Three-term Representative Dave Loebsack’s campaign moved quickly to define primary challenger Joe Seng after a panel confirmed that the state senator had qualified for the ballot in the Democratic primary to represent Iowa’s second Congressional district. A fundraising e-mail from Loebsack’s campaign manager Brian Fritsch on March 29 described Seng as the “Koch Brothers funded Democrat.” I enclose the full text of that e-mail after the jump. Fritsch declared in an e-mail blast last week, “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.”

I didn’t find any Koch contributions listed on Seng’s two latest fundraising reports. During the 2010 campaign, he received two checks for $500 each from the Koch Industries PAC. That’s not a lot of money, but Seng doesn’t have many donors aside from political action committees that give to most Iowa legislators. Overall, he raises surprisingly little for an entrenched incumbent. I didn’t see any Koch contributions in Seng’s campaign finance reports from 2004 through 2009.

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

Background: Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz was on the three-member panel that considered the challenge to Seng’s nominating petitions. An Ottumwa veterinarian admitted to buying “many rounds of drinks” to secure signatures for Seng in Wayne County. The panel determined that Seng had enough valid signatures even without the Wayne County petitions.

E-mail from Loebsack for Congress, March 29 (emphasis in original).

Dear [desmoinesdem],

It’s official: the Koch Brothers now have a candidate in the 2nd District Democratic Primary.  And we need your help to beat him on Tuesday, June 5.

It’s disappointing that a Democrat would receive the bulk of his help getting on the ballot from Republicans and find his biggest cheerleader in Republican Secretary of State Matt Schultz, who is a fervent supporter of Rick Santorum.  The Koch Brothers funded Democrat also got help from a Republican who bought petition signatures with “many rounds of drinks” at a local lounge.

More than that though, this primary election will come down to issues like Women’s Health, where the contrast between Dave’s record and his opponent’s stances are clear.

Dave proudly stood up for Women throughout the health care debates to ensure they receive fair coverage at a fair price.  Meanwhile our opponent has declared that one of his main reasons for running is to oppose women’s access to contraceptives.  

We need to stand up for what’s right.

Thanks to the many generous donations from people like you, we’ve made great strides towards reaching our first quarter goal of raising $10,000 online from grassroots supporters before the end of March.  

Please consider making a contribution of $25, $50 or $100 today to help put us over the top.

Every donation is incredibly important to a grassroots campaign like ours and we sincerely appreciate all your support so far.

Together we will win the Primary on June 5th and come out of this stronger than ever before.

Thank you again for all your support.

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

UPDATE: So far Loebsack is letting his campaign manager deliver the punches. The e-mail blast from him on March 31 didn’t have anything specific to say about Seng:

[desmoinesdem]-

Today marks the end of a critical fundraising quarter for my campaign.

With a competitive general election and now a primary coming up in June, this deadline is more important than ever.  

We’re just $1,195 short of our fundraising goal for the quarter and are asking for your help today.  Please follow this link to donate.

Thanks so much for your help and support.

And, as always, take care,

Dave