Sierrans:
The following is a text of an article in yesterdayıs Des Moines Register,
9/5. It is a great lead-in for Letters to the Editor, which could be sent to
the Register, as well as 4th Congressional District papers, as in Mason
City, Fort Dodge, Ames, Indianola, and Marshalltown.
Particularly if you know about either, and their environmental positions, it
is a great opportunity to show a difference.
Have at it!
Lyle
Newcomers in Iowa race key to House
National attention falls on Iowa's new 4th District, which pits Tom Latham
against John Norris.
By THOMAS BEAUMONT
Register Staff Writer
09/05/2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ames, Ia. - One of the nation's most watched congressional elections this
year involves two candidates who are unfamiliar to many voters in a
sprawling new district stretching from Iowa's rural northeast corner to some
of the state's fastest-growing suburbs.
Iowa's 4th U.S. House District pits incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Tom
Latham of Alexander against Ames Democrat John Norris, formerly chief of
staff to Gov. Tom Vilsack.
The race has commanded President Bush's attention - he helped raise money
for Latham - and large contributions by both GOP and Democratic national
campaign committees fighting for control of the closely divided House.
The candidates disagree on the value of the latest farm bill, low Medicare
reimbursements to Iowa doctors and hospitals, and other issues key to this
mostly rural district where senior citizens make up about one-sixth of the
population.
But both candidates are relatively new to the district. Norris bought a home
in Ames in August of last year. Latham, who lives in Alexander, is an
incumbent, but he has never represented more than half of the district
including Story County.
Al Patterson of Ames had heard little about the candidates last week when
Norris appeared at his Kiwanis Club meeting.
"I still don't know too much about them," said Patterson, an 81-year-old
registered Democrat. "I'll wait to make up my mind."
Some observers following the race say Latham doesn't appear to be the target
of any strong anti-incumbent sentiment but add that a lot can happen before
Nov. 5.
"There's nothing to suggest Latham has big, big problems," said Amy Walters,
who follows the fight for control of the House for the Washington,
D.C.-based Cook Political Report. "But Norris has a hefty war chest and
hasn't spent it yet. We haven't seen this race really engage. Latham may
still have a race, but it forces Norris to really go after him."
The two candidates raised more than $800,000 each by July, but Norris had a
$200,000 advantage in cash on hand and only started advertising on
television this week.
Walters, however, says Norris is the underdog if for no other reason than
the district, redrawn to reflect the 2000 census, has about 14,000 more
registered Republicans than registered Democrats.
Norris, who was U.S. Rep. Leon- ard Boswell's chief of staff before working
for Vilsack, moved to Ames after originally announcing plans to run in the
3rd District, which includes Des Moines. Norris changed his mind when
Boswell decided to move to Des Moines to run in the 3rd District instead of
seeking re-election from his home in rural Davis City, which was included in
the heavily Republican 5th District.
Norris, 44, was singled out by top Democrats last fall as one of their top
six recruits, predicting he would play a key role in taking back the six
seats needed for a Democratic majority.
While Republicans have a registration advantage, Norris notes that the
largest bloc of voters in the district is made of those registered without
affiliating with a political party - 39 percent of the district.
A majority of voters in the 28 counties that make up the 4th District voted
for Democrats Bill Clinton and Sen. Tom Harkin in 1996 and Vilsack in 1998.
They also, however, narrowly went for George W. Bush over Al Gore in 2000.
"That's all because of those no-party voters," Norris said. "They will make
the difference in this election."
Latham, 54, was first elected in 1994, the year of the Republican revolution
when the GOP ended years of Democratic control in the House. He helped run
his family's seed company before entering politics.
The low-key Latham is confident about his chances, despite the new district.
Campaign aides point to a poll commissioned by the campaign that shows
Latham has a more than 20-point lead at this early stage in the race.
"I feel at home in the district," Latham said. "There's a feeling that
people know who I am even though I haven't represented them all before."
Fran Dunshee, 51, of Ames said she was leaning toward supporting Latham, as
the congressman recently visited a laboratory at Iowa State University where
she works as auditor. "But I haven't paid too much attention to either of
them so far," said Dunshee, a registered Republican.
Voters will find some clear differences between the candidates on the issues
facing the district.
Latham voted against the farm bill, for example, saying it favored large
corporate farms at the expense of family farmers. Norris said the new farm
bill, crafted in part by Harkin, who is chairman of the Senate Agriculture
Committee, is a boon to the Iowa economy.
Norris accuses Latham of ignoring Iowa's 50th-place ranking for Medicare
reimbursements to Iowa hospitals and doctors, saying he has done nothing in
four terms to address the disparity.
"We have to stop viewing it as Iowa's problem," said Norris, who has
proposed creating a congressional alliance of the 35 states that receive
less than the national average for patients in the federal health-care
program for the elderly.
Latham said he voted with members of both parties to change Medicare in
1997, lowering the rate of increase for Medicare funding because he said
waste and abuse were bankrupting the system.
"Medicare was going broke at the time," he said.
Latham supports an amendment by U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle of Manchester attached
to the House Medicare prescription-drug bill that would raise Medicare
reimbursement for Iowa hospitals by $125 million over three years.
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