State Political Profile: Iowa
Governor
Secretary of State Chet Culver will face Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle this November in the race for governor.
Culver, son of former U.S. Sen. John Culver, has good name recognition in the state. His running mate is Patty Judge, the state's agriculture secretary, who also is widely known.
Nussle stepped down from his 1st District seat and chairmanship of the House Budget Committee to run for governor. His running mate is Bob Vander Plaats, who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination in 2002.
The seat is open for the first time since 1998, when Gov. Tom Vilsack's predecessor, Gov. Terry Branstad, left office. Vilsack, who vowed he would not seek a third term in the governor's mansion, has been raising his national profile with a series of out-of-state appearances and is thought to be considering a presidential bid.
U.S. House
The campaign for the 1st District seat being vacated by Nussle, a Republican, is expected to be bruising.
Democratic nominee Bruce Braley, a trial lawyer from Waterloo, supports women's right to abortion, getting American troops out of Iraq and expanding health care benefits. His GOP rival, Davenport restaurateur Mike Whalen, portrays himself as a "Reagan Republican" who favors a simplified tax code and Social Security reform.
Democratic strategists consider it to be one of their best chances to gain a seat. However, there's a fairly even split among Democrats and Republicans in the 12-county district, which is home to such blue-collar cities as Waterloo, Clinton and Davenport -- and independents, voters registered without a party preference, outnumber both camps. Voters trend conservative on social issues.
In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry captured 55 percent of the vote in Iowas 1st District. Those same voters elected Nussle to a seventh term by almost exactly the same margin.
Legislature
The Iowa Senate is tied 25-25 after Democrats made gains in the last legislative elections and the Republicans retain only a narrow 51-49 edge in the Iowa House. Legislative races in November could determine control of both chambers, so the election is bound to be heated.
-- Associated Press
