A GOP void exists in Iowa's First Congressional District

By Mike Thayer

Currently there are two men in Iowa's First District who have publicly stated a desire to run for Congress, hoping to be the Republican nominee to face off in November against liberal lawyer and Democrat incumbent Bruce Braley.

One is an officially declared candidate, the other is in "Exploratory Committee" status.  It's January 2012, the election season is now in full swing.  How seriously can voters regard the Republican potential in District 1?

Rod Blum of Dubuque, Iowa is an announced candidate.  He's got a campaign website, he submitted paperwork with the Federal Election Commission as an official candidate, although the information he filed was inadequate according to the FEC.  Perhaps just a rookie mistake....  The FEC letter requesting more information wanted a response back from Blum by December 28.  He didn't meet that deadline, there is no update from him in the record.   That's a problem.

Blum  announced his run in October 2011 and has made campaign trail appearances ever since.  He even has a page on his website highlighting some of those appearances.  But according to the FEC, he doesn't have any money.  When you bring up his name on the FEC site to look at contributions to his campaign and compare it to Bruce Braley's campaign, Blum's financial number is "0".    Granted, Blum has until January 31 to file a report for money raised during the 4th quarter of 2011, but word from my county road sources is....   Blum isn't raking in much cash, not much at all.  That's a problem.  It indicates a lack of voter interest in the guy.

Liberal lawyer Bruce Braley has over $450,000 cash on hand (largely from out-of-state and PAC sources) for his 2012 re-election bid.  How can Blum compete against that?  Answer:  He can't. 

Perhaps he'll prove me wrong with his January 31 filing, but I don't think so.

The void gets bigger.

Ben Lange, an attorney from Independence, Iowa ran against attorney Bruce Braley in 2010, losing to the liberal by a little more than 4,000 votes.   He hasn't officially declared himself a candidate yet for 2012 according to the FEC but he did form an exploratory committee in October.   Here's the problem, he's told people on the "Exploratory Committee" a'hem, campaign trail in District 1 that he has financial backing to the tune of six figures....  Now a commitment of funding and actual receipt of funding are two different things, but if he does indeed have that kind of backing, then why keep things in exploratory committee status?  Logically and more importantly legally, you would officially announce, file and that would generate even more campaign cash.  You would promote the support, market testimonials and endorsements and that generates even more campaign cash.  You would do that sooner rather than later because any candidate intent on making a serious run for this seat has got an uphill battle against Braley who has over $450,000 cash on hand.  So is Lange's six-figure claim true or an inflated tale?  If it's the latter, that's a problem.  People don't want to be fed a line of bull, the folks in District 1 already get more than enough of that from Braley and they're tired of it.   The last thing they want is more of the same. 

Here's the thing, according to FEC rules, if Lange has collected even just $5,000 dollars while in Exploratory Committee status, then he is obligated by law to file a Statement of Candidacy, FEC Form 2.  He hasn't.  By law he can no longer remain in Exploratory Committee status, he MUST file to be a candidate.  In a review of FEC reporting, Lange never closed out his previous campaign for Congress, he still has a little over $3,500 on the books.  So what are the possibilities here?  Does Lange have two sets of books, one for 2010 as a candidate and another as 'Exploratory' for 2012?  If he hasn't collected $5,000 since announcing he was testing the water in October 2011, then that can be an indication not enough people are interested in backing him this election cycle.  To be fair, a candidate may tell potential donors to hold off on actually writing the checks until the official candidacy announcement is made and Lange may very well have been doing that.  But that brings up another problem for Lange. 

FEC Campaign Finance Rules and Regulations, Chapter 1, Page 1:  Campaigning (As opposed to testing the waters) is apparent, for example, when individuals:

• Take action to qualify for the ballot 

Download Campaign Finance Rules and Regs

Ben Lange took action to qualify for the ballot on caucus night by having petitions for voters to sign at various caucus sites throughout the district.  I contacted several county Republican central committee chairs and/or committee members throughout District 1 and they confirmed the presence of Lange nomination petitions.  Not just "Let's urge Ben Lange to run for Congress" petitions mind you, but Ben-Lange's-name-to-be-placed-on-the-primary-ballot petitions.  Now if I'm interpreting the FEC information above correctly, you have to be a declared candidate to do that.  FEC rules state that exploratory committee status must be terminated, official candidacy declared and paperwork be filed as an official candidate.....  THEN petitions to have your name placed on the primary ballot can be put out.  Lange didn't do that, he is a lawyer, he's run for this office before, you would think he would be familiar with the rules. 

