshalltown Republican filed today in Senate District 36. He'll have a primary with two-time unsuccessful House candidate Jane Jech. The winner will face McKibben's successor, Democrat Steve Sodders.
In the two year race for Senate District 49, Dorothy O'Brien of Clinton joins Rita Hart on the Democratic primary ballot. Winner faces 2010 near-winner Andrew Naeve.
Burlington veteran Brad Bourn filed on the Republican line in Senate District 44. His challenge to Democratic incumbent Tom Courtney is steeper than Snake Alley.
Altoona city council member Joe Riding filed in open House District 30. He announced well before GOP incumbent Kim Pearson announced her retirement after one term.
Marshalltown Republican Allen Burt filed in House 71 against Democratic incumbent Mark Smith.
Sioux City freshman Democrat Chris Hall filed in House District 13. He'll face Republican freshman Jeremy Taylor in the only two incumbent matchup on the House side in November.
Significant non-filing news today:
Sac and Fox tribal executive Christina Blackcloud-Garcia announced in open Tama County based House District 72, where Republican Lance Horbach is retiring.
In open Senate District 42, Fort Madison mayor Steve Ireland is dropping out of the Democratic primary. This leaves three Democrats in the running for Gene Fraise's open seat: Bob Morawitz and Donna Amandus, both of Fort Madison, and Rich Taylor of Mount Pleasant. Winner faces Republican Larry Kruse in a good Democratic seat.
And in open Senate District 6, where Republican Steve Kettering is retiring, Carroll's Douglas Burns reports:
Routine incumbent filings on Day 9:
Gary Worthan, R-Storm Lake, in House District 11
Greg Forristall, R-Macedonia, in House District 22
Brian Quirk, D-New Hampton, in House District 52
Tyler Olson, D-Cedar Rapids, in House District 65
Todd Taylor, D-Cedar Rapids, in House District 70
Mary Wolfe, D-Clinton in House District 98
That tops today's list of filing, but my local readers will be more interested in Dick Schwab. The Solon school board member filed in House District 73. He'll have a Democratic primary with former West Branch city council member David Johnson; the winner faces GOP incumbent Jeff Kaufmann of Wilton in a Democratic-leaning district.
We have two News To Me Republican primary challenges, in what's starting to look like a trend. Matthew Ung of Sioux City House District 6, held by fellow Republican Ron Jorgensen. He's young, he's teapartyish, he writes letters to the editor in bulk... he's Some Dude.
James Demichelis, Jr. of Chariton ran a a Democrat against Rich Arnold in 2008. This year he filed as a Republican and is challenging freshman Rep. Joel Fry, R-Osceola in House District 27. S - O - M - _, D - U - D - _ , can I buy an E.
In another GOP primary challenge, Kevin Wolfswinkel of Sibley is challenging Rep. Jeff Smith, R-Okoboji, in House District 1. Both filed today; Wolfswinkel seems to be running to the right.
Larry McKibben is officially on the comeback trail. The Marshalltown Republican filed today in Senate District 36. He'll have a primary with two-time unsuccessful House candidate Jane Jech. The winner will face McKibben's successor, Democrat Steve Sodders.
In the two year race for Senate District 49, Dorothy O'Brien of Clinton joins Rita Hart on the Democratic primary ballot. Winner faces 2010 near-winner Andrew Naeve.
Burlington veteran Brad Bourn filed on the Republican line in Senate District 44. His challenge to Democratic incumbent Tom Courtney is steeper than Snake Alley.
Altoona city council member Joe Riding filed in open House District 30. He announced well before GOP incumbent Kim Pearson announced her retirement after one term.
Marshalltown Republican Allen Burt filed in House 71 against Democratic incumbent Mark Smith.
Sioux City freshman Democrat Chris Hall filed in House District 13. He'll face Republican freshman Jeremy Taylor in the only two incumbent matchup on the House side in November.
Significant non-filing news today:
Sac and Fox tribal executive Christina Blackcloud-Garcia announced in open Tama County based House District 72, where Republican Lance Horbach is retiring.
In open Senate District 42, Fort Madison mayor Steve Ireland is dropping out of the Democratic primary. This leaves three Democrats in the running for Gene Fraise's open seat: Bob Morawitz and Donna Amandus, both of Fort Madison, and Rich Taylor of Mount Pleasant. Winner faces Republican Larry Kruse in a good Democratic seat.
And in open Senate District 6, where Republican Steve Kettering is retiring, Carroll's Douglas Burns reports:
Carroll Democrat Mary Bruner, a candidate for the new Iowa Senate District 6, is getting positive press in the northern part of the newly drawn political territory on a crucial issue: dredging in Storm Lake.Significantly, Burns also says: "Carroll County Republicans, working with Gov. Terry Branstad and other party leaders, have sought to recruit candidates from Carroll County but have been turned down by at least two well-known Carroll residents who would have been strong contenders." The combination of a solid candidate, family ties -- was I just saying I hope Gronstal has a path to 26 that doesn't run through Oskaloosa? -- and Republican recruitment failure puts this seemingly unlikely western Iowa turf on the possible pickup list.
