Mostly, nothing too shocking about how Iowa breaks down politically. Urban areas are solid Democratic strongholds and rural areas, for the most part, are in the camp of the GOP. Eastern Iowa is mostly blue, and other than the tiny dots of blue in District 1 (where an outcome is still up in the air), District 2 and District 100, Western Iowa is as solidly red as its ever been. Central Iowa, especially Polk County, breaks down to the suburbs for Republicans and the city of Des Moines for Democrats.

One point of note is that the 4th U.S. Congressional District, which was won handily this year by incumbent Republican Tom Latham, saw 15 of its 28 counties support a Democratic legislator this year. One of the counties that didn’t is Story County, which is home of Iowa State University and went for Democrat Barack Obama by big margins.

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Ames, scored a 20-point victory on Tuesday over challenger Becky Greenwald.

But when the polls closed, it quickly became clear that voters wanted to send Latham back to Washington, and in the end, he coasted to a 20-point victory and carried all 28 counties of the 4th Congressional District.

So how did this race go from hotly contested to blowout? The answer, most say, can be found by looking a both candidates’ bank accounts.

According to paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 15, Latham, of Ames, had $775,000 cash on hand compared to a little more than $25,000 for Greenwald, of Perry.  While Greenwald out-raised Latham in July, August and September, she spent almost all of that money on an early television advertising campaign to introduce herself to voters, a move that left her campaign with no money in the final weeks of the race.

“When she ran out of money and went dark on television in the weeks prior to the election, that was it,” said Tom Henderson, chair of the Polk County Democratic Party. “Several polls showed Greenwald creeping up on Latham before that, but with no advertising push Latham pulled ahead.”

If she’d had the resources to stay on television, the race would have been much closer, and “maybe she would have even won,” Henderson said.

Dennis Goldford, political science professor at Drake University, said defeating an incumbent is always a tall order, but to do so while being outspent by huge margins is an uphill struggle.

“She simply didn’t have enough money,” he said. “She didn’t have a lot to work with.”

And the television ad campaign was biographical, drawing no distinctions between the Greenwald and her opponent.

Many thought the endorsement of EMILY’s List, a group that funds Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights, and the inclusion of the 4th District race in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” list would bring an influx of cash into Greenwald’s coffers. But that support never materialized, and while Greenwald was able to purchase a 60-second television ad the night of Barack Obama’s 30-minute national address, her campaign was off the air in Iowa very early in the race.

Latham on the other hand had ads up all the way through Election Day, both on television and radio, including one that criticized Greenwald for saying she would have supported the $700 billion Wall Street bail out bill if she were in Congress. Latham voted against the bail out twice.

“Tom Latham is just not a firebrand like (Republican U.S. Rep.) Steve King,” said Tim Hagle, an associate professor of political science at the University of Iowa and adviser to the school’s campus Republicans. “So a lot of people, even those who consider themselves Democrats, are going to vote for Latham because he’s the incumbent. That’s the disadvantage a challenger has.”

Even though Obama carried a majority of the district’s counties, Greenwald was still defeated by a large margin. In Story County, home of Iowa State University, Obama garnered 26,268 votes, or 57 percent, for president, to Republican John McCain’s 18,812, or 41 percent. Latham recieved 24,236, or 55 percent, to Greenwald’s 20,107, or 45 percent.

“There were a lot of ticket-splitters,” Goldford said. “Obama’s coattails just were not long enough to oust a veteran incumbent like Tom Latham.”

For the first time, registered Democrats outnumbered registered Republicans in the 4th, but a lot of that was Republicans who registered as Democrats to caucus for Obama, Henderson said. So even though Obama’s appeal to moderate Republicans contributed to his victory nationwide, those Republicans were less likely to support Democrats down ballot.

“Iowans are always reluctant to fire incumbents,” he said. “I just think that was a tough race from the beginning.”

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Ames

With 85 percent of precincts reporting, the Ames Republican has received 60 percent of the vote, compared to 40 percent for Greenwald, a Democrat from Perry. That includes winning every one of the north-central district’s 28 counties.

In a speech to supporters at the Gateway Hotel in Ames, Latham said the campaign was successful because it never took victory for granted

“This campaign was run like we were 10 points behind,” he said.

The 4th District race was widely considered to be one of the nation’s most competitive, with Greenwald receiving support form the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and EMILY’s List. Time Magazine named it as one of 12 key races to watch.

Latham was elected as the congressman for Iowa’s 5th District in 1994 as part of the wave that allowed Republicans to take over the House for the first time since 1955. The 2000 round of redistricting, however, significantly altered Iowa’s congressional map and placed Latham in the new 4th District retained only a small portion of his old district.

Since redistricting, Latham has consistently received roughly 60 percent of the vote.

The paper said differences between Latham and his Democratic opponent, Becky Greenwald, are easy to find, as both “toe the party line on most issues.” After contrasting both candidates positions on health care, renewable energy and the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill, the only major sticking point for the Tribune was Latham’s continued support of the Iraq War. But even that wasn’t enough to sway the 10,000 circulation daily to Greenwald.

Greenwald is to be commended for leaving a life in the background and stepping into the public view, but we think she’s not quite a strong enough candidate to unseat Latham.

The Tribune’s editorial board endorses Tom Latham to represent Iowa’s 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The ad, which is airing district wide on television, is critical of his opponent Becky Greenwald’s support of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill passed by Congress in reaction to a downturn in the financial markets.

Latham twice voted against a bailout package, calling it a reward to CEOs with no guarantee that it would work. Greenwald, D-Perry, has said she would have supported the bill if she was in Congress because the cost of doing nothing nothing was too great. She also said the bill, while not perfect, helps to put a floor under the crisis.

The race, which had been relatively low key, has grown more contentious since the pair faced off in two radio debates last week.

Latham opened the line of attack Monday. The 12-year incumbent’s previous two TV ads focused on his own record in Congress.

Greenwald has been highly critical of Latham’s position on health care and social security.

According to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Greenwald raised $308,452 and spent $354,422 between July 1 and Sept. 30. She now has $24,476 in cash on hand and $10,806 in debts. Latham raised $290,815 and spent $266,432, ending the quarter with $774,671 cash on hand and $49,093 in debts.

However, Greenwald’s campaign has been included on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” list, which targets it as a competitive race and signals a new flow of financial, communications and strategic support from the national committee to the local campaign. Her campaign is also expected to receive financial help from EMILY’s List, a group that funds Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights.

In other congressional races, 2nd District Republican candidate Marriannette Miller-Meeks raised $137,089 this quarter, more than incumbent U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, who raised $108,142. However, Loebsack still has a sizable advantage in cash on hand, with $456,656, compared with $79,450 for Miller-Meeks.

Fifth District U.S. Rep. Steve King outraised his Democratic opponent, Rob Hubler, by nearly $100,000. King raised $191,689 and has $351,239 cash on hand, compared with Hubler, who raised $95,235 and has $64,654 cash on hand.

In the 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts, incumbent Democrats Bruce Braley and Leonard Boswell handily outraised their opponents. Neither race is expected to be competitive.