Archive: News Clips
July 9, 2010
(URBANDALE) – The Governor Branstad 2010 campaign today launched its newest ad, “Exactly Right.”
The ad, which will run statewide on network and cable, can be watched here.
In conjunction with the ad’s release, Branstad 2010 campaign manager Jeff Boeyink released the following statement:
“While the Culver campaign is trying to mislead and misdirect Iowans about Terry Branstad’s outstanding record of achievement, Governor Culver cannot hide from results of his failed leadership. Nowhere is that failed leadership more evident than in regards to the plight of Iowa’s unemployed and his inability to articulate a plan to stimulate Iowa’s economy and create new jobs.
“Governor Branstad took office at one of the most challenging times in our state’s history, facing an unemployment rate of 8.6%. Working with Iowans, Governor Branstad led Iowa out of that dark place, helped create nearly 300,000 jobs for Iowans, and left our state with an unemployment rate that was the lowest in the state’s history at that time.
“With news this week of another major Iowa employer laying off 1,000 hard working Iowans, it is… read more →
July 7, 2010
Hope you all had an enjoyable holiday. I’m back after a week of vacation and trying to get back int0 the swing.
Secretary of State Mike Mauro just had a news conference to announce the party registration changes that resulted from the June 8 primary. Bad news for Democrats.
Republicans had big gains, going from 607,567 registered on June 1, 2010 to 644,838. That’s a gain of 37,271, according to Mauro’s math.
Democrats, during the same period, dropped from 710,017 to 699,972, a loss of 10,045. Ouch. Democrats had an over 100,000 advantage over Republicans before the primary. Afterward, their advantage was down to about 55,000.
Read the full post here.
July 7, 2010
Periodically in this blog, I’ll update the latest voter registration statistics from the Iowa Secretary of State website. Today, there’s big news in those totals, with the unmistakable news peg coming from the mouth of Secretary of State Mike Mauro. In a news conference this morning, Mauro shared that Republicans have pared away a good chunk of the voter registration advantage enjoyed by the Iowa Democratic Party, which has sat at about a 100,000 person plus for Dems since Obama was elected in fall 2008.
Pushed in large part by a competitive three-man gubernatorial Republican Party primary held June 8, from June 1 to July 1 the GOP picked up 37,271 in voter registration, while Democrats dropped 10,045. The current totals for active registrations sits at 661,115 for Democrats, 615,011 for Republicans and 683,817 registered as No Party.
That registration change for the GOP is a prime pleasing subject here at lunch hour amongRepublican Party leaders on Twitter. And it has got to be concerning for Democrats (particularly Iowa Gov. Chet Culver in his re-election bid)
Read the entire post here.
July 7, 2010
So Gov. Chet Culver is a big ‘ol property tax raiser.
That’s the shocking, shocking assertion coming from the Branstad campaign, backed up with real numbers from the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency.
I really meant to get to this last week. Extra work and the holiday intervened. But clearly, this is a charge we’re going to hear over and over again throughout the campaign. So let’s have a look.
Read the full post here.
July 7, 2010
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… read more →
July 7, 2010
Throughout most of the last decade, there have been almost as many registered Republicans as there were registered Democrats in Iowa. During the first part of the decade, Iowa Republicans held a slight advantage in registration over the Democrats. Their advantage fluctuated between a 20,000-voter advantage in January of 2000, to a 50,000-voter advantage in January of 2003.
More recently, Iowa Democrats have held a big advantage over the Republicans. Following the 2008 general election, Democrats had an 111,000 advantage in registered voters. A margin of that magnitude seemed insurmountable, but the registration numbers following the June 8th primary seem to indicate that Iowa Republicans are finally moving in the right direction by cutting that number in half.
Secretary of State Michael Mauro held a press conference yesterday to announce a significant change in party registration. Mauro said, “As of July 1, there are just over 55,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. One month prior to that, Democrats maintained an advantage of over 100,000.”
Mauro said he held the press conference in an attempt to add a little context to… read more →
July 1, 2010
Culver Cuts: Republicans believe they just got a little oomph to their contention that Governor Chet Culver’s 10% across-the-board cuts and budget spending plans have forced school districts to raise property taxes. Culver had requested districts NOT to raise property taxes. But some said they would have no choice if Culver’s across-the-board cuts reduced their state funding. This week, the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency, announced Iowans will see an approximate 7% increase in property taxes. Culver’s Republican opponent for governor, Terry Branstad, pounced on the news saying that it shows the fiscal mismanagement of Culver’s tenure as governor. Culver’s campaign responded by criticizing Branstad’s time in office.
What do you think? Did Culver do what he had to do with his across-the-board cuts? Or should he have worked with state legislators to make selective cuts instead that could have spared some of the cuts to schools?
Poll Problems: I don’t usually address polls that come from WHO-TV’s competitor, KCCI. But the company, Research 2000, that produced the station’s most recent polls has found its way into a mess right now.… read more →
June 30, 2010
I want to piggyback on what Craig Robinson of The Iowa Republican wrote about Rod Roberts speech at the Iowa Republican State Convention on Saturday, as well as what Jeff Jorgensen wrote here.
As some of you know Rod was nominated for Lt. Governor on the floor of the convention by Linda Harrington of Lee County. That was seconded. Prior to that the Lt. Governor nominee, State Senator Kim Reynolds was nominated by Congressman Steve King and Bob Vander Plaats was nominated by Representative Dwayne Alons (R-Hull).
All three were called behind the stage to determine whether or not they accepted the nomination and all three were given the opportunity to speak. Rod was able to speak first and he said that on June 8th the voters made their decision and they chose former Governor Terry Branstad, he then said, “I respect that decision. Branstad has the right to choose his own lieutenant governor. I endorse both Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds. I respectfully decline the nomination.”
That demonstrated that he is a… read more →
June 29, 2010
Sorry, Mr. Vander Plaats-your speech to the Iowa Republican Party’s state convention didn’t rally the troops the way that Kim Reynolds did Saturday.
The energy and conviction with which she delivered her nomination speeches (she had to give two when Bob Vander Plaats accepted a nomination and forced a vote) were electrifying a roomful of delegates who wanted new energy.
Read the entire post here.
June 28, 2010
Don’t believe what you are reading in the newspaper or what you are seeing on the local news. The Republican Party in Iowa isn’t divided. It’s not coming off of a contentious convention. It matured and now is poised to make huge gains in November.
Read the full post by clicking here.
