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.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has compiled a list of 17 incumbent Democrats they hope to pressure into retirement before the 2010 elections, and Iowa 3rd District Rep. Leonard Boswell is one of them.
According to the National Journal, the informal list, called the “Dem Retirement Assault List,” includes 14 districts carried by Republican presidential candidate John McCain in 2008. President Barack Obama easily carried the 3rd District.
The goal of the list is to attack the incumbents with the hope of convincing them to retire rather than face difficult re-election campaigns. There are currently three Republicans vying for the chance to take on Boswell: retired pilot David Funk, former Iowa State University wrestling coach Jim Gibbons and state Sen. Brad Zaun.
“Applying constant pressure in combination with the looming threat of a credible challenge is what should make every single one of these guys think twice,” said a GOP strategist involved in targeting the Dems.
The pressure has largely come from press releases hammering the incumbents, but the NRCC has signaled it will put at least a little money behind the effort. Last month, the NRCC launched ads against Reps. [Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D.], [Vic Snyder, D-Ark.] and [John Spratt, D-S.C.]. Although the ad buys were tiny — the GOP spent a total of just $6,300 for a few spots on Fox News in all three districts — they attracted earned media as well.
Boswell defeated Republican Kim Schmett of Clive in 2008 by 14 percentage points. He has been included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Frontline” program, which steers financial and logistical assistance to Democratic incumbents in challenging districts.
Congressional Quarterly rates the district at “Likely Democrat.”
(h/t John Death Blog)
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