Evidence suggests Fallon may challenge Boswell in Dem primary

[Exclusive] Former State Rep. Ed Fallon, who lost a narrow three-way Democratic primary for governor in 2006, may be planning to challenge 3rd District Democratic Congressman Leonard Boswell in 2008.  Rumors of Fallon’s possible challenge to Boswell have circulated for over a year, but Iowa Independent has uncovered new evidence which seems to confirm them.

According to Network Solutions’ Internet Domain Registry, on November 21, the domain names FallonForCongress.com, FallonForCongress.net, and FallonForCongress.org were registered to an organization called “Fallon for Congress.”  Although the domain names do not currently point to a campaign Web site, the physical address listed for each of them in the Internet domain registry matches Fallon’s home address in the Sherman Hill neighborhood of Des Moines.  Lynn Heuss, a former legislative aide and campaign worker for Fallon who is registered to vote at the same address, is listed as “Administrative” and “Technical” contact for the domains.  (It is possible to register domain names using fraudulent information, but given the accuracy of the contact information provided in the domain records, this scenario seems unlikely.)Fallon, who won more votes in the 3rd Congressional District than either of his opponents in the 2006 gubernatorial primary, was widely considered the most liberal candidate in that race.  He refused large contributions from all donors, and he refused any contributions from political action committees (PACs).  He was a vocal supporter of land-use policies that emphasized local control and environmental protection.  He was skeptical of the work of Iowa’s Department of Economic Development and the Iowa Values Fund, which he said served as tax giveaways for corporations with few long-term benefits to local communities, and he supported Main Street Iowa and locally-based programs as an alternative.

But Fallon received criticism from primary voters who considered him a disloyal Democrat because of his public endorsement of Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader in 2000.  Other critics believed — incorrectly, it turned out — that Fallon’s idealist campaign had no serious chance of winning.

After his defeat, Fallon continued to build relationships with local Democratic activists by attending fundraisers and events for local candidates and party organizations around the state.  Early on in the presidential race, he endorsed former Sen. John Edwards.

Although challenging an incumbent congressman from a candidate’s own party is uncommon and usually difficult, Fallon’s candidacy may attract support from progressives across the country.  Boswell has been designated a target by activists on several high-profile progressive blogs, including the site OpenLeft, which labeled him a “Bush Dog Democrat” in August.  The bloggers’ argument is that Boswell’s voting record — particularly his votes in favor of funding the Iraq War — make him more conservative than voters in his district.  Just as online activists helped to defeat Sen. Joe Lieberman in Connecticut’s 2006 Democratic primary, they may hope to defeat Boswell.

OpenLeft’s Chris Bowers wrote:

If [Boswell] does not correct the way he votes and continues to side with Bush over his constituents on these key matters, given Boswell’s lean Democratic district and history as a fairly weak campaigner, it is pretty easy to see him as one of the top five targets for a progressive primary challenge against a sitting Democrat in 2008. Can you imagine any lower hanging fruit? A fairly simple television ad pointing out that he voted to authorize the use of military force in Iraq in 2002, to renew the Patriot Act in 2005, to eliminate habeas corpus in 2006, to fund the war without any troop withdrawal mandate in May, and to grant the Bush administration warrant-less wiretapping powers a few weeks ago would probably cause his approval rating to crash in just a matter of weeks. Not a single one of those positions is popular in his district–especially among Democrats–and this long-term pattern paints a clear picture of Boswell as a neo-conservative. A primary challenger to Boswell would have a legitimate change of success.

Or, preferably, Boswell could just stop voting with Bush, and instead starting voting with his district. That way, no primary challenge will be necessary.

Perhaps as a reaction to the criticism he received or the threat of a primary challenge from the left, Boswell voted against the latest war funding bill in Congress on December 19.  How his latest vote will influence the online progressive community’s actions remains unknown.

Boswell, a well-entrenched incumbent, may have his own help.  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee may offer him money and resources out of fear that Fallon would be a weaker general election candidate.  In fact, although a primary contest between Boswell and Fallon may be close, several operatives familiar with politics in the 3rd Congressional District privately expressed reservations about Fallon’s general election chances.  In 2004, President George W. Bush narrowly won Boswell’s district.  In 2006, Boswell’s seat was targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee and pro-GOP independent expenditure organizations as one of the Republicans’ few pickup opportunities, and the race was often mentioned as one of the most competitive in the country by national media reports.

Late Friday, neither Fallon nor Boswell could be reached for comment.