Posted on July 7, 2010 by Tim Albrecht in News Clips, On the Blogs, Press Room
Beaumont: Reynolds begins reaching out to Vander Plaats supporters
Greenfield, Ia. — Republican lieutenant governor nominee Kim Reynolds said Tuesday she was making inroads with supporters of former GOP candidate for governor Bob Vander Plaats, but had more work to do.
Reynolds, a state senator from Osceola, was on her first day of headlining campaign events in counties where the Republican nominee for governor, running mate Terry Branstad, finished second to Vander Plaats in the GOP primary.
“We’re hoping that we can get in touch with the county campaign chairs that he had,” Reynolds said after meeting with about 40 Adair and Union county GOP activists at Nodaway Diner in Greenfield.
“We’re working hard to get everybody’s vote. But that means reaching out to his supporters, listening to them, hopefully allowing them an opportunity to get to know me.”
With less than four months until Election Day, the Iowa GOP remains somewhat unsettled. In the June 8 primary, Branstad won the three-way contest with 50 percent of the vote.
Vander Plaats, who won 41 percent of the vote, carried 24 of Iowa’s 99 counties, including Adair, where Reynolds campaigned Tuesday.
Vander Plaats has not endorsed the former four-term governor. Nor has he ruled out an independent bid for governor since losing the nomination for lieutenant governor at the state Republican convention in Des Moines on June 26.
Vander Plaats did not return telephone messages on Tuesday.
Vander Plaats had campaigned as the stricter social conservative, criticizing Branstad in part for not taking a stronger position against same-sex marriage. Branstad supports a constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage, but has refused to embrace Vander Plaats’ plan to sign an executive order halting the practice until a referendum on an amendment.
A meeting after the primary between Branstad and Vander Plaats did not go well, Vander Plaats said in a radio interview last month. Vander Plaats said he failed to persuade Branstad to take up his idea of the executive order.
Reynolds said after winning the nomination that she would begin reaching out in parts of the state where Vander Plaats beat Branstad.
On Tuesday, she stressed Branstad’s message that the Iowa’s economy, the employment outlook and state budget are paramount issues. But Reynolds, a freshman senator in the GOP minority, also noted before taking questions from the group at the lunch spot that she had tried to advance the marriage amendment.
“We got to 24 who signed off on that. We needed 26,” Reynolds said, referring to the number of senators who supported a debate of the marriage amendment resolution this year. “So, elections matter. They do make a difference. We need to get additional people in there that will support that.”
