Stories

Iowa could end the 2009 fiscal year with $161 million less in net revenues than expected, according to estimates by the Legislative Services Agency. That could force Gov. Chet Culver to call a special session to balance the budget.

The Sac County Republican Party hosted what was probably the first cattle-call of 2010 Republican candidates for governor over the weekend, and four men delivered stump speeches as candidates (or potential candidates).
To hear what State Rep. Christopher Rants (R-Sioux City), State Rep. Rod Roberts (R-Carroll), State Sen. Jerry Behn (R-Boone), and Bob Vander Plaats [...]

Now that former House Speaker Christopher Rants has jumped into the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, he is the frontrunner for his party’s nomination to take on incumbent Democrat Chet Culver, according to Civic Skinny, gossip columnist for Cityview.
Noting that it will take “deft footwork” to move from a successful primary campaign to a successful general election [...]

Former House Speaker Christopher Rants announced today he has filed paperwork to form a committee to explore a possible run for governor in 2010.

Four men publicly mulling a run for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2010 will gather together for a second time next month for a forum sponsored by IowaPolitics.com.
State Sen. Jerry Behn, former House Speaker Christopher Rants, state Rep. Rod Roberts and Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats have agreed to attend the event being held [...]

In what might be the first shot of the 2010 GOP gubernatorial primary, Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats criticized state Rep. Christopher Rants for his stance on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
In a statement to the media, Vander Plaats said if elected he would sign an executive order banning same-sex marriages as part [...]

Republican state Rep. Rod Roberts of Carroll, who has expressed interest in a gubernatorial run in 2010, told Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO-TV that he plans to form a campaign exploratory committee “sooner, rather than later.”

The offer is simple: come to the Sac County Republicans’ summer fundraiser, announce you’re running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, and you will get a portion of any money raised that day.

Confirmed guests include state Sen. Jerry Behn, former House Speaker Christopher Rants, state Rep. Rod Roberts and Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats; but the county GOP chair knows that an official announcement at the event is unlikely.

In an interview with Iowa Indy alum Douglas Burns, State Rep. Christopher Rants (R-Sioux City) discouraged State Rep. Rod Roberts (R-Carroll) from running for governor. (Both men are rumored to be mulling a bid, but Rants is probably a lot more serious about it at this point.)  Rants’s argument, as retold by Burns, is that [...]

State Rep. Christopher Rants (R-Sioux City) still hasn’t said anything official, but we can add two new tea leaves that indicate he’s running for governor to our growing stack.