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Remember how a few hours ago, I made a post about Frank Wolf retiring with the disclaimer that I had zero intentions of writing a post today. Yeah, well take freakin’ two.
Tom Latham of Iowa’s 3rd congressional district has decided to retire as well and will not be running for re-election in 2014. This came about two hours after Democrat Jim Matheson announced he wouldn’t be running in Utah (a seat that will likely overwhelmingly go Republican) and really; today is a great day if you are someone like me.
Anyway, Latham represents another winnable district; one that is probably even more winnable than the one Wolf is vacating. This is astounding news really and kind of unexpected even though Latham already shocked political observers earlier in the year by demurring a run for Senate.
Latham is well-noted for having a close relationship with Speaker John Boehner and the Speaker of the House probably isn’t too keen on one of his chief allies not being around anymore. In fact this sparks speculation on the future of the Speaker who seems more likely on the way out as well in some form or another.
But enough about Boehner, let’s look at the district Latham is vacating in the same way we looked at Wolf’s.
District Facts:
- Contains the state capitol of Des Moines and Council Bluffs; which should help Democrats in 2014.
- Latham was forced into a race against Democratic Rep. Leonard Boswell due to redistricting but beat him by nine points.
- Latham’s victory was all the more impressive due to the fact that President Obama carried the district by a 51-47 margin over Mitt Romney in 2012.
Our Candidate(s):
- As of now, the main Democrat in this race is Staci Appel, a former state senator who while a good candidate might earn some challengers now that Latham is out.
Why We Can Win This:
- Well, this is a pretty decent dream come true for the DCCC as now we might have a seat that can negate the likely loss of the Matheson one. This district is pretty favorable for Democrats and it could very well begin as a lean D option depending on how the year goes.
- Roll Call touts several potential Republican candidates which includes former state party chair Matt Strawn and state senator Brad Zaun who lost to Boswell by four points in 2010.
- This is a good thing for Democrats, I can’t stress that enough but while Appel does seem to be a decent progressive; this district might need another candidate. Appel is credible, but did lost by eighteen points in 2010.
Links You Oughta Check Out:
- Staci Appel’s Facebook page
- Staci Appel’s Twitter account
- Staci Appel’s campaign site
- DONATE TO STACI APPEL’S CAMPAIGN