For years, The Storm Lake Times has aggressively advocated for improvements to the lake.
The newspaper in its Feb. 29 issue credited Bruner — who is a cousin of State Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs — with “interceding” on behalf of Storm Lake to secure $1.5 million in dredging funds for next year.
In other words, The Times, in one of its top front-page stories, is giving Bruner credit for doing Senate work before she’s even elected, a political boon for the Carroll banker in Buena Vista County.
Routine incumbent filings on Day 9:
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Filing Day 8
House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy needs to pick up 11 seats for the Democrats to become Speaker McCarthy. In today's filings he signed up in his own Des Moines House District 33 seat, and some of his better prospects also dropped by to visit Matt Schultz.
Two top tier Democratic open seat candidates filed: Grinnell city council member Rachel Bly in House District 76 and Joe Judge, yes of THAT Judge family, in House District 80.
And strong challenger candidate Katie "Superman's Mom" Routh, D-Norwalk, filed in House District 25. Republican Julian Garrett is the incumbent; he faces a primary challenge from 2010 rival Joan Acela.
In other filings:
Rita Hart of Wheatland is the first Democrat to file in no-incumbent, two year term Senate District 49. Dorothy O'Neill is expected to follow. The winner will face Republican Andrew Naeve, who lost a very close (71 vote) race for a similar Clinton-based seat in 2010. (The winner of that race, Democrat Tod Bowman, stayed with Jackson County in Senate 29 and holds over to 2014.)
Lee County Supervisor Larry Kruse is the only Republican name to surface in open Senate District 42, where long-time Democrat Gene Fraise is retiring. Kruse will face either 1) the winner of a four way Democratic primary or 2) the person who gets nominated at a convention if no one gets 35%.
New To Me: Republican David Scott Edwards, who appears to be Some Dude, files in heavily Democratic east Des Moines Senate District 16, held since 1994 by Democrat Dick Dearden.
Republican Matt Alcazar came unexpectedly close to Democratic incumbent Helen Miller in 2010. Both of them filed today to set up a rematch in Fort Dodge's House District 9.
Undergrad Jake Highfill of Johnston filed in House District 39, where he's making a primary challenge to Rep. Erik Helland, R-Grimes.
In the Routine Incumbent Department:
Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, in Senate District 32
Dan Mulhbauer, D-Manilla in House District 12
Ralph Watts, R-Adel in House District 19
Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield in House District 20
Dan Kelley, D-Newton in House District 29
Ruth Ann Gaines, D-Des Moines in House District 32
Jo Oldson, D-Des Moines in House District 41
Mary Gaskill, D-Ottumwa in House District 81
Dennis Cohoon, D-Burlington in House District 87
Two top tier Democratic open seat candidates filed: Grinnell city council member Rachel Bly in House District 76 and Joe Judge, yes of THAT Judge family, in House District 80.
And strong challenger candidate Katie "Superman's Mom" Routh, D-Norwalk, filed in House District 25. Republican Julian Garrett is the incumbent; he faces a primary challenge from 2010 rival Joan Acela.
In other filings:
Rita Hart of Wheatland is the first Democrat to file in no-incumbent, two year term Senate District 49. Dorothy O'Neill is expected to follow. The winner will face Republican Andrew Naeve, who lost a very close (71 vote) race for a similar Clinton-based seat in 2010. (The winner of that race, Democrat Tod Bowman, stayed with Jackson County in Senate 29 and holds over to 2014.)
Lee County Supervisor Larry Kruse is the only Republican name to surface in open Senate District 42, where long-time Democrat Gene Fraise is retiring. Kruse will face either 1) the winner of a four way Democratic primary or 2) the person who gets nominated at a convention if no one gets 35%.
New To Me: Republican David Scott Edwards, who appears to be Some Dude, files in heavily Democratic east Des Moines Senate District 16, held since 1994 by Democrat Dick Dearden.
Republican Matt Alcazar came unexpectedly close to Democratic incumbent Helen Miller in 2010. Both of them filed today to set up a rematch in Fort Dodge's House District 9.
Undergrad Jake Highfill of Johnston filed in House District 39, where he's making a primary challenge to Rep. Erik Helland, R-Grimes.
In the Routine Incumbent Department:
Non-Filing Announcements
Check back tonight for the days filings, but to tide you over we've got announcements: Democrats recruit a challenger candidate while Republicans get two more contested primaries.
Democrat Susan Judkins announced in House District 43, now held by Republican Chris Hagenow. The district covers Windsor Heights, the Polk part of Clive, and part of northern West Des Moines.
