What’s Happening in Iowa
guest post by Chase Martyn
Managing Editor of Iowa Independent

Last week kicked off with a bang when Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama clashed in Iowans’ mailboxes.  Clinton, who has been criticized by all of her Democratic opponents for her vote in favor of a senate resolution classifying Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, sent out a mailing to defend her vote last weekend.  Tuesday, Obama mailed his response, a less wordy postcard proclaiming, “While other Democrats voted for for [sic] the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment, Barack Obama opposed another Bush foreign policy fiasco.”

It was also rumored that Clinton would receive the endorsement of AFSCME, which is a significant force in the Iowa Caucuses.

Later in the week, former Sen. John Edwards completed his visits to all of Iowa’s 99 counties — a feat he had also accomplished leading up to the 2004 Iowa Caucuses.  Edwards is the first candidate to have reached this milestone this year, and he noted that “Not only have I visited all 99 counties, I’ve been taking questions from Iowans in all 99 counties.”  This after releasing his Hunting and Fishing Bill of Rights and Responsibilities on Wednesday.

In other Democratic news, we now know the date of the 2008 Iowa Caucuses.  Democrats will hold their precinct meetings on January 3, the same day as the Republicans.  Although the new date will change the dynamics of the caucuses somewhat, Iowa will likely remain the most influential primary state in the Democratic nominating contest.

The Republican primary calendar also made news last week, when the Republican National Committee voted to sanction New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan, and Wyoming for hosting binding primary contests before February 5.  (Iowa and Nevada, whose Republican caucuses are not binding on delegate selection, will not receive penalties.)

Thursday evening, former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. John McCain were the only two candidates to appear at an AARP-sponsored forum on health care (the rest of the Republican candidates declined invitations to attend).  Rep. Ron Paul spent the end of the week campaigning in Iowa, including a stop in Ames.

Although former Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Tom Tancredo also spent time around Iowa during the week, much of the buzz surrounded Huckabee, whose band played a show at the famous Surf Ballroom, the venue where Buddy Holly played his last concert before his plane went down in Iowa, Friday night.

Saturday, most of the Republican field attended the Iowa GOP’s annual Ronald Reagan dinner in Des Moines.  Iowa Independent’s Jay Wagner reported that “Fred Thompson may have gotten more laughs during his speech, but surging Mike Huckabee received the only genuine standing ovation of the night.”  Tancredo, Huckabee, Paul, former Sen. Fred Thompson, Rep. Duncan Hunter, John Cox, and Romney’s wife Ann spoke at the dinner, while Romney himself, Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain campaigned outside the state.

What’s Happening in Iowa
guest post by Chase Martyn
Managing editor of the Iowa Independent

Former Sen. John Edwards started off last week from a position of strength when he received the endorsement of Iowa Local 199 of the Service Employees International Union Monday. He also received the support of several more SEIU state councils, who will be allowed to spend resources on member-to-member contact here. After events connected with the endorsements in Iowa and elsewhere, Edwards campaigned around the state with former congressman and Dukes of Hazzard star Ben “Cooter” Jones, who has endorsed him.

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign raised some eyebrows when it was revealed that it would hold a “Rural Americans for Hillary” summit at the Washington, DC, office of Troutman Sanders Public Affairs, a lobbying firm that represents controversial agribusiness giant Monsanto. Clinton herself made a swing through Iowa over the weekend, stumping in Des Moines, Carroll, and Storm Lake. Saturday, a direct mail piece defending Clinton’s vote in favor of the Senate resolution classifying the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group hit Iowa mailboxes.

Sen. Barack Obama released his plan for rural America in the town of Fairfax Tuesday, making stops later that day in Vinton, Amana, and Tipton. He announced the endorsement of State Rep. Mark Smith Wednesday.

Sen. Joe Biden kept his sights on Gov. Bill Richardson in campaign stops across the state. He also received the first newspaper endorsement of the presidential campaign from the Storm Lake Times, a relatively small newspaper in Northwest Iowa. Richardson gave an address on global threats in Des Moines Thursday, and he appears to be getting serious. Sen. Chris Dodd has moved his family to Iowa, according to media reports. Among other relatives campaigning for Dodd, the Connecticut Senator’s brother Tom (who is a former Ambassador and adjunct professor at Georgetown) performed duties as a surrogate last week.

For what they are worth, the two latest polls of the Democratic candidates in Iowa show Clinton in the lead. Strategic Vision puts the New York Senator at 28%, Obama at 23%, and Edwards at 20%. Rasmussen‘s results differ slightly: Clinton is at 33%, Edwards is at 22%, and Obama is at 21%. Notably, Biden is within the margin of error of Richardson in both polls (although both candidates remain in the single digits). According to Rasmussen, Clinton attracts has a commanding lead among female voters, attracting 39% of their vote.

On the Republican side, former mayor Rudy Giuliani made a trip through Iowa last week emphasizing his fiscal conservatism after receiving the support of Texas Gov. Rick Perry. His trip included a stop in arguably the most liberal county in the state.

Gov. Mitt Romney stumped in Eastern and Western Iowa on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

And Sen. Sam Brownback dropped out of the race Friday. Although he was registering very low in polls, he had endeared himself to many social conservatives in Iowa. While many blamed his failure on poor fund raising, there are indications that the root causes were more strategic than financial.

The most recent polls of the Republican field in Iowa show Romney maintaining his first place standing. Strategic Vision puts Romney at 27%, Giuliani at 13%, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 12%, former Sen. Fred Thompson at 10%, and Sen. John McCain at 5%. (Brownback and Rep. Ron Paul both had 4%.) Rasmussen registers Huckabee and Thompson well above Giuliani, with Romney at 25%, Thompson at 19%, Huckabee at 18%, and Giuliani at 13%. (McCain has 6%, and Brownback had 3%.)

