Fiegen says Conlin strong-arming Democrats to join her campaign

Democratic elected officials feel pressured to endorse U.S. Senate candidate Roxanne Conlin because of past contributions to their campaigns, one of Conlin’s rivals for the Democratic nomination said Monday.

Roxanne Conlin, left, and Tom Fiegen

Clarence bankruptcy attorney Tom Fiegen said he has been approached by Democrats saying Conlin is “twisting their arms to sign on with her.” He would not name the people who approached him.

“A couple of legislators at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner told me she is strong-arming them to support her,” he said. “They wanted me to know they liked me and what I had to say but felt they had to endorse Roxanne. They feel blackmailed because of her implication that they owe her for past campaign contributions.”

Conlin spokesman Mark Daley declined to respond to Feigen’s accusations.

Fiegen was responding to news Monday that U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Waterloo, had formally endorsed Conlin’s candidacy. Conlin, Fiegen and Bob Krause will face off for the right to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in 2010.

“Bruce’s endorsement of Roxanne was expected because of their trial lawyer connections,” Fiegen said.

Braley and Conlin have known each other for many years having both served in leadership positions with the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Braley said he decided to endorse Conlin because she is “the best-qualified candidate to serve Iowa’s families in Washington.”

Conlin’s candidacy is an example of political powers in Des Moines trying to dictate to the rest of the state who their candidate will be, Fiegen said. He compared her entrance into the race with that of former Gov. Terry Branstad entering the GOP primary for governor.

“Both parties are grappling with whether the Des Moines power center can control politics in this state,” Fiegen said. “They crowned her without talking to the people at the grassroots. She is just not resonating with the grassroots.”

Fiegen said he didn’t know if the formal structure of the Iowa Democratic Party was helping Conlin’s primary campaign or not, saying he believes most of the behind-the scenes maneuvering is being done by Conlin herself. IDP Chairman Michael Kiernan received criticism after declaring in September that a mystery candidate would enter the campaign and give Grassley “the race of his life.” Many saw that as a tacit endorsement of the mystery candidate, who turned out to be Conlin.

Kiernan has since insisted the party will remain neutral during the primary.

Fiegen expects nothing less. “I will not be railroaded out of this campaign,” he said.

Conlin, who has been a fixture on Iowa’s political landscape for three decades, is widely considered the favorite to win the Democratic primary next year. She has said she hopes to raise $10 million for the campaign and is expected to assemble a top-notch campaign organization. She has already begun receiving the lion’s share of media attention. Many stories focus on the Conlin-Grassley matchup, barely mentioning the two other Democratic candidates.

Fiegen said he doesn’t think money will buy the nomination and feels his message is resonating with grassroots voters.

“I’m going to travel the state and connect with Iowans,” Fiegen said. “I will try to be authentic, since I just don’t see any amount of authenticity coming from Roxanne. If it’s my message against her money, I’m confident I’ll get the party’s nomination next June.”