I have to believe that this will be Leonard Boswell's last term as the Representative in IA-03. With Iowa likely losing a congressional seat in 2012, there is a fairly good chance that the 3rd District could add Ames in 2012, which would put Tom Latham in the district. It would be too dangerous for run someone new in 2012, so Boz either needs to retire after this term or hold on until 2014 (and with his health, a campaign against Latham could be difficult.) So, I would say that it's in the best interest of the Dems to run someone new in 2010 so that they would be an incumbent in the new district. (Note: It's a D+1 district.)
So, who is the best choice for the Democratic nomination after Boswell? I'd like to point out that this could be fantastic primary, as whoever gets it could easily become an entrenched incumbent (Iowa rarely votes people out.). I also think that the person most likely will be from Polk County. I'd be stunned if it wasn't, in fact.
Some names to start, from the current elected Democrats in the district:
Polk County Board of Supervisors
John Mauro- DSM South Side
Tom Hockensmith- DSM East Side/Altoona/Pleasant Hill
Angela Connolly- DSM North/East Side
Iowa House
Ako Abdul-Samad- Downtown DSM/Drake
Wayne Ford- DSM North Side
Rick Olson- DSM East Side
Kevin McCarthy- Fairgrounds/Easter Lake/Pleasant Hill
Geri Huser- Altoona
Janet Petersen- DSM Northwest Side
Jo Oldson- DSM West Side
Iowa Senate
Matt McCoy- DSM Southwest Side
Jack Hatch- Downtown/North Side
I think I got all the ones of a reasonable age. The ones I could see putting together the strongest bid (considering many things) are Peterson, Huser, McCarthy, and Hockensmith.
11 Comments
I agree that it's in the best interest of Dems
for Boswell to retire now, so we don’t have to run someone new against Latham in a redistricted IA-03.
Actually, it would have been better for him to retire this year, so we would have a two-term incumbent to run in 2012.
However, he made clear right after the election that he intends to run in 2010. I fully expect him to keep that promise if his health holds up.
I have a bunch of possible names to add to your list:
John Norris
Jackie Norris
Gordon Fischer
Andrea “Andy” McGuire
Frank Cownie
Sally Pederson (may not be interested)
Janet Petersen
desmoinesdem Wed 12 Nov 10:39 PM
I also agree with you
the new Democratic nominee will be from Polk County, absolutely.
desmoinesdem Wed 12 Nov 10:40 PM
By the way...
I intended to save this and add to the elected officials later.
amcsepboe Thu 13 Nov 12:35 AM
no problem
You can use the “edit” function to add to the text of the diary if you want to do that later.
desmoinesdem Thu 13 Nov 9:53 AM
I don't know a lot about many of the potential candidates mentioned,
but this would be a prime opportunity for Iowans to elect a woman to national office. I couldn’t agree more with the point you made in your front-page diary earlier today, desmoinesdem: “I still believe that the most important reason Iowa has never sent a woman to Congress is the fact that almost every woman who’s tried was challenging an incumbent.”
The time would be ripe in 2010, provided Boswell does the right thing and retires.
urbandaleforobama Thu 13 Nov 5:03 PM
I agree
and I expect several women to seriously consider running for this seat if he does retire.
Now, who will sit down and talk him into retiring? He clearly wants to stay.
desmoinesdem Thu 13 Nov 5:15 PM
DesMoinesDem
I heard from a friend that this blog’s very own DesMoinesDem is considering her own bid for Congress.
She has the personal resources to do it.
What do you think?
DesMoinesDem for Congress in 2010 or 2012?
bill-spencer Thu 13 Nov 11:18 PM
your (Republican?) friend is misinformed
I have no intention ever to run for any elected office–not school board, not city council, not state legislature, certainly not Congress.
desmoinesdem Fri 14 Nov 7:46 AM
Easier to say who it won't be than who it will be...
I can tell you who it won’t be:
Ako and Ford are out. Too many iffy connections through the Urban Dreams thing, and other semi-shady goings on.
McCoy can’t win down-district.
Mauro would get smoked like a cheap cigar. The CIETC scandal makes him unelectable.
It’s not at all fair, but I wonder if some would be hesitant to support a female candidate (in the primary) after the unfortunate whoopin’ Becky Greenwald got. I know it was more about Latham being an incumbent with money than about Greenwald being a woman, but I wonder if many primary voters will make that distinction.
I would say that McCarthy is the front-runner, with maybe Frank Cownie as the second runner-up/dark-horse candidate.
My candidate of choice: Tom Miller. He’s a great, squeaky-clean candidate with a statewide elected office and a top-notch record. I think Miller could even beat Latham in an open election if it came to that. The only problem with Miller is he’d be 66 in 2010. A little long-in-the-tooth for a first term Rep., but still a decade Boswell’s junior. He would only be a stop-gap of about 3-4 terms, (providing he didn’t go all Robert Byrd on us) but if that gets us over the redistricting hump–then it’s a good compromise.
american007 Fri 14 Nov 9:14 PM
I tend to think Dems will nominate a woman
for this district, if Boswell retires before 2010. Andy McGuire, Jackie Norris, and Sally Pederson (if she’s interested) could certainly raise the money they’d need. Boswell may favor Geri Huser.
Everyone knows a woman has better chances in an open seat than as a challenger to an incumbent.
desmoinesdem Fri 14 Nov 10:08 PM
Anybody has a better chance at an open seat
Democrat or republican, male or female, incumbents are tough to beat…particularly it seems in Iowa. Many people in 4th district voted for both Tom Latham and Tom Harkin–and their voting records couldn’t be more different from each other.
lorih Tue 18 Nov 5:05 PM