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State Sen. Jerry Behn made his candidacy for the GOP gubernatorial nomination official Tuesday morning, pointing to the budget as his main motivation for entering the race.
State Sen. Jerry Behn, R-Boone
The Boone Republican has been flirting with the possibility of running for his party’s nomination since May, and has attended nearly every Republican function regarding the 2010 campaign despite not formally being in the race.
“For the past several months I have been traveling around the state and the people I have been talking to have encouraged me to get into the race,” Behn said. “lowans are deeply concerned about the direction the state is taking under Gov. [Chet] Culver.”
Behn has served in the state senate since 1997, representing a district that includes portions of Dallas and Boone Counties. Prior to serving in the senate, Behn was elected to the Boone County Board of Supervisors in 1994.
Behn said he would end both the Grow Iowa Values Fund and the Iowa Power Fund, two economic development programs instituted by Democratic governors.
While focusing on fiscal issues for the majority of the press release announcing his candidacy, Behn did not ignore social issues. He points out his vote for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1998 and his support for a Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He was one of 25 legislators who sought to join the legal battle over whether a ban on gay marriage was constitutional, a ban that was overturned in April by the Iowa Supreme Court.
“I will fight to make sure that Iowans will have a chance to vote on a marriage amendment,” he said.
Behn was also an outspoken critic of a bill legalizing embryonic stem cell research and was one of five legislators who in 2008 circulated a book among their fellow lawmakers questioning the reality of global warming.
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