State Representative Pat Murphy announced yesterday that he has received the Communication Workers of America Iowa State Council’s endorsement as a Congressional candidate in Iowa’s first district. According to a press release I’ve posted after the jump, the CWA Iowa State Council approved the endorsement at a regional conference on August 19. Murphy’s campaign held off on spreading the news until August 20, the same day State Representative Anesa Kajtazovic made her Congressional campaign official. Incidentally, the president of CWA Local 7110 is Francis Giunta, longtime chair of Murphy’s Iowa House campaigns and his preferred candidate the last time Dubuque had an open Iowa House district. Chuck Isenhart defeated Giunta in the 2008 Democratic primary for that seat.
The CWA Iowa State Council is the fourth labor union to endorse the former Iowa House speaker in IA-01. With an estimated 4,500 members statewide, including retirees, it’s not nearly as large as AFSCME Iowa Council 61, which backed Murphy earlier this summer.
Any comments about the IA-01 campaign are welcome in this thread. At this point I consider Murphy the front-runner in the five-way Democratic primary. He has raised enough money to run a credible district-wide campaign, even if he doesn’t end up with the largest war chest. Three women candidates may split the votes of Democrats who want to make history with this election. Three candidates from the Cedar Rapids area will compete for support in the district’s most populous county. Labor activists will be helpful as Murphy tries to get out the vote before next June’s Democratic primary. If no candidate wins the primary outright with at least 35 percent of the vote, a district convention will select the nominee. Murphy has become acquainted with a huge number of activists in northeast Iowa during his long career in the state legislature. Furthermore, labor unions can provide the organization to get sympathetic county delegates elected at the precinct caucuses in January, and district delegates elected at the county conventions next spring.
Pat Murphy for Iowa press release, August 20:
The CWA Iowa State Council endorsed Pat Murphy on Monday August 19th at their Regional Conference. CWA is the largest telecommunications union in the world.
“This endorsement means a lot to me, because my father was a member and President of CWA for 38 years and my wife organized with them for 2 years.” Murphy continued, “I come from a union household and know how important unions are to rebuilding and protecting the middle class.”
Pat Murphy has already been endorsed by four unions: AFSCME Iowa Council 61, International Union of Operating Engineers, Communication Workers of America Iowa State Council, and the Dubuque Letter Carriers. Pat Murphy is the only first District Congressional candidate who has received an endorsement from a labor union.
Pat Murphy’s 24-year record of fighting for workers and the middle class gives him an advantage over the other candidates in the race. No one else has his proven track record when it comes to fighting for labor.