Judkins has a solid jobs-y background: a community development specialist for a private company, previously worked with the Rebuild Iowa Office, the Iowa League of Cities, the state Department of Economic Development and was executive director of the Warren County Economic Development Corporation.
Hagenow won his first term in 2008 by just 91 votes over Windsor Heights mayor Jerry Sullivan. He had an easier time in 2010, with 58%. The reality is probably between those two margins. His turf gains about 200 Republicans vs. the old map.
Up in the northwest, Republican minister Josh Davenport announces in no-incumbent House District 2. Law student and ex-Steve King intern Megan Hess got a much earlier start, as did Democrat Steve Bomgaars.
In the northeast corner of the state, Republican Dustin Noble announced in House District 55. He'll face off against Spillville mayor Michael Klimesh, who lost a 2010 House race to Brian Quirk, the sole survivor of the conservaDem Six Pack. With the lines redrawn, the Democratic incumbent in this turf is now Roger Thomas of Elkader.
Democrat Susan Judkins announced in House District 43, now held by Republican Chris Hagenow. The district covers Windsor Heights, the Polk part of Clive, and part of northern West Des Moines.
Judkins has a solid jobs-y background: a community development specialist for a private company, previously worked with the Rebuild Iowa Office, the Iowa League of Cities, the state Department of Economic Development and was executive director of the Warren County Economic Development Corporation.
Hagenow won his first term in 2008 by just 91 votes over Windsor Heights mayor Jerry Sullivan. He had an easier time in 2010, with 58%. The reality is probably between those two margins. His turf gains about 200 Republicans vs. the old map.
Up in the northwest, Republican minister Josh Davenport announces in no-incumbent House District 2. Law student and ex-Steve King intern Megan Hess got a much earlier start, as did Democrat Steve Bomgaars.
In the northeast corner of the state, Republican Dustin Noble announced in House District 55. He'll face off against Spillville mayor Michael Klimesh, who lost a 2010 House race to Brian Quirk, the sole survivor of the conservaDem Six Pack. With the lines redrawn, the Democratic incumbent in this turf is now Roger Thomas of Elkader.
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
On the Seventh Day of Filing My True Love Gave To Me...
...a candidate from the tea party. See what I did there. Tea partyish Dennis Guth filed today in open Senate District 4. He faces a Republican primary with former senator Jim "Back In" Black. Seems like a mismatch, but Guth actually out-raised Black on the January 19 campaign finance report. A solid Democratic candidate, Bob Jennings, awaits the winner.
In another open seat race, Strawberry Point Republican Michael Brietbach filed in Senate District 28. Brietback lost a close House race last cycle. He'll likely face former state representative John Beard in the fall.
The man who beat Beard, Republican Bob Hager, saw his opponent file today: McGregor Democrat Patti Ruff in House District 56.
Home-schooler Greg Heartsill in open House District 28 where Republican Rich Arnold is retiring. Heartsill has a GOP primary with Len Gosselink; the winner sees Democrat Megan Day Suhr in this Knoxville-centric seat.
In open House District 76, Grinnell Republican Larry Wilson is first to file. The Democrats have Rachel Bly lined up in this Poweshiek-Iowa county seat.
John Dabeet is trying to take back Muscatine's House 91 back for the Democrats; he filed to challenge first term Republican Mark Lofgren.
Former Senator Frank Wood, an Eldridge Democrat, is on the comeback trail, filing in Scott County's House 92 against GOP freshman Ross Paustian.
Senator Rob Bacon, who got paired up with fellow Republican Bill Dix, looks like the only member making the redistricting year Senate to House move, filing today in open House District 48. The man Bacon defeated in 2010, Democrat Rich Olive, also announced in this seat, but dropped out. No other Democratic names have surfaced.
Of course, the big incumbent news was out of Oskaloosa, but here's some incumbents who ARE running:
Brian Schoenjahn, D-Arlington in Senate District 32
Steve Sodders, D-State Center in Senate District 36
Dan Huseman, R-Aurelia in House District 3
Jack Drake, R-Griswold in House District 21
Phyllis Thede, D-Bettendorf in House District 93
And there was one from yesterday that looked odd so I waited, followed up and confirmed. Republican Larry Steele filed in heavily Democratic House 36, the open Janet Petersen seat which has a crowded Democratic primary field.
It looked odd because Steele - NO relation to my wife - has a web site which as of last night declared his candidacy in... Senate District 14? As of today he's updated the site to reflect his move and new race. Check it out for good examples of vintage 1997 web design, and for the very definition of Some Dude.
In another open seat race, Strawberry Point Republican Michael Brietbach filed in Senate District 28. Brietback lost a close House race last cycle. He'll likely face former state representative John Beard in the fall.
