Young is surprise victor in GOP 3rd District race
David Young, a former chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, won a stunning upset victory to capture the Iowa Republican Party's nomination Saturday in what is expected to be a nationally watched race to succeed U.S. Rep. Tom Latham.
Young's come-from-behind win came on the fifth ballot at a convention of 3rd District delegates at Des Moines Christian School in Urbandale. The day began with six candidates vying for the nomination, but the final ballot came down to a showdown between Young and state Sen. Brad Zaun of Urbandale.
Young was declared the nominee after receiving 276 votes, or 55.5 percent, to Zaun's 221 votes, or 45.5 percent. A simple majority was needed to win.
Zaun led through the first four ballots Saturday and had finished first in a June 3 primary among six candidates, but he couldn't get enough votes from rural GOP delegates in southwest Iowa to secure the nomination. Young was in fourth place after Saturday's initial ballot, but gained strength as other candidates dropped out.
"I am trusted, tried and true in my conservative thought," Young told the delegates. "I am running because I love this country and I know you do, too."
Young, who finished fifth in the Republican primary earlier this month, will be opposed in the November general election by former state Sen. Staci Appel of Ackworth, the Democratic party's nominee.
Saturday's decision marked the end of a lengthy battle among the six GOP candidates seeking the party's nomination. It began when Latham surprised fellow Republicans by announcing in December that he would leave Congress after 20 years in office.
The convention was required under Iowa law after no candidate won 35 percent of the vote in the June 3 primary. The 3rd District covers 16 counties, ranging from the Des Moines area to Council Bluffs.
Joe Grandanette, a physical education teacher from Des Moines, was the first candidate dropped from contention under convention rules that excluded those receving the fewest votes. Robert Cramer, a bridge construction executive from Grimes, then pulled out after the second ballot when it became clear he couldn't win.
Secretary of State Matt Schultz of Truro was eliminated after the third ballot and threw his support to Young, and Monte Shaw, a renewable fuels executive from West Des Moines, departed after the fourth ballot.
The general election matchup between Young and Appel is a priority for their national parties as Republicans seek to maintain their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and as Democrats try to regain control. The 3rd District is considered a swing district, with Republicans representing 34 percent of registered voters, Democrats representing 33 percent and 33 percent citing no party.
The Rothenberg Political Report and the Cook Political Report, which monitor congressional races nationwide, both rate the 3rd District as a tossup.
Drake University political scientist Dennis Goldford said any Republican nominee should have an advantage this fall because Republicans tend to have better voter turnouts in election years when there isn't a presidential campaign. But he noted that, unlike some of the other Republican candidates for the seat, Young appeared to have a more wonkish personality and his style was less fiery on the campaign stump.
"The question is whether he can motivate the people for whom compromise is not a polite word. Will the warriors in the Republican Party show up to help him?" Goldford said.
Zaun said after the convention that he would wholeheartedly support Young's campaign and that he believed there would be party unity. But Zahn also said he planned to introduce a bill in the Iowa Senate in 2015 to require a runoff between the two top primary candidates instead of leaving the decision to a party convention.
Zahn and other Republicans said the turning point at the convention came when Schultz dropped out and threw his support to Young. Schultz told the convention he wanted the delegates to know how much he respected Young, adding, "We need somebody who can go to Washington and fight and who is conservative and win, and I know that is David Young."
Ruth Long, a certified public accountant from Afton, said she initially voted for Shaw on Saturday but ultimately voted for Young. She said she had been particularly impressed with Young during an appearance before the Union County Republican Central Committee.
"I feel like he will represent all the counties in the district fairly," Long said.
Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, issued a statement after the convention pointing out that President Barack Obama carried the district in the 2008 and 2012 elections.
"Voters in Iowa now have a clear choice between Staci Appel, who will continue fighting for middle-class priorities like equal pay for equal work and would be Iowa's first woman elected to Congress, and David Young, who is so out of touch about retirement security that he would raise the retirement age for hardworking Iowans who depend on their hard-earned Social Security and Medicare," Israel said.
Young told The Des Moines Register that Congress needs to keep its promises to seniors and that all options need to be explored, but he has not given any specifics about how he would address Social Security and Medicare issues.
Appel issued a statement vowing to fight for an increase in the minimum wage and for equal pay for equal work, while contending Young, who opposes abortion, would deny women the ability to make their own health care decisions.
Meanwhile, Grassley said he would do everything possible to help elect Young to Congress.
"David has the ability to appeal to a cross section of residents of the 3rd District. He'll work hard to listen to the people he represents," Grassley said.
Democrats contend they have an advantage — at least financially — as the head-to-head matchup begins in