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Follow us on TwitterChristian Fong, a 32-year-old Cedar Rapids resident, announced Tuesday via Twitter that he will be a candidate for governor in 2010.
Rumors of Fong’s impending candidacy had been circulating for weeks, but it was his appearance at the Republcian Party of Iowa’s “Night of the Rising Stars” event that kicked the gossip into overdrive. That night, Fong was being introduced to activists by Ed Failor Jr., president of the influential conservative organization Iowans for Tax Relief. According to Republican sources, Failor has made it no secret that he will assist Fong in raising the money needed to mount a successful primary campaign.
Fong graduated Underwood High School at age 16, received a B.S. in statistics from Creighton University and received his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He is managing director of capital markets at AEGON USA Reality Advisors and serves as President/CEO of Corridor Recovery, an organization charged with helping with flood recovery efforts in Eastern Iowa. He also serves as vice chair of the the Generation Iowa Commission.
At 32, he would be the youngest governor in Iowa’s history, beating former Gov. Terry Branstad, who was 35 when elected. The difference, Fong’s critics point out, is that Branstad served three terms in the Iowa House and as the state’s leutinant governor before being elected. Fong has never held elected office.
Fong’s entrance into the race makes him the only declared candidate from the Democratic leaning eastern half of the state. The other three men who have formed or announced they will form exploratory committees — Bob Vander Plaats, Christopher Rants and Rob Roberts — all hail from conservative western Iowa. However, Fong grew up in southwestern Iowa before moving to Cedar Rapid in 1997.
He is also an occasional contributor to the Hawkeye Review blog run by Linn County GOP chair Tim Palmer, who Tuesday called Fong the “the most qualified individual to stand up for the Governors race I’ve ever known.”
Fong could not be reached for comment.