The man who beat Beard, Republican Bob Hager, saw his opponent file today: McGregor Democrat Patti Ruff in House District 56.
Home-schooler Greg Heartsill in open House District 28 where Republican Rich Arnold is retiring. Heartsill has a GOP primary with Len Gosselink; the winner sees Democrat Megan Day Suhr in this Knoxville-centric seat.
In open House District 76, Grinnell Republican Larry Wilson is first to file. The Democrats have Rachel Bly lined up in this Poweshiek-Iowa county seat.
John Dabeet is trying to take back Muscatine's House 91 back for the Democrats; he filed to challenge first term Republican Mark Lofgren.
Former Senator Frank Wood, an Eldridge Democrat, is on the comeback trail, filing in Scott County's House 92 against GOP freshman Ross Paustian.
Senator Rob Bacon, who got paired up with fellow Republican Bill Dix, looks like the only member making the redistricting year Senate to House move, filing today in open House District 48. The man Bacon defeated in 2010, Democrat Rich Olive, also announced in this seat, but dropped out. No other Democratic names have surfaced.
Of course, the big incumbent news was out of Oskaloosa, but here's some incumbents who ARE running:
And there was one from yesterday that looked odd so I waited, followed up and confirmed. Republican Larry Steele filed in heavily Democratic House 36, the open Janet Petersen seat which has a crowded Democratic primary field.
It looked odd because Steele - NO relation to my wife - has a web site which as of last night declared his candidacy in... Senate District 14? As of today he's updated the site to reflect his move and new race. Check it out for good examples of vintage 1997 web design, and for the very definition of Some Dude.
The Rielly-tirement
A tough race for Iowa Senate Democrats just got tougher, as Tom Rielly of Oskaloosa announces his retirement:
UPDATE: Looked at the Monster Spreadsheet. Senate 40 is the seventh most Republican in the state, and by FAR the reddest with an incumbent Democrat. The next closest is Senate 27, held by Amanda Ragan of Mason City, with a R _1811 registration.
So Rielly was number two on the target list, right behind Governor Gronstal himself. Republicans have a strong candidate in Mahaska County Supervisor Ken Rozenboom. (Bleeding Heartland has good background on Rozenboom and this race.)
Still, there's Democrats who can win in these parts. Monroe County is home base for the Judge family. Both Patty and John Judge represented parts of this area in the Senate, and son Joe Judge is running in half of this Senate District, House 80, this year. 80 is a swing district and if I'm Joe I stay with that race. The heavy GOP margin is in Guy Vander Linden's House 79 half of the seat.
Eric Palmer of Oskaloosa served two House terms in this area before losing to Vander Linden in 2010. There were a lot of Grinnell votes in that district, though.
But I'm just throwing those names out there without any concrete reasons to think they're running. Hard to come up with positive spin here, other than to hope that Gronstal and team have a path to 26 seats that doesn't include this one.
I am not saying good bye to public service. I always have and always will be committed to public service, it’s just time for me to stay closer to home. I am confident that I could make this a competitive race in the new district.Rielly won his two terms in a district with a Democratic registration deficit of about 1000. His old seat was further north and included Iowa and Poweshiek counties. The new seat was mostly new turf except for the immediate Oskaloosa area: All of Mahaska, Monroe and Appanoose, plus Pella in Marion County and rural western Wapello County (including NONE of solid Democratic Ottumwa.) As of March 1 Republicans had a +5529 registration edge in Senate District 40. I need to update the monster spreadsheet but I'm pretty sure this is the reddest Senate seat held by a Democrat.
UPDATE: Looked at the Monster Spreadsheet. Senate 40 is the seventh most Republican in the state, and by FAR the reddest with an incumbent Democrat. The next closest is Senate 27, held by Amanda Ragan of Mason City, with a R _1811 registration.
So Rielly was number two on the target list, right behind Governor Gronstal himself. Republicans have a strong candidate in Mahaska County Supervisor Ken Rozenboom. (Bleeding Heartland has good background on Rozenboom and this race.)
Still, there's Democrats who can win in these parts. Monroe County is home base for the Judge family. Both Patty and John Judge represented parts of this area in the Senate, and son Joe Judge is running in half of this Senate District, House 80, this year. 80 is a swing district and if I'm Joe I stay with that race. The heavy GOP margin is in Guy Vander Linden's House 79 half of the seat.
Eric Palmer of Oskaloosa served two House terms in this area before losing to Vander Linden in 2010. There were a lot of Grinnell votes in that district, though.
But I'm just throwing those names out there without any concrete reasons to think they're running. Hard to come up with positive spin here, other than to hope that Gronstal and team have a path to 26 seats that doesn't include this one.
