But Civic Skinny, the anonymous gossip columnist for Des Moines’ Cityview, says the contest is as much about revenge and staking a claim on 2012 as it is about who gets to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Chet Culver.

[According to a source] “A part of this is settling scores, another part is Iowa caucus related and, yes, [part is] the contest on the ballot,” this person said. He, or maybe she (“Keep my name out of the mix,” she, or maybe he, said) continued: “There was bad blood between Doug Gross and Bob Vander Plaats during the ’02 GOP gubernatorial race [which Gross lost to Tom Vilsack], especially at the end. The two ripped one another, nearly allowing Rep. Steve Sukup, as the good guy, to win a razor-thin, three-way primary race. As it was, Gross barely exceeded the minimum threshold of 35 percent to avoid the battle going to a state convention. Since then, Gross sided with [loser Jim] Nussle in his poorly run ’06 [gubernatorial] effort that saw Vander Plaats join the ticket after dropping his primary candidacy.”

There’s more: “Differences continued during ’07 and early ’08 with Gross leading the Mitt Romney effort in Iowa and Vander Plaats chairing the Mike Huckabee campaign, which won. Both former Governors are quietly preparing encore efforts. Huckabee will deal with high expectations; unclear yet what commitment Romney would make to Iowa a second time around. Huckabee has endorsed Vander Plaats in the ’10 GOP primary, as you know. With a ’10 victory, a newly re-inaugurated Terry Branstad would be in the thick of the action with governors and former governors dominating the field — possibly including Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal, Haley Barbour, even George Pataki, who made early stops in Iowa in ’05-06, only to defer to Rudy Giuliani when he made his candidacy clear. A governor Branstad would likely remain neutral, but not necessarily his political team with a data base of updated names.”

In other words, Gross is still pissed, and one reasons he’s backing Branstad is so he can settle a few scores.

Gross, who served as Branstad’s chief of staff when he was governor, has become a controversial figure for Iowa social conservatives thanks to a series of Op-Ed columns he penned earlier this year calling on his party to be more inclusive and focus less on social issues that are turning off a younger generation of voters.

Now, throw former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee into the mix.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Des Moines last year promoting another book (Jason Hancock/Iowa Independent).

The winner of the 2008 Iowa Caucuses make three stops in Iowa Sunday, Nov. 8, to promote his latest book, “A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories That Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit.” Huckabee will be in Davenport at 2:30 p.m.,  Cedar Rapids at 5 p.m., and Des Moines at 8 p.m., a day after Pawlenty gives the keynote speech at a Republican Party of Iowa event in Des Moines.

It will be Huckabee’s second appearance in Iowa this year. In May, he spoke at the Iowa Association of Business and Industry’s annual convention before holding a fundraiser for GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats.

After Pawlenty and Huckabee leave town, Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Paul will return to Iowa for the first time since the 2008 Caucuses, where the Texas lawmaker finished fifth. Paul is scheduled to speak at Iowa State University in Ames on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. The next morning he will headline a fundraiser for state Rep. Kent Sorenson’s Iowa Senate campaign at the Des Moines Airport Holiday Inn.

Charlie Smithson, executive director of the IECDB, said his staff has informed him that Huck PAC did not file the Verified Statement of Registration (VSR) with his office within 15 days of making the $2,500 contribution to Team Vander Plaats. Filing a VSR is required if an out-of-state or federal committee makes a contribution in excess of $50 to an Iowa committee.

“Notice was sent to the PAC today concerning the alleged failure to file,” Smithson said. “Pursuant to Ethics Board rule 351-4.59(6) the PAC will be assessed a $25 fine. If the report is not filed within the next 10 days additional sanctions may be imposed.”

Those sanctions could include a letter of reprimand, an additional fine of up to $2,000 or a referral for criminal prosecution, although Smithson said these types of situations rarely escalate to this level of punishment.

The last disclosure form filed by Huck PAC with the IECDB was in July 2008.

A spokesman for Huck PAC did not respond to a request for comment by the Iowa Independent.

UPDATE at 4:30 p.m. — David John, deputy director for Huck PAC, has confirmed that the disclosure violation was the result of a “small oversight by our accounting firm, which has since been corrected.” The form has now been turned in, John said.

The 2008 winner of the GOP Iowa Caucuses raised $304,673 during the first six months of 2009 for his PAC and disbursed $336,589, donating only $17,500 to candidates across the country. On the last day of the filing period, Huck PAC gave $2,500 to Team Vander Plaats. (The PAC paid out $131,000 in payroll and benefits for its employees, and it spent $72,100 for fundraising-related expenses.)

Huckabee endorsed Vander Plaats’ candidacy in June, keynoting a fundraiser for the Sioux City businessman that the campaign said brought in around $80,000 (gubernatorial candidates won’t file financial disclosure with the state until January). Vander Plaats was Huckabee’s Iowa campaign director during the 2007-2008 presidential caucus season.

Free and Strong America PAC, the political action committee of Huckabee’s caucus rival, Mitt Romney, contributed no money to Iowa campaigns so far this year.

At the beginning of the call, Huckabee provides an introductory statement. The person answering the call is then asked if he/she is a registed voter. In the second question, call receivers are asked if they are aware that Pres. Barack Obama has nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court.

From this point the call moves to a more social conservative bent as listeners are asked whether or not they are “pro-life.” Those reporting this information to The Iowa Independent all provided a negative response to this question, so there is no way of knowing if further anti-abortion questions or commentary (or a donation pitch) would result from an affirmative response.

The final three questions are primarily demographic in nature. Listeners are asked if they are over the age of 50, if they are male and if they have ever contributed to a religious organization, a non-profit or a political campaign. In each known case, however, the calls ended without asking for money.

Exact caller ID information varies with some showing “Washington, DC” while other show “Fedrsrch09″ or “unknown.” The number listed remains consistent as 202-461-3454. Although no further details are yet available about who owns this auto-dial service, it does appear to be a different company than the one Huckabee used to phone Iowans in November 2008.

In his syndicated column, under the heading “3 Amigos Who Fight For America,” Norris also endorsed John Kasich, a candidate for governor of Ohio, and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who is running to be chief executive of his state. (If Moore’s name sounds familiar, it is because he is the judge who refused to remove the Ten Commandments from his court building, even after ordered to do so by federal courts, resulting in his ouster. More on his history here.)

Here is what Norris had to say:

I encourage you to spread the word about these gentlemen and patriots, learn about their platforms, support their campaigns and see to it that they are elected as governors. Theirs is leadership we can trust. I’m convinced that, if we are to win back America, it’s going to start in the heartland and spread out from there because of the influence of leaders like them.

The Norris endorsement comes just days after former Arkansas governor and Iowa Caucus winner Mike Huckabee formally endorsed Vander Plaats at a fundraiser in Spirit Lake. Norris was a big supporter of Huckabee’s presidential campaign. Vander Plaats was Huckabee’s Iowa chair.

Associated Press political reporter Mike Glover points out that getting involved in the Republican primary could pose a risk to any plans Huckabee has to run for president in 2012. Drake University political science professor Dennis Goldford told Glover that if Huckabee can help Vander Plaats get the nomination and win the election, “then he’s nicely positioned with a supportive governor who owes him a favor.”

But if Vander Plaats is defeated in the Republican primary, Democratic strategist Mark Daley said Huckabee runs the risk of alienating other candidates and their supporters, a sentiment shared by GOP activists:

Veteran GOP strategist Bob Haus said Huckabee could be signaling he may not run for president because candidates need broad support to win the caucuses.

“He’s either very confident about Vander Plaats or he’s not running for president,” Haus said.

The endorsement of Vander Plaats should not come as a surprise, though. The Sioux City businessman served as state chair for Huckabee’s successful caucus campaign, and he recently appeared on Huckabee’s Fox News program to discuss same-sex marriage. In his numerous trips to Iowa since the caucuses, Huckabee has repeatedly called Vander Plaats “the next governor of Iowa.”

In addition to the Vander Plaats event, Huckabee will serve as the keynote speaker of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry’s annual convention this afternoon in Okiboji.

Called “An Evening of Politics In The Park,” the event will begin at 4:30 p.m. and the program will start at 5 p.m. at Arnolds Park, 243 W. Broadway St., Spirit Lake. Tickets for the event cost $100.

In a release, Huckabee said, “I’ve called Bob Vander Plaats ‘the next governor of Iowa’ on many occasions and I’ve done it deliberately and with good reason.”

This marks the first high-profile endorsement of the 2010 GOP primary, although Huckabee’s announcement comes as no surprise. Vander Plaats served as state chair for his caucus campaign and recently appeared on Huckabee’s Fox News program to discuss same-sex marriage.

Sioux City Journal political reporter Bret Hayworth wonders if the event will also serve as Vander Plaats’ “official” campaign kick-off. Vander Plaats has been unofficially running for governor since January, when he announced his intentions on WHO-AM’s Jan Mickelson.

The trip also marks Huckabee’s second visit to Iowa since November’s election, rekindling rumors he is interested in a second presidential run in 2012.

The Teahen endorsement is relevant for two reasons:

First, the second district GOP primary was heated and at times nasty, and with Teahen, Vander Plaats has aligned himself with the losing side.  Perhaps fortunately for Vander Plaats, though, Teahen did win Linn County, which he will be in charge of for 2010, by about 2,500 votes.

Second, both Vander Plaats and Teahen supported former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses.  If Vander Plaats can keep team Huckabee united and on his side, he could have the connections to win his party’s nomination.  Chief Huckabee Iowa strategist Eric Woolson helped Vander Plaats officially announce his candidacy, so anything is possible.

Team Huckabee did take a blow a few months ago when the Republican Party of Iowa elected Matt Strawn, a former supporter of Sen. John McCain, to serve as state chair.  Strawn’s main opponent was former State Rep. Danny Carroll, who worked closely with Vander Plaats as Huckabee’s Iowa co-chair.  But Huckabee’s coalition is still as strong as any within Iowa’s GOP base, and Vander Plaats seems poised to capitalize on it.

Former Massachussetts Gov. Mitt Romney is hiring a team of staff members and consultants using money raised by his Free and Strong America political action committee, which most believe is a precursor to another presidential bid.

According to the Globe analysis, he spent $244,000 on contributions to congressional and other candidates between April and the November elections. He has spent more than twice as much on staff salaries and contracts to hire professional fundraisers, who are compiling contributor lists that will serve Romney well in a future presidential campaign.

In essence, Romney is financing a political enterprise that he can use to remain a national GOP leader and use as a springboard should he decide to launch another presidential bid for 2012.

In Iowa, Romney’s PAC spent $16,000 on two state House races and two state Senate races, including $10,000 for Republican Kim Reynolds in the southwestern Senate District 48.

Romney was long considered the frontrunner in the Iowa Caucuses until he was surprisingly defeated by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in what turned into an ugly campaign.