Des Moines Register
02/16/06
Judge's departure puts race in clearer focus
By THOMAS BEAUMONT
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
News Analysis: The Democratic race for Iowa governor is shaping up to be a
head-to-head match between Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver and former
economic development Director Mike Blouin.
What once was a cluttered race that seemed headed toward resolution by a state
convention — instead of primary election voting — narrowed Wednesday to one
pitting the party's best-financed candidate against the choice of most Statehouse
Democrats.
"I think Patty Judge withdrawing narrows the field to two leading candidates,
Blouin and Culver, with a legitimate spoiler," said Iowa State University political
science professor Dianne Bystrom.
Judge, Iowa's secretary of agriculture, quit her bid for the Democratic nomination
and agreed to be Culver's running mate if he wins the June primary.
For a race with little public opinion polling published, the announcement by Judge
was intended to project momentum for Culver and may appeal to undecided
female voters.
"I'm asking my supporters, my fellow candidates and all Iowa Democrats to join
me in supporting Chet Culver for governor," Judge said during an event at the
Iowa Capitol in Des Moines. "With Chet Culver, we will win in November and we
will lead this state forward."
Culver, Iowa's secretary of state, raised $1.1 million last year, a Democratic
record for an Iowa governor's race in a non-election year. But Blouin is backed by
a majority of Democratic state legislators. State Rep. Ed Fallon of Des Moines is
waging an aggressive grass-roots campaign for the nomination, although he
raised notably less money than Blouin and Culver last year.
Iowa's governorship is considered up for grabs with two-term Gov. Tom Vilsack
as the only Democratic governor in the country not seeking re-election this fall.
Republicans Jim Nussle, a congressman from Manchester, and Bob Vander
Plaats, a Sioux City business consultant, are running for the GOP nomination.
By erasing Judge's name from a potential primary ballot, the odds of avoiding a
Democratic nominating convention shot up Wednesday. To win the nomination
outright, a candidate must get at least 35 percent of the vote on June 6.
"Some people might be happy that there would be a woman on the ticket. That
might play well" for Culver, said Mark Smith, a Des Moines Democrat and
president of the Iowa Federation of Labor.
But Meagan Heneke, an undecided Des Moines Democratic activist, said the
Culver-Judge alliance is not enough for her to throw her support to Culver.
"I'm someone who is very enthusiastic about electing a woman," said Heneke,
21. "But it doesn't persuade me to vote for Culver. I don't think it brings that much
to him in terms of votes, high-level support or fundraising."
Blouin said Wednesday that Judge's departure will give the remaining candidates
more exposure, a development he welcomes.
"I'm hoping with a smaller field, that the kind of debate will allow us to focus on
those differences," Blouin said. "It's going to be easier to drill down into those
issues that make a difference to Iowans."
But voters can also now expect a unified assault on Blouin's position on abortion,
which Culver and Judge had tag-teamed on before this week.
Blouin has long opposed abortion rights, although he has said recently he would
do nothing as governor to enhance or restrict existing law.
"I've always believed that campaigns should be about vision, ideas and issues,"
Culver said. "Patty ran that kind of campaign . . . by making a principled defense
of a woman's right to make her own health care decisions."
Although Iowa and Mississippi are the only two states never to have elected a
woman as governor or to Congress, Iowa has had a female lieutenant governor
since 1987, longer than any other state. Judge, a former two-term state senator
from Monroe County in southern Iowa, became the first woman elected secretary
of agriculture in 1998. She was re-elected in 2002.
Her departure from the race after eight months of campaigning followed a
disappointing fundraising effort last year. She raised a little more than $183,000
and had to lend herself more than $50,000. Blouin, on the other hand, raised
$521,000.
Fallon remains a factor in the race, although he raised only $110,000 last year.
He has a loyal volunteer base and considerable support among rural activists
throughout the state.
Although Fallon likens his campaign to that of the late Minnesota Sen. Paul
Wellstone, Judge's departure hurts his chances by dampening the convention
scenario, where he thought he would do well with hard-core activists.
Three other Democrats have announced plans to run, but have very little money
or campaign organization.