Someone has challenged the nominating petitions filed by State Senator Joe Seng, who is running against Representative Dave Loebsack in the second Congressional district primary.

Details are after the jump, along with the first e-mail blast from Loebsack’s campaign that discussed the primary challenge.

Thomas Geyer reported for the Quad-City Times Friday night that the director of elections for the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office informed county auditors in IA-02 about the objection to Seng’s petitions. The report did not clarify who filed the objection on Friday.

“They’re thinking that some of the signatures I have are not valid,” Seng of Davenport said Friday night. “The number count was pretty close in some places.

“They’ve been going around town, the other side, Loebsack’s people, checking with people to see if they signed my petitions,” Seng said. “They have the right to do that.”

Seng said he had a number of people gathering signatures for him throughout the district.

“There could be some mistakes,” he said.

This chart (pdf) on the Secretary of State’s website explains that a Democratic candidate for Congress in IA-02 needs to collect 1,277 signatures in order to qualify for the ballot. Seng easily cleared that threshold. In addition,

Signatures for candidates in this district must be collected in at least 12 counties. The minimum number of signatures that must be collected in each of the 12 counties is equal to 2% of the votes cast for governor by the voters of that county in the 2010 General Election, rounded up to the next whole number. Each page of the petition may have signatures from only one county.

There are 24 counties in IA-02. The chart shows how many signatures must be collected in each county to qualify as one of the 12 counties needed on nominating petitions.

John Deeth comments,

It was that county requirement that tripped up the congressman Seng is trying to challenge, Dave Loebsack, in 2006. Problems with Louisa County petitions left him five names short. Since no [o]ther Democrat had filed, Loebsack was nominated at a party convention.

There could be other issues, such as signatures from multiple counties on one page or insufficient addresses. But standard procedure is to gather way more names than needed, and Seng’s last second effort clearly wasn’t organized enough to do that.

Seng told Geyer that he would support Loebsack if he does not qualify for the ballot.

“He’s a good man,” Seng said. “It’s just my right to run as a person. It was nothing against him.”

I completely agree that incumbents aren’t entitled to a free pass in the primary. I’d never vote for a Democrat like Seng in a primary, but he has every right to make his case if he feels he could represent the district better.

To my knowledge, Loebsack has not commented publicly on the prospect of his first competitive primary. The Loebsack for Congress campaign highlighted Seng’s challenge in a fundraising e-mail sent on March 19 (all emphasis in original).

Subject heading: Primary

[desmoinesdem]-

On Friday of last week, just before the deadline, a Democratic State Senator filed nominating petitions to run against Dave in the Democratic primary.  

If you think that Republicans might have helped him get him on the ballot, you’d be right.  He’s taken multiple donations from the Koch brothers, and yesterday morning, an Iowarepublican.com columnist openly bragged that Democratic primary petitions for Dave’s opponent were circulated at GOP county conventions. He called him a “hero”, and noted that Republicans should “absolutely” be excited that he is running against Dave.

We will win this primary, but it’s going to take more resources and support to beat an independently wealthy state senator.  That’s why we’re asking you to help us reach our goal of $10,000 raised online between now and March 31.

Please help us reach Dave’s goal by making a contribution of $25, $50 or $100 today.

Our primary opponent accepted sizable contributions from Koch Industries in the past, the corporation owed and operated by the Koch brothers. This makes my stomach turn.

How can you pretend to represent hard working men and women on one hand while accepting contributions from the people who have assaulted their rights with the other?  It seems disingenuous at best.

Dave has always sought to represent our Democratic principals with common sense and integrity.  We hope that we have earned your support and ask you to contribute what you are able.

Make a contribution of $25, $50 or $100 today.

Like any challenge, we are going to take this one head-on.  You have been with us in the past and we need you now more than ever.

Thank you for all your support.

All the best,

Brian Fritsch

P.S. If you prefer to mail a check, please send it to: Loebsack for Congress; PO Box 3013; Iowa City, IA 52244

So, it’s clear what Loebsack’s first line of attack will be if Seng’s nominating petitions are validated.

Loebsack would prefer not to spend down his campaign cash before June, however. He will need to defend his record against an energetic Republican challenger (Dan Dolan or John Archer) this fall.

Any comments about the IA-02 race are welcome in this thread.

UPDATE: Seng would be in a stronger position going into June 5 if there were not a competitive primary on the GOP side. If Archer and Dolan didn’t need those votes themselves, I could see a lot of Republicans crossing over to vote for Seng against Loebsack.

Seng talked to Kathie Obradovich about his views on the issues:

Seng, a Catholic, said he’s pro-life and he is on record as opposing the Health and Human Services rule requiring employee insurance plans for church-owned institutions to cover contraceptives. While he praises Planned Parenthood for offering beneficial health care to women, he said he couldn’t vote for public funding that could be used for abortions.

In the state Senate, Seng led debate on what critics call the “ag gag” bill. […]

Seng’s not a Republican in disguise, however. He’s pro-union, and said he’s concerned about global warming. He advocates renewable energy, and he voted in committee against legislation to pave the way for a new nuclear energy plant in Iowa.

Seng said his first priority in the short term is improving the economy and promoting job creation. He’s willing to spend public money for infrastructure, such as roads and bridges. But he doesn’t want to add to debt, and said his greatest long-term priority is balancing the budget.

He advocates cuts in military spending.

“I’m very much a peace candidate,” he said. “I’m not really for getting in any more wars. However, he makes an exception for cuts that would cost jobs at the Rock Island Arsenal. The military will still need munitions, he said.