Still no new word from State Senator Brad Zaun and Secretary of State Matt Schultz, but the Republican field in Iowa’s open third Congressional district is expanding. Joe Grandanette and David Young are already running, and Robert Cramer told the Des Moines Register’s Jennifer Jacobs today that he is “90 percent there” and “just putting together a plan” for a campaign.
Cramer served on the Johnston school board for nine years and is currently the chairman of the board of the Family Leader, an Iowa organization that pushes for evangelical Christian conservative policies. He’s co-president of Cramer & Associates, Inc., a Grimes-based bridge construction company that does work around the Midwest.
Last year Governor Terry Branstad appointed Cramer to serve on the Iowa Board of Regents, but most Iowa Senate Democrats blocked his confirmation.
Meanwhile, State Senator Charles Schneider told the Des Moines Register’s Jason Noble yesterday that he will not run for Congress. He was just elected to the Iowa Senate for the first time in 2012.
Any comments about the IA-03 race are welcome in this thread. Jake Porter, the Libertarian candidate for Iowa Secretary of State, released a statement on Matt Schultz’s likely Congressional campaign. I’ve posted that after the jump. Speaking of secretary of state candidates, the 2006 GOP nominee for that office, Mary Ann Hanusa, expects to decide whether to run in IA-03 before the off-year Iowa caucuses on January 21. Hanusa is a two-term state representative from Council Bluffs. She would be favored to win re-election if she stays put in Iowa House district 16.
UPDATE: Forgot to mention David Oman, a former staffer to Governor Branstad during his first stint as governor. He is wealthy enough to self-fund a Congressional campaign and is thinking about this race. Oman unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for governor in 1998. I think he is perceived as way too moderate to win a primary now.
Porter Releases Statement Regarding Schultz’s Possible Congressional Run
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, January 7, 2014Council Bluffs, Iowa-Jake Porter, a Libertarian candidate for Iowa Secretary of State, has released the following statement on the possibility of Matt Schultz dropping out of the Secretary of State race to run for Congress:
“Congress is a great office for Matt to run for. As I pointed out last election, Schultz wanted to focus on job creation, immigration, and other legislative policy and the Secretary of State’s office has no Constitutional responsibility or budget to focus on those things. Unlike the Secretary of State’s office, which is an administrative position, Congress is where Schultz can actually focus on the legislative issues that are near and dear to him.”
Porter, was the 2010 Libertarian nominee for Secretary of State. In 2010, Porter received 33,854 votes in the general election, covering the margin of Republican Matt Schultz’s victory over Democrat Michael Mauro.
Porter earned his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from AIB College of Business in Des Moines. After college, Porter moved to Nebraska where he worked as a retail store manager. Today, Porter lives in Council Bluffs and handles customer care issues for a large Internet corporation in Omaha.
For more information about Jake Porter please visit:
www.jakeporter.org