Monday, March 05, 2012
DCCC Robocalling into 2nd CD
The Deeth-Steele-Cox home just got robocalled by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee with a survey on a possible 2nd District primary between incumbent Dave Loebsack and anti-choice Davenport state senator Joe Seng.
Seng announced late last week that he was gathering signatures for a possible run.
It was Koni who got the first call and give her full credit: she knows news when she hears it. After question 1 prompted her for a repeat, she hit repeat and handed me the phone. UPDATE: A few minutes later, I got the same call.
Question 1: Opinion of Dave Loebsack. Favorable, unfavorable, never heard of, undecided. (I pushed Favorable; I think other than the demographic questions we'd answer the same.)
Question 2: Opinion of Joe Seng (unfavorable)
Question 3: Who would you vote for if the primary was today: Strong Loebsack, lean Loebsack, strong Leng, lean Seng, undecided (strong Loebsack)
Question 4: Agree or disagree with following statement (badly paraphrased): I'm outraged by the radical Republican attempts to turn back the clock and limit women's access to contraception attacks on contraception. We need a congressman who will stand up to the radical Republicans (agree)
Question 5: Agree or disagree: I'm deeply troubled by the Obama administration's attempts to impose its will and limit freedom. We need a congressman who will stand up to Obama for our religious freedom. (disagree)
Note here that neither candidate, pro-choice Loebsack nor anti-choice Seng, was linked to these questions.
Question 6: Party ID (Democratic)
Question 7: Demographics. It was Koni's cell so I answered female 35-45. For the repeat call for me, male 46-60. (Too old to be cool to young not to care was not an option.)
Then the disclaimer. I was expecting a vaguely named research firm or maybe a Republican candidate. But we heard it straight: "Paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, not authorized by any candidate."
So, that happened. My first thought when they called Koni was that they were testing women, but when I got it too I think they're working party activists. Since neither candidate was identified with a side, my guess is DCCC is testing the strength of a pro-choice message for Loebsack. Remember that DCCC chair Steve Israel was just in the district for Loebsack a few weeks ago, on whatever night Whitney Houston died (Koni and I got that news on the way home from the event).
Seng announced late last week that he was gathering signatures for a possible run.
It was Koni who got the first call and give her full credit: she knows news when she hears it. After question 1 prompted her for a repeat, she hit repeat and handed me the phone. UPDATE: A few minutes later, I got the same call.
Question 1: Opinion of Dave Loebsack. Favorable, unfavorable, never heard of, undecided. (I pushed Favorable; I think other than the demographic questions we'd answer the same.)
Question 2: Opinion of Joe Seng (unfavorable)
Question 3: Who would you vote for if the primary was today: Strong Loebsack, lean Loebsack, strong Leng, lean Seng, undecided (strong Loebsack)
Question 4: Agree or disagree with following statement (badly paraphrased): I'm outraged by the radical Republican attempts to turn back the clock and limit women's access to contraception attacks on contraception. We need a congressman who will stand up to the radical Republicans (agree)
Question 5: Agree or disagree: I'm deeply troubled by the Obama administration's attempts to impose its will and limit freedom. We need a congressman who will stand up to Obama for our religious freedom. (disagree)
Note here that neither candidate, pro-choice Loebsack nor anti-choice Seng, was linked to these questions.
Question 6: Party ID (Democratic)
Question 7: Demographics. It was Koni's cell so I answered female 35-45. For the repeat call for me, male 46-60. (Too old to be cool to young not to care was not an option.)
Then the disclaimer. I was expecting a vaguely named research firm or maybe a Republican candidate. But we heard it straight: "Paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, not authorized by any candidate."
So, that happened. My first thought when they called Koni was that they were testing women, but when I got it too I think they're working party activists. Since neither candidate was identified with a side, my guess is DCCC is testing the strength of a pro-choice message for Loebsack. Remember that DCCC chair Steve Israel was just in the district for Loebsack a few weeks ago, on whatever night Whitney Houston died (Koni and I got that news on the way home from the event).
Filing Day Six
Jacoby, Lensing file for re-election
Congressional candidate Ben Lange, who damn near pulled off a huge upset against Bruce Braley, is back for a second try and tops the filing on Day 6.
For my local readers, two Democratic members of the Johnson County delegation filed today: Coralville's Dave Jacoby in House District 74 and Vicki Lensing of Iowa City in House 85. The join Mary Mascher of House 86 who filed last Friday.
Looking at the rest of the state:
Former Senator James "Back In" Black filed in open north central Senate District 4. Black held the seat for one year, 1997, before resigning.
On overlapping turf, Republican Henry Rayhons files in House District 8. He was one of THREE incumbents in the seat on Map Day; Stu Iverson is managing Black's campaign and Linda Upmeyer moved. But Rayhons has a primary challenger, minister Bob Dishman, who filed last week.
