Democrat wins close race for House seat

Democrats retained a fiercely contested House seat in a special election today, turning aside Republican hopes to showcase a victory as a sign Iowa’s political tide has turned.

Democratic candidate Curt Hanson, a retired school teacher, won against GOP candidate and Jefferson County Supervisor Stephen Burgmeier by 3,932 to 3,825 votes, according to unofficial tallies.

“We predicted it would be a close race and it was,” Hanson said of his 107-vote victory. “I think what surprised me was the total state attention and, perhaps, even national.”

Republicans acknowledge the loss was unsettling, but said the closeness of the race means that their future is bright and that they will gain ground in next year’s House, Senate and gubernatorial races.

Iowa Republicans have lost seats in the state House and Senate for four elections in a row, giving Democrats a majority in both chambers. Before today’s results, 55 of the 100 House seats and 32 of the 50 Senate seats are held by Democrats.

“Certainly we’re disappointed but we can hang our hat on the fact that Republicans nearly won what has been a solid Democrat legislative district for over a decade,” said Matt Strawn, chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa. “The fact that we were able to come so close shows there’s certainly a lot of concern, at least in this district, with the status quo and one-party rule in Des Moines."

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090901/NEWS/90901056

This has to be troubling for Rethugs.

The GOP base claims to have been re-energized by opposition to the Health Care reform debate. Doesn't appear to be the case with a dem pulling out a victory.

Congratz to Curt Hanson. Nice victory over the Rethugs.

KNR!!

:patriot:

No absentee ballots left out there to count? That's a fairly thin margin if there are some votes floating around out there.

According to the Iowa Independent:

The National Organization for Marriage bought more than $80,000 in ads to support Burgmeier, an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage rights. Two other groups — Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Family Policy Center — seemed to play a central role in the Republican’s campaign, which spent more time criticizing Gov. Chet Culver and Democratic bigwigs than talking about Hanson.

more: http://iowaindependent.com/19382/hanson-bests-burgmeier-in-hd90

(thanks, rurallib, for the article)