Weekend open thread: Jack Hatch running mate edition

What’s on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers? This is an open thread.

Gubernatorial candidate Jack Hatch will announce his choice for lieutenant governor sometime before the Iowa Democratic Party’s statewide convention on June 21. He has been vetting and interviewing possible choices for several weeks. According to Hatch,

“I want to choose a running mate that can become governor on Day One, at any time, and that really supplements and adds to my experience as an elected official and a business person,” he said.

He added he would not be “restricted” by demographic concerns such as a candidate’s gender or geographic location – suggesting he would not consider women exclusively.

I think we can all agree that it would be a huge mistake for Hatch to choose a man, when Iowa Democrats are nominating only one woman for statewide office (Sherrie Taha for secretary of agriculture) and only one woman for federal office (Staci Appel in the third Congressional district).

The last five Iowa lieutenant governors have been women: Jo Ann Zimmerman (independently elected), Joy Corning (Terry Branstad’s running mate), Sally Pederson (who served under Tom Vilsack), Patty Judge (Chet Culver’s running mate), and current Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds.

The logical choice for Hatch would be a woman from eastern Iowa, where two-thirds of the state’s voters live. A few days ago, Iowa Senate President Pam Jochum of Dubuque told Erin Murphy that she won’t be the lieutenant governor candidate and “declined to comment on whether Hatch had asked her to run with him.” State Senator Liz Mathis, from the Cedar Rapids metro area, told James Q. Lynch, “I have been approached and encouraged, (but) it is not the right time for me to do that.”

Lynch mentioned two of the unsuccessful candidates in Iowa’s first Congressional district: Cedar Rapids City Council member Monica Vernon, who finished second to Pat Murphy, and State Representative Anesa Kajtazovic of Waterloo, who finished fourth. Vernon would be a better fit for the ticket, according to the criteria Hatch laid out for Lynch: a person “who could actually become governor, someone who does not need to be trained, who has had accomplishments in public life and or business, and who brings a level of depth to a campaign that we would want.” Also, since Vernon was a Republican until about five years ago, she has a potentially compelling message for moderates and swing voters.    

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desmoinesdem

  • Running mate

    I think it will probably be Vernon, if she’ll do it. Sue Dvorsky has been mentioned, but I don’t see it, as beloved as she is by Ds. Sure would be a fun debate with Kim Reynolds, tho.

    Reportedly, he was looking at candidates in western Iowa, as well as in the east. But I cannot think of a single woman candidate from the west, unless there is a county supervisor somewhere that no one has heard of.  

    Want some other names? State Reps Patti Ruff and Nancy Dunkel.

    Here is a fun parlor game: who can remember running mates of gubernatorial candidates from the past? Who was Doug Gross ‘s running mate? Who ran with Jim Ross Lightfoot? What about primaries? Who ran with Mike Blouin? Did Avenson or Junkins announce running mates? Might be a trick question or two in there ….

    Bottom line is it probably doesn’t matter that much who the running mate is.

    • I don't see what Sue Dvorsky brings to the ticket

      I wasn’t living here during Lightfoot’s campaign, so can’t remember his running mate, but Doug Gross picked Debi Durham, and Jim Nussle picked BVP.

      Andy McGuire was Mike Blouin’s running mate, announced well before the 2006 Democratic primary. Can’t remember whether that was before or after Judge dropped out of the race to become Culver’s running mate.

      When Avenson and Junkins were running, the lieutenant governor was separately elected.

  • PS Vernon

    The GOP will have a field day with that choice. They will paint her as a loser.  

    • sure they would

      but she only lost the primary because Swati Dandekar split the moderate and Linn County votes. She would be able to explain in detail why people like her don’t feel welcome in the Republican Party anymore.

  • Lightfoot running mate

    Broadcaster Almo Hawkins.  

  • might as well be a Republican

    Don’t think Monica would go over with the majority of Democrats.  If you look at the voting in that district she would have come in almost dead last if you take out her home county.  It isn’t like she was just registered as a Republican and changed because she saw the light, she and her hubby were BIG time Republicans and gave money to candidates.  Don’t think I’ll knock on any doors for that team.  I guess if they are going for the country club ticket then it would make sense.  

    • that was in a D primary

      but Hatch isn’t running for governor in a D primary.

      Will you knock on doors for Braley? Because if so it will probably help Hatch even if you don’t care about helping him.

    • by the way

      if you take out everyone’s home county, Murphy would still have won (but by a much larger margin), and Vernon would still have been in second place, Dandekar in third, Anesa in fourth. I was surprised that Vernon and Dandekar each got more votes outside Linn County than Anesa got outside Black Hawk County.

  • why not the west?

    I can’t think of anyone on the western side of the state either, but maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing.  We might actually end up getting some of them out to vote!  

  • Anesa/Others

    Does Anesa have to be old enough to be Governor in order to be Lt. Governor?  I was promoting her for IA-1 before she ran, I really don’t want two losses on her record.

    I admit I thought turnout would be higher in IA-1 at the time, because I presumed we would see an Olson/Hatch matchup.  She doesn’t need to be on the Hatch ticket.

    There are a couple on the Dubuque city council that should be given consideration.  

    Dunkel and Ruff are in swing seats, they should only give up those seats for a 50-50 race or better.  How about Shelley Parbs?  She ran for the State Senate in 2012 and has considerable ties to organized labor.  

  • Agreed

    Anesa should stay away from this race. I don’t think she’ll be asked. And I don’t think Ruff or Dunkel would do it either. Dems have a punchers chance of taking the majority in the House, with a little luck. They have some really good candidates in some strategic races.  But there is no margin for error.  So they’ll need to keep Ruff and Dunkel where the are..

  • Too bad Amanda Ragan is running this year.

    If she could run with Hatch as a freebie, she would be a solid choice.

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