Another Republican with a primary challenge, Indianola's Julian Garrett, filed in House District 25. He faces former Madison County supervisor Joan Acela, who also ran in 2010 when the seat was open.
Democrat Janet Petersen prepares to make a smooth transition from the House To the Senate, filing in open Senate District 18. The only real excitement here is the Democratic primary for her open House 36 seat.
Marshalltown Republican Jane Jech, who's lost two straight House races, filed in Senate District 36. Former senator Larry McKibben is also running; the winner sees McKibben's successor, Democrat Steve Sodders, in the fall.
Estherville Democrat John Wittneben, a narrow open seat winner in 2010, filed in House District 7. Two Republicans have already filed to challenge.
In open House 28, Republican Len Gosselink of Otley filed. His likely primary rival, home-schooler Greg Heartsill, had a big fundraising lead. The winner faces Democrat Megan Day Suhr.
Fitness club owner Mike Brown filed as a Republican in open House District 40, where Republican Scott Raecker is stepping down.
Republican Rob Taylor filed in open, new House District 44 in Dallas County, a This Is Where Your District Went seat. It's the eastern part of the old Ralph Watts seat. I was expecting a big primary here, but Taylor, a prominent party activist, is the only Republican name I've seen.
The other young Republican from Ames, Stepehn Quist, files in House 46 where he'll face Democratic incumbent Lisa Heddens. He announced a couple weeks back at a joint event with House 45 candidate Dane Mealson.
A couple incumbents who dodged pair-ups with their own party filed. Republican Cecil Dolecheck filed in House 24 where fellow Republican Richard Anderson retired. Likewise, Fairfield Democrat Curt Hanson avoided a pair-up in House District 82 when fellow Dem Kurt Swaim stepped down.
In routine incumbent filing:
Sioux City GOP freshman Ron Jorgensen in House District 6
Des Moines Democrat Bruce Hunter in House 34
Mason City Democrat Sharon Steckman in House 53
Elkader Democrat Roger Thomas in House 55
Waterloo Democrat Deborah Berry in House 62
Davenport Democrat Cindy Winckler in House 90
and least but not least, Charles Isenhart in Dubuque's House 100.
Congressional candidate Ben Lange, who damn near pulled off a huge upset against Bruce Braley, is back for a second try and tops the filing on Day 6.
For my local readers, two Democratic members of the Johnson County delegation filed today: Coralville's Dave Jacoby in House District 74 and Vicki Lensing of Iowa City in House 85. The join Mary Mascher of House 86 who filed last Friday.
Looking at the rest of the state:
Former Senator James "Back In" Black filed in open north central Senate District 4. Black held the seat for one year, 1997, before resigning.
On overlapping turf, Republican Henry Rayhons files in House District 8. He was one of THREE incumbents in the seat on Map Day; Stu Iverson is managing Black's campaign and Linda Upmeyer moved. But Rayhons has a primary challenger, minister Bob Dishman, who filed last week.
Another Republican with a primary challenge, Indianola's Julian Garrett, filed in House District 25. He faces former Madison County supervisor Joan Acela, who also ran in 2010 when the seat was open.
Democrat Janet Petersen prepares to make a smooth transition from the House To the Senate, filing in open Senate District 18. The only real excitement here is the Democratic primary for her open House 36 seat.
Marshalltown Republican Jane Jech, who's lost two straight House races, filed in Senate District 36. Former senator Larry McKibben is also running; the winner sees McKibben's successor, Democrat Steve Sodders, in the fall.
Estherville Democrat John Wittneben, a narrow open seat winner in 2010, filed in House District 7. Two Republicans have already filed to challenge.
In open House 28, Republican Len Gosselink of Otley filed. His likely primary rival, home-schooler Greg Heartsill, had a big fundraising lead. The winner faces Democrat Megan Day Suhr.
Fitness club owner Mike Brown filed as a Republican in open House District 40, where Republican Scott Raecker is stepping down.
Republican Rob Taylor filed in open, new House District 44 in Dallas County, a This Is Where Your District Went seat. It's the eastern part of the old Ralph Watts seat. I was expecting a big primary here, but Taylor, a prominent party activist, is the only Republican name I've seen.
The other young Republican from Ames, Stepehn Quist, files in House 46 where he'll face Democratic incumbent Lisa Heddens. He announced a couple weeks back at a joint event with House 45 candidate Dane Mealson.
A couple incumbents who dodged pair-ups with their own party filed. Republican Cecil Dolecheck filed in House 24 where fellow Republican Richard Anderson retired. Likewise, Fairfield Democrat Curt Hanson avoided a pair-up in House District 82 when fellow Dem Kurt Swaim stepped down.
