2008 Iowa Primary Elections

DES MOINES -- Three Republicans are competing to be the most conservative alternative to U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, arguing that energizing the party's base is the only way to oust a Democrat who is seeking his fifth term in the Senate.

The candidates in the June 3 primary are:

--George Eichhorn, a lawyer from Stratford and former legislator.

--Steve Rathje, a Cedar Rapids resident who runs a manufacturing supplies business.

--Christopher Reed, a Marion resident who operates a telephone answering business.

Only Eichhorn has held elective office, and he lost his legislative seat in the last election.

"I am running to change Washington, not become changed by Washington like Harkin," Eichhorn said. "I have a proven, consistent record of common sense conservatism."

The three are sounding sharply conservative themes, hoping to draw the clearest of contrasts with Harkin. That's especially important in a primary likely to have low turnout and be dominated by social and religious conservatives.

Christopher Reed

"I want to be your senator because I firmly believe that we need to defeat fundamental liberalism in Washington, D.C.," said Reed. "As your senator I will fight to enforce core conservative principles and the great Iowa values we all hold near and dear."

Rathje has been the most aggressive of the three, joining the race early and conceding the difficulty of the race ahead.

"Unseating Tom Harkin is going to be a battle, a battle this campaign does not take lightly," he said.

Financially, the Republicans start far behind Harkin. The most recent Federal Election Commission reports list no contributions for either Eichhorn or Reed.

Rathje has raised $85,492, but has spent $78,352 and has $7,732 in the bank, the FEC reported. He also had debts of $19,959.

Harkin reported raising $4,686,672, and has $3,930,680 in the bank, according to the FEC.

There has been no independent polling in the GOP primary. All three candidates said they've received backing from prominent Republicans.

George Eichhorn

Eichhorn released a list of 30 current and former members of the Legislature who are backing his campaign, along with former GOP state Chairman Michael Mahaffey and former Republican National Committeewoman Gwen Boeke.

Reed touts a letter from noted Iowa conservative Bill Salier, while Rathje points to the Iowa Federation of Republican Women's endorsement of his campaign.

All three are courting religious conservatives directly.

"Democrats like Tom Harkin and his ilk believe in freedom from religion, not freedom of religion," said Reed. "They are working to remove God from our lives."

Steve Rathje

And Rathje said, "The blessings I have received came from hard work, personal sacrifice and my belief in almighty God."

The winner of the Republican primary will face a difficult race with Harkin, one of the most successful Democratic politicians in the state's history.

Harkin served 10 years in the U.S. House before winning his seat in the Senate in 1984. His only loss was in 1972 to Republican Rep. William Scherle, whom he defeated two years later.

Harkin has no opposition in the June 3 primary.

Adding to the challenge, the most recent numbers from state election officials show the state has 660,693 registered Democrats, compared to 577,619 registered Republicans. Another 685,693 have registered without declaring a party preference and Harkin has targeted independents and Republicans in his early campaigning.

In other races, four Republican candidates are seeking two available nominations for a pair of seats on the Clay County Board of Supervisors. They are: D.R. "Del" Brockshus, Bob Schlaeger, Joe Skow and Jim Umscheid Jr.

Two Democrats filed for the two nominations available on the board: H Schar and Tim Kehoe. Profiles of the supervisors candidates appeared in the Saturday edition of The Daily Reporter and can be found online at www.spencerdailyreporter.com.

U.S. Rep. Steve King of Kiron does not face a primary opponent for the GOP nomination and is seeking another two-year term in Congress. Democrats have one candidate for King's seat. Rob Hubler of Council Bluffs is unopposed for his party's nomination.

Democrats did not place a candidate on the ballot for the Iowa House District 5 and House District 6 seats held by Royd Chambers of Sheldon and Mike May of Spirit Lake respectively. Both GOP incumbents have filed to run again and do not face an opponent on the ballot.

Other incumbent Republicans unopposed on the ballot are: Clay County Auditor Marjorie Pitts and Clay County Sheriff Randy Krukow. Democrats did not place candidates on the ballot for either office.

New this year, Iowa laws allow voters to register to vote on election day at their polling place. If a new registrant plans on registering on election day, they must show a proper form of identification as well as proof of residence. Ask a poll worker, or contact the Clay County Auditor's Office for more details.

REMEMBER TO VOTE!

Elections for federal, state and county offices will be held in Clay County on Tuesday, June 3, polls will open at 7 p.m. and close at 9 p.m. in the following locations:

Lake/ Freeman Precinct - Dickens Community Center

Meadow/ Sioux Precinct - VFW Club in Spencer

Summit/ Riverton Precinct - Spencer Airport Terminal

Waterford/ Lone Tree Precinct - Hap Ketelsen Community Center in Everly

Logan/ Gillett Grove Precinct - Gillett Grove City Hall

Lincoln/ Clay Precinct - Royal Community Center

Douglas/ Peterson Precinct - Senior Citizens Center in Peterson

Garfield/ Herdland Precinct - Webb Community Center

Spencer Ward 1 - Clay Co. Regional Events Center

Spencer Ward 2 - Clay Co. Regional Events Center

Spencer Ward 3 - Clay Co. Regional Events Center

Spencer Ward 4 - Clay Co. Regional Events Center

Spencer Ward 5 - Clay Co. Regional Events Center