Eight Candidates- Only One Will Prevail As Iowa's New Governor

The 2006 Iowa Governor's race has a large field of contenders all fighting to win over the most Hawkeye voters to prevail as the next Governor. The contenders looking to replace retiring Democrat Governor Tom Vilsack are comprised of six Democratic candidates and two Republican candidates. The Democrat candidates are: Mike Blouin, Chet Culver, Ed Fallon, Patty Judge, Sal Mohamed, and Vernon Weems. The Republican candidates are Jim Nussle and Bob Vander Plaats. The candidates come to the race with a wide variety of backgrounds; candidates Blouin, Culver, Fallon, Judge, Muhamed, and Nussle come to the race with either state or national political backgrounds. The other two candidates, Weems, has local political experience as a 2001 Waterloo Mayoral candidate and Vander Plaats comes from the private sector as a businessman. The some of the main issues being addressed in this race are health care, long term care initiatives for the growing senior population, and health care benefits for the children, the growing ethanol industry, abortion, and stem-cell research.

Released recently was the campaign- finance report. As reported by David Yepsen of the Des Moines Register on January 24, 2006, Nussle raised the most funds of the Republican candidates last year with a total of $2.5 million and $1.5 million remaining in his fund. For the Democratic candidates with the most funds raised last year was by Chet Culver with a total of $1.1 million and $833,000 remaining in the bank. The other candidates did not fair as well. The campaign-finance reports in recent history have been used as a gauge as to the the strongest candidates are and the race winner usually being the candidate with the largest fund.

I have selected to follow the gubernatorial campaign of the Democrat candidate Patty Judge. Judge has a long political background. She currently holds the office of the Iowa State Secretary of Agriculture, with past experience as a State Senator, a mediator, and a farmer. If elected she would be the first woman to be elected to the position. With this many contenders I believe she has a tough road ahead of her.