In routine incumbent filing:
Monday Announcements
Lots of legislative announcements over the weekend, but most of them are repeat Offical Announcements by candidates who said so months ago. But we did get a couple new Senate challengers:
In Senate District 38, rural Grinnell "activist" LaForest Sherman announced against first term Republican Tim Kapucian. Bleeding Heartland has a lengthy write-up this AM.
This is a swing district; since Map Day the caucuses have flipped a slim D registration edge to a slim R edge. It's also mostly new turf for Benton-based Kapucian, who picks up all of Iowa County (he had a piece before) and significantly all of Poweshiek.
So it's a potential target, but still, the late start and bio for Sherman don't scream Top Tier recruit to me.
In heavily Democratic Senate District 44, GOP veteran Bradley Bourn has announced against ten year Democratic incumbent Tom Courtney. The turf is all of Des Moines and Louisa counties plus parts of western Muscatine County. Courtney was a 60-40 winner in 2008 and unopposed before that.
Unrelated: One of my new favorite sites, Mental Floss, asks and partially answers one of my perennial favorite questions: Why is the Drinking Age 21? It'd be nice to talk about that while we talk about building a new jail...
This is a swing district; since Map Day the caucuses have flipped a slim D registration edge to a slim R edge. It's also mostly new turf for Benton-based Kapucian, who picks up all of Iowa County (he had a piece before) and significantly all of Poweshiek.
So it's a potential target, but still, the late start and bio for Sherman don't scream Top Tier recruit to me.
Friday, March 02, 2012
Friday Filings
Dave Loebsack tops a short list of candidates filing with the Secretary of State on Friday.
Primary challenge alert: Former Madison County supervisor Joan Acela filed in House District 25, now held by fellow Republican Julian Garrett. The two faced off, along with a third candidate, in the 2010 primary when Jodi Tymeson retired from this seat. Watch the friends and neighbors dynamic; Acela finished third overall but won Madison County. The new seat is about half Madison and half Warren, where Garrett is from. It sheds a chunk of Dallas County, where Garrett won and Acela did poorly. The winner will face Democrat Katie Routh in a seat that leans Republican but isn't out of reach for a Democrat.
Wayne County Supervisor Amy Sinclair officially joins the Republican race for open Senate District 14, the Paul McKinley seat. She has a primary with Steven Everly of Knoxville; winner gets Democrat Dick Schrad also of Knoxville.
In a top tier Senate race, Republican Ken Rozenboom, a Mahaska County Supervisor, filed in Senate District 40. With a Republican registration edge of more than 5500 and almost all new turf, this is going to be a very tough seat for Democratic incumbent Tom Rielly to defend.
And last but not least, my own representative, Democrat Mary Mascher, filed in House 86, the second most Democratic seat in the state. (Number one is Vicki Lensing's next door.)
Primary challenge alert: Former Madison County supervisor Joan Acela filed in House District 25, now held by fellow Republican Julian Garrett. The two faced off, along with a third candidate, in the 2010 primary when Jodi Tymeson retired from this seat. Watch the friends and neighbors dynamic; Acela finished third overall but won Madison County. The new seat is about half Madison and half Warren, where Garrett is from. It sheds a chunk of Dallas County, where Garrett won and Acela did poorly. The winner will face Democrat Katie Routh in a seat that leans Republican but isn't out of reach for a Democrat.
Wayne County Supervisor Amy Sinclair officially joins the Republican race for open Senate District 14, the Paul McKinley seat. She has a primary with Steven Everly of Knoxville; winner gets Democrat Dick Schrad also of Knoxville.
In a top tier Senate race, Republican Ken Rozenboom, a Mahaska County Supervisor, filed in Senate District 40. With a Republican registration edge of more than 5500 and almost all new turf, this is going to be a very tough seat for Democratic incumbent Tom Rielly to defend.
And last but not least, my own representative, Democrat Mary Mascher, filed in House 86, the second most Democratic seat in the state. (Number one is Vicki Lensing's next door.)
Seng for... Congress?
From the Department of WTF via the QC Times:
The Vilsack thing, and the fact that he doesn't vote exactly like Dennis Kucinich, have been the biggest criticisms of Loebsack. So a challenge by a male candidate from the right doesn't seem like fertile ground, especially when the GOP has its own primary for the seat attracting any anti-Loebsack vote. Seng's role on the Ag Gag bill didn't exactly endear him to Democratic activists, either.
Seng does have a free shot here, as a mid-term senator. And Scott County is new to Loebsack. But the incumbent has been working The QC so hard that I think he has his own time card at the Rock Island Arsenal.
According to the article, Seng seems to have had this, um, brainstorm just this week, leaving little time before the March 16 filing deadline. The signature bar for US House is, relatively speaking, the highest there is in Iowa, higher than for a statewide run. A 2nd CD Democrat would need 1277, with county requirements on top of that. And a late starter has to get those one at a time, as opposed to Loebsack who had papers out at the caucuses. (UPDATE: And apparently enough as Loebsack filed today.)
