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.
Of the three Republicans vying for the right to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Chet Culver, state Rep. Rod Roberts would likely be the toughest for Democrats to defeat this fall, said Jeff Link, a veteran Democratic operative and founder of the consulting firm Link Strategies.
“Roberts is sort of a clean slate,” Link said. “He has no baggage.”
State Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll
Link said Terry Branstad, who served as Iowa’s governor from 1983 to 1997, has a long record that “can be picked apart” by Democrats. The other candidate in the race, Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats, won’t attract moderate and independent voters that are essential in the fall, he said.
“To be honest, the toughest opponent for Gov. Culver would be Rod Roberts,” Link said.
No matter who emerges from the primary, Culver has a tough fight ahead of him, Link said. But getting an opponent will be the first step in regaining momentum.
“Once [Culver] has an opponent, the race becomes a choice,” Link said. “Right now, all we’re seeing is attacks on the governor. Once he can compare his views and record to one opponent, then his numbers will improve.”
A recent poll conducted by Des Moines CBS affiliate KCCI-TV found that Culver has closed what was once a 16-percentage-point gap with Branstad, who now only beats the governor 48 percent to 41 percent. The poll found Culver beating Vander Plaats 44 percent to 40 percent and Roberts 46 percent to 36 percent.
While Branstad and Vander Plaats are still considered the two frontrunners for the nomination, Roberts has been pitching himself as the only candidate who can bring the fractured GOP together in the fall. The Branstad-Vander Plaats rivalry has grown contentious in recent months, culminating with the Iowa Family Policy Center vowing to sit out the fall campaign if Branstad is the nominee.
The primary will be held June 8.
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