Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
After months stuck in a sort of political purgatory, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, has become the flavor of the month for political reporters and pollsters.
Last Friday, New York Times columnist David Brooks touted Huckabee’s credentials; on Monday, Newsweek’s Jonathan Adler wrote on the magazine’s website: that “He may be the only Republican candidate with a decent chance to beat the Democrats next November.”But most importantly, he’s continuing to rise in the polls. He’s in a virtual tie for second place in surveys of Iowa voters and cracked double digits for the first time in national polls this week, passing Mitt Romney for the first time with the support of 12 percent of likely Republican voters. Rudy Giuliani was the choice of 20 percent of voters, followed by Fred Thompson with 19 percent and John McCain at 14 percent. Romney was fifth with 11 percent.
His supporters and staff say that as more social conservatives hear his message, they realize Huckabee is the only candidate who has consistently opposed abortion-rights laws and efforts to legalize same-sex marriage.
“He’s the real deal,” said state Rep. Dwayne Alons, R-Hull, who is co-chair of Huckabee’s legislative advisory committee. “People say to me all the time that he’s the best candidate, but they wonder if he has enough money to win. I tell them that if everyone who thought that would commit to supporting him and would send him a donation, that we’d get the kind of candidate we want.”
Eric Woolson, Huckabee’s Iowa political director, said that the candidate’s performance during debates and the success of his one-on-one campaigning has helped him get a foothold in the state and across the United States.
Voters who have met him say he’s a polished speaker with a sharp sense of humor and an unbridled willingness to talk about his strong Baptist faith and how it would impact his governance if he is elected president.
Fund raising has been a problem for Huckabee, but even that seems to be turning around. His campaign has asked supporters to help him raise more than a million dollars this month. On Friday, he was approaching the $800,000 mark.
Money would help Huckabee supplement his shoestring organization in the state. He hasn’t had the resources to run any television advertising yet. In contrast, Iowa front-runner Romney has run more than 10,000 commercials. Huckabee recently added four staffers to his Iowa campaign, bringing the total to eight, roughly half the size of Romney’s full-time staff.
Romney’s much-heralded staff, plus the planning that went into his win at the Iowa Straw Poll this summer, gave him early traction in the race, but it’s also set the bar high for him in the January caucuses. Some people say a second-place finish would provide him with momentum to continue his dark horse candidacy.
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