With the possible exception of Johnson County, nowhere in Iowa has seen more brutally hard-fought Democratic primaries than the south side of Des Moines. State Senator Matt McCoy’s decision to challenge Polk County Supervisor John Mauro has set up an “epic battle of the titans” in the county’s fifth district, covering most of the south side, plus downtown and central neighborhoods of the capital city (a map is at the end of this post).
A poll currently in the field includes positive information about both candidates but negative messages about McCoy alone.
Mauro was first elected in 1990 and served two terms before losing a close race to Gene Phillips in 1998. He won his supervisor seat back in 2002 and has served on the board ever since, chairing the five-member body several times, most recently in 2017. Mauro’s official bio emphasizes his work on local boards. His re-election campaign announcement last April highlighted his support for collective bargaining, worker’s compensation, reducing hunger, and raising the minimum wage in Iowa’s largest county. (Republicans in the state legislature and the Branstad/Reynolds administration later banned all such local ordinances.)
McCoy has been elected to the Iowa Senate six times and previously served two terms in the state House. His official bio underscores his leadership to change “outdated and unjust legislation” on the passage of HIV and contagious diseases, as well as work on capping state university tuition, health care, infrastructure, economic development, and property tax reform.
A Bleeding Heartland reader shared notes on a call received on a cell phone February 26. The questionnaire suggests Mauro’s campaign commissioned the poll, though it’s possible some entity supporting the incumbent paid for the survey. Please contact me if you can provide further details or a recording of the same poll. (I won’t publish your name or how you answered.)
The first few questions confirmed the respondent was at least 18 years old, asked whether the person has a landline, votes in Democratic primaries, and plans to vote in this year’s primary on June 5.
Regarding the Polk County supervisor race, have you heard of John Mauro? Matt McCoy?
Regarding the supervisor’s race in Des Moines, which appeals to you more: a fresh face with state experience, or decades of local experience?
Next, the caller read short bios of both candidates. The one for McCoy mentioned health care, access to public transportation, mental health services, and some other issues. The script described Mauro as a progressive supervisor who worked to end hunger and increase funding for schools, parks, and clean waterways.
Next, a ballot test: which candidate are you more likely to support if the election were held today?
The respondent then heard a series of positive statements about Mauro and was asked whether each would make the person more or less likely to vote for the incumbent.
• He was appalled to learn about one-fifth of Polk County people go hungry. So Mauro raised money for mobile food pantry.
• He has decades of experience bringing business and labor together, worked toward justice center renovations
• Helped create a criminal justice 24-hour crisis hotline for mental health provisions
• Helped create world-class south Des Moines Little League baseball parks and concession and recreation
• Cares to raise a family with healthy waterways and easier bicycling
• Helped create the Iowa events center
• something related to school bands that my source didn’t understand
The script then moved to negative statements about McCoy. For each, the respondent was asked whether the information would make you more or less likely to vote for him.
• McCoy repeatedly puts his personal life before Iowans (To my source and to me, this statement came across as a coded reference to McCoy’s sexual orientation. He was the first openly gay member of the Iowa legislature and has long been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ equality. The south side of Des Moines is a heavily Democratic area but not exactly a hotbed of liberalism on social issues.)
• He has a poor attendance record, even missing one-third of Senate votes (I don’t know which legislative session this refers to and haven’t checked archives of the Iowa Senate Journal to see how often McCoy has been absent.)
• Cut property taxes for business, which hurts public schools (This statement alludes to the 2013 commercial property tax cut, which has cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.)
• Paid a fine for ethics problems and even “illegally funneled money” (McCoy and John Ruan III paid fines in 2008 to settle an ethics investigation. Ruan, a prominent local Republican, had reimbursed McCoy for making a donation to Mike Blouin’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Then U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker absurdly charged McCoy with extortion in connection with those events; a jury acquitted the senator in 2007.)
At the end, the caller asked some demographic questions, such as last level of education completed, and verified the respondent’s first name. That’s a sign the pollster was drawing from a list of voters who have participated in Democratic primaries, rather than compiling the sample using a random digit dial method.
My source said the poll came from the phone number 844-283-5487. The caller claimed to be representing “Opinion Iowa Research”; pressed for more details, the caller said ADG polling was conducting the survey but did not reveal who commissioned it. Campaign finance disclosure reports that are due in May will show whether Mauro’s campaign contracted with ADG.
I will update this post as needed.