The following was obtained by the Coralville Courier, content from a cover letter  accompanying the nomination petitions submitted to all the counties in Iowa's District 1 by volunteer Melanie Weber, who coordinated the nomination petition drive and by the way, she also did volunteer work for Ben Lange during his 2010 campaign:  

In advance of the Caucus, I'm forwarding nomination petitions, so that in the event Ben Lange officially enters the 2012 Congressional race he will have the necessary signatures on the nomination petitions.  I'd appreciate it if you'd be willing to ensure these petitions are distributed to each of your county precinct chairman so that the necessary signatures from your county can be obtained.  I have also included a self-addressed envelope so that the signed nomination petitions can be promptly returned.

In a phone interview with Melanie, she explained her involvement with Lange's campaign by stating that when she again became a volunteer for Ben, she asked him what she could do to help out.  He tasked her with the nomination petition drive.   With that instruction, she then sent the nomination petitions out to all 20 counties in the district.  When asked if Lange had officially announced his candidacy, she replied:  "I know he's going to wait until he gets all 20 counties back before he does that." 

That's a problem folks.  If an average Joe like me raises an eyebrow and says, "HUH?" over these mistakes by Lange, imagine what liberal lawyer Bruce Braley is going to with this information.....  And make no mistake - Braley's campaign is watching, they're fully aware.   Without question the Braley campaign is monitoring the FEC site, which does not have any paperwork on file where Lange has declared his candidacy for 2012.    Lange's petition drive was a big no-no.

Which begs the question:  Are the signatures Lange collected from petitions on caucus night any good? 

Ladies and gentlemen, as it stands right now, a GOP void exists in Iowa's First Congressional District.

Blum isn't raising any serious cash, indicating no real interest in his campaign.   That's a problem for both Blum and Republican voters in the district.

Lange has told people he's got six figures of financial support lined up.  We'll know the truth in that statement on January 31.  If he doesn't have the six figures, then his credibility and integrity come into question.  The other issue is Lange put the cart before the horse by putting petitions out before he has declared himself an official candidate.  Again, the issue of credibility comes up and so does his know how.  This isn't Lange's first campaign rodeo.  He's a lawyer, it's his JOB to know the law and so you would think he would know enough to dot his 'i's and cross his 't's or at the very least learn from his past mistakes with FEC filings.  Yes, unfortunately he's got a questionable filing on his record from 2010.  Take the complaint filed against Lange by Iowa Democrat Party Chair Sue Dvorskey with a grain of salt, but it's a matter of public record regardless.  Braley will be sure to manipulate that too, it's sure to come out along with this latest snafu stuff, should Lange run.    Again, credibility issues with Lange becomes a problem.

To sum, Blum's situation is a bit about getting his paperwork in order, but primarily about a lack of funds.  Regarding Lange however, I can't explain his mistakes.  I'm frankly puzzled by them.  As it stands right now, neither of these two candidate situations show promise in defeating Braley in November.

Don't Republicans in Iowa's First District deserve better?  How seriously can they regard the current GOP candidates?  There's a void there, one that liberal Democrat Bruce Braley is sure to exploit.  

Final thought:  Iowa's Straw Poll has been exposed for the money grab that it is, the Iowa Caucus process is now an official embarassment and our First In The Nation status is sure to come under fire with some pretty potent ammo this time....  And Iowa's First District has a man with empty pockets and a man who doesn't know the rules trying to face off against Bruce Braley.

It's not just Iowa's First District that deserves better, all Iowan's deserve better.

Related Stories: 

Another sloppy Ben Lange mistake

http://coralvillecourier.typepad.com/community/2012/01/another-sloppy-ben-lange-mistake.html

A decision that was only to take a few weeks turns into more than 3 months for Ben Lange

http://coralvillecourier.typepad.com/community/2012/01/a-decision-that-was-only-to-take-a-few-weeks-turns-to-more-than-3-months-for-ben-lange.html

Comments

[Efus McWawa]

You obviously don't have a clue what you are talking and writing about.

[WHITFIELDMARISOL32]

Efus McWawa huh?

Chris Reed? Is that you?

Where's your example of not having a clue?

[Efus McWawa]

You DO know that Coralville
isn't IN the Iowa's NEW First District,
don't you Mike?

[WHITFIELDMARISOL32]

Efus,

I live in District 4, and I read the Coralville Courier. What's your point?

[Efus McWawa]

The only "void" is in your knowledge of Rod Blum and his campaign. Can't wait to see your follow-up report to your Clayton County GOP meeting, so we can all see how perceptive and objective your "no spin" zone really is.