So my bet is this doesn't actually happen. But if it does, Loebsack, who's already in a race targeted by both sides, will no doubt get national help. The pre-caucus Obama endorser has friends in literally the highest places. In the end, by floating this idea, Seng's mostly just hurting himself.
Iowa Sen. Joe Seng, D-Davenport, said Thursday he is considering a bid for Congress in Iowa’s 2nd District, a prospect that would put him up against fellow Democrat, incumbent Rep. Dave Loebsack.Senator Doctor Seng, as he likes to call himself, is picking a weird fight here, taking a generalized critique and making it specific to Loebsack. That's not the first time it's happened to Loebsack; judging from the post-map reaction, apparently it was Dave's fault that Iowa has never sent a woman to Congress. It was never Leonard Boswell who was supposed to stand down for Christie Vilsack. Somehow it was always Dave.
Seng said he’s upset at the lack of bipartisan action in Congress, and as a moderate Democrat, he thinks he can make a contribution.
“I’m not real happy with the status quo, the way it’s been,” Seng told the Quad-City Times.
Seng is an anti-abortion Democrat who has served on either the Davenport City Council or in the state Legislature since 1995.
The Vilsack thing, and the fact that he doesn't vote exactly like Dennis Kucinich, have been the biggest criticisms of Loebsack. So a challenge by a male candidate from the right doesn't seem like fertile ground, especially when the GOP has its own primary for the seat attracting any anti-Loebsack vote. Seng's role on the Ag Gag bill didn't exactly endear him to Democratic activists, either.
Seng does have a free shot here, as a mid-term senator. And Scott County is new to Loebsack. But the incumbent has been working The QC so hard that I think he has his own time card at the Rock Island Arsenal.
According to the article, Seng seems to have had this, um, brainstorm just this week, leaving little time before the March 16 filing deadline. The signature bar for US House is, relatively speaking, the highest there is in Iowa, higher than for a statewide run. A 2nd CD Democrat would need 1277, with county requirements on top of that. And a late starter has to get those one at a time, as opposed to Loebsack who had papers out at the caucuses. (UPDATE: And apparently enough as Loebsack filed today.)
So my bet is this doesn't actually happen. But if it does, Loebsack, who's already in a race targeted by both sides, will no doubt get national help. The pre-caucus Obama endorser has friends in literally the highest places. In the end, by floating this idea, Seng's mostly just hurting himself.
Thursday, March 01, 2012
Filing Day Four
The mid-filing period lull seems to have kicked in, with just five legislative candidates turning in their papers today. Three of those were Democrats in open seat Senate races.
Lisbon's Nate Willems, serving his second House term, filed in Senate District 48 in rural Linn, Jones and Delaware counties. This seat was famous on Map Day for having a Democratic registration edge of ONE voter; thanks to the caucuses that's shifted a bit to the GOP on paper.
John Beard of Decorah is on the comeback trail. He won one House term in 2008 but lost in `10; he's now filed for Senate District 28.
Bob Morawitz of Ft. Madison is the second Democrat to file in Senate 42, the Gene Fraise seat. We're expecting four Democrats and a Republican here.
Over on the House side, Republican Jason Schultz hasn't seen Democratic opposition in either of his two terms, but this year there are two Democrats trying to take him on as Kasey Friedrichsen of Denison filed in House 18. She got a lot of play when she announced last year; she was laid off from the Denison workforce center when Terry Branstad vetoed funding.
Jim Robidoux of Polk City is the second Republican to file in This Is Where Your District Went, Ankeny-based House 37.
Expect an even quieter day tomorrow; with legislators usually heading home Thursday nights, the first two Fridays are usually the slowest days of all for filing.
Lisbon's Nate Willems, serving his second House term, filed in Senate District 48 in rural Linn, Jones and Delaware counties. This seat was famous on Map Day for having a Democratic registration edge of ONE voter; thanks to the caucuses that's shifted a bit to the GOP on paper.
John Beard of Decorah is on the comeback trail. He won one House term in 2008 but lost in `10; he's now filed for Senate District 28.
Bob Morawitz of Ft. Madison is the second Democrat to file in Senate 42, the Gene Fraise seat. We're expecting four Democrats and a Republican here.
Over on the House side, Republican Jason Schultz hasn't seen Democratic opposition in either of his two terms, but this year there are two Democrats trying to take him on as Kasey Friedrichsen of Denison filed in House 18. She got a lot of play when she announced last year; she was laid off from the Denison workforce center when Terry Branstad vetoed funding.
Jim Robidoux of Polk City is the second Republican to file in This Is Where Your District Went, Ankeny-based House 37.
Expect an even quieter day tomorrow; with legislators usually heading home Thursday nights, the first two Fridays are usually the slowest days of all for filing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)