Former State Senator Swati Dandekar confirmed today that she is considering a campaign in Iowa’s open first Congressional district. State Senator Wally Horn of Cedar Rapids and Tina Patterson of Marion will co-chair her exploratory committee. Dandekar expects to decide this summer whether to run for Congress. In the meantime, she will continue serving on the Iowa Utilities Board but will “not participate in decisions of any contested matters before the board.”

Bleeding Heartland discussed Dandekar’s potential strengths and weaknesses as a candidate here. I remain skeptical that she would win a Democratic primary, because of her legislative voting record and her decision to put the Iowa Senate majority in jeopardy in 2011, when she accepted Governor Terry Branstad’s appointment to the Iowa Utilities Board. Dandekar emphasized in a statement today, ” I know it is important to the people living in Northeast Iowa to continue the strong representation established by Congressman Bruce Braley. We must keep this seat in Democratic hands.”  

So far State Representative Pat Murphy is the only declared Democratic candidate in IA-01. Any comments about this race are welcome in this thread.

UPDATE: Added reaction from Murphy, details about the online presence of Dandekar’s exploratory committee, and the potential candidate’s official bio after the jump.

James Q. Lynch of the Cedar Rapids Gazette sought comment from Murphy on yesterday’s news:

Murphy insists he’s not concerned with who else might run for the Democratic nomination.

“Worry is a wasted emotion,” he said. Murphy has been concentrating on building his campaign on the long-time relationships he has built across the 20-county district over years of candidate recruitment and fund-raising for those candidates and the party.

Rep. Tyler Olson, D-Cedar Rapids, Iowa Democratic Party chairman and a potential candidate himself, expects at least three to four candidates in a June 2014 primary.

If Olson runs for Congress, he needs to step down immediately as state party chair.

Dandekar’s exploratory committee has a website up here and is on twitter and Facebook. Here is the official bio from the exploratory committee’s website.

Swati Dandekar of Marion, Iowa was first elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 2002. She served the Marion, Iowa area in that capacity until she was elected to represent them in the Iowa Senate in 2009. She served as chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, vice chair of the Economic Development Budget subcommittee and was elected President of the National Foundation of Women Legislators in 2011.

In 2011 Dandekar was appointed the Democratic member of the Iowa Utilities Board by Governor Terry Branstad. She is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and serves on the NARUC Committee on Telecommunications and the Committee on International Relations. She is also a member of the Mid-American Regulatory Conference and serves on the Advisory Council of the Iowa Energy Center in Ames. In addition, Dandekar serves on the advisory board of the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, is a member of the Federal-State Joint Conference on Advance Telecommunications Services and on the board of directors for the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel.

Dandekar holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Nagpur University and a post-graduate diploma in dietetics from Bombay University in India. She served on the Linn-Mar School Board, the Iowa Association of School Boards, Vision Iowa Board, U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy, Iowa Math and Science Coalition, Greater Cedar Rapids Foundation, Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted and Talented, Iowa Innovation Council, and Iowa Public Health Commission.

Honors bestowed upon Dandekar include the 2000 J.C. Penney Education Golden Rule Award, India Abroad 2002 Person of the Year, 2003 Pillar of the Community Award from Waypoint, Asian Alliance of Iowa 2003 Person of the Year, 2004 Flemming Institute Fellow, Iowa’s 2006 Passport to Prosperity Award, and Asian Week’s 2008 Asia Pacific American Person of the Year.

Swati and her husband, Arvind, reside in Marion, Iowa. They have two sons, Ajai with wife, Allison, and sons Evan and William, as well as Govind, his wife Shaneeda and daughter Ayaana.