Although the date of the Democratic caucuses remains uncertain, Monday, the Iowa GOP set the date of its caucuses for January 3.

What’s Happening in Iowa
guest post by Chase Martyn
Managing editor of the Iowa Independent

After the Johnson County Democrats’ Barbecue a week ago, which attracted 2,000 people and almost all of the Democratic candidates for president, many spent time stumping around the state last week.

Sen. Chris Dodd signed books and stumped after announcing that he was moving a large portion of his staff here. Gov. Bill Richardson campaigned around Iowa, emphasizing his pro-gun record in rural areas (and wearing an American Flag lapel pin). Sen. Hillary Clinton rode her new bus, “The Middle Class Express,” across the state. Sen. Barack Obama continued his criticism of Clinton’s Iran vote in a series of speeches here, which received mixed reviews in terms of style. Former Sen. John Edwards highlighted his opposition to the Iraq War on his “Take A Stand” tour. And Sen. Joe Biden held an event with Republican candidate and Sen. Sam Brownback to highlight their Iraq plan at the end of the week.

On Tuesday, most of the Democratic field announced that they would take steps to remove themselves from the Michigan primary ballot, because Michigan’s primary date violates the Democratic National Committee’s rules. Most notably, Clinton did not, opting to stay on the ballot. Rep. Dennis Kucinich attempted to remove himself but was unsuccessful. Sources told Iowa Independent that the move was an attempt by other campaigns to damage Clinton’s standing in early states like Iowa.

Obama’s and Edwards’s criticism of Clinton intensified. At the end of the week, Biden and Richardson squared off in an aggressive series of dueling press releases attacking each other’s plans for Iraq. There were also many State Legislative endorsement announcements from several campaigns. And it was revealed that Edwards would receive an endorsement from the SEIU’s Iowa Local on Monday. As the weather cooled down, the Democratic campaign heated up.

On the Republican side, Sen. Sam Brownback, who made a joint appearance with Biden to tout their plans for Iraq, said that he must win fourth place in Iowa if he is to stay in the race. Gov. Mitt Romney launched a new TV ad attacking jihad, although he has only spent three of the past 60 days in the state. Sen. John McCain rode the Straight Talk Express across the state. And Rudy Giuliani received the support of former candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson.

Republican Party State Co-Chair Leon Mosley confirmed speculation that the GOP supports a January 3 caucus date. Influential columnist David Yepsen seemed to support splitting caucus dates for the two parties, although others disagreed. At this point, conventional wisdom is that the Caucuses will be either January 3 or January 5, but the issue is far from settled.

What’s Happening in Iowa
guest post by Chase Martyn
Managing editor of the Iowa Independent

Many candidates enjoyed the warmer-than-average Fall weather in Iowa last week, including Republican former Sen. Fred Thompson, who completed his second swing through Iowa as a presidential candidate. After eliciting a critical response from the press at an Iowa Christian Alliance dinner a week ago Saturday, Thompson committed at least two more missteps while in the state: he incorrectly identified Russia as the Soviet Union in an interview, and he resorted to requesting applause from an unenthusiastic central Iowa crowd during a stump speech event.

In other Republican news, the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay Republican organization, announced a new TV ad intended to reduce Gov. Mitt Romney’s standing among social conservatives in Iowa, highlighting statements Romney made when he was running for office in Massachusetts. The Log Cabin Republicans are thought to be supporting Rudy Giuliani for their party’s nomination, although they have said they will not issue a formal endorsement.

The Des Moines Register’s definitive Iowa Poll released Sunday showed Romney maintaining his lead here, beating Thompson for first place by 11 points. Notably, third-place Gov. Mike Huckabee is ahead of Giuliani by a point. Sen. John McCain placed fifth with 7%, while Rep. Ron Paul’s has 4% support, beating Sen. Sam Brownback’s surprisingly low 2%.

On the Democratic side, almost every presidential candidate in the field spent time here last week. Sen. Barack Obama celebrated the anniversary of his 2002 speech against the Iraq war with speeches highlighting his foreign policy judgment. To the surprise of many, his speeches focused on the issue of nuclear nonproliferation rather than Iraq, which he had already spoken about on a tour last month. Obama also made national news during an Iowa interview on why he does not wear an American Flag pin.

Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Biden spent the week in Iowa highlighting his education plan, which calls for a 16-year public education system. Sen. Chris Dodd made campaign stops across the state under the headline “Results Matter,” touting his legislative record and signing copies of his new book. And Sen. John Edwards launched a 4-day “Take a Stand” tour, which will land him in 17 counties across the state by Monday evening. During the trip, Edwards highlighted the need to reduce or eliminate the role of private contractors like Blackwater in Iraq.

Saturday, after Obama had left the state, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Gov. Bill Richardson, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich joined the rest of the Democratic field for the Johnson County Democrats’ annual barbecue. Johnson County, which contains the University of Iowa in Iowa City, is arguably the most liberal county in the state, and it is also one of the largest. Richardson had held “Presidential Job Interview” events earlier Saturday. Clinton’s appearance at the barbecue marked the beginning of a four-day stump speech swing through the state.

Clinton’s tour comes on the heels of news that she leads her Democratic opponents here by 7 points. The Des Moines Register measured her support at 29%, followed by Edwards at 23% and Obama at 22%. Richardson, whose support had risen into double digits over the summer, is at 8%, Biden is at 5%, and Dodd and Kucinich are at 1%. (The margin of error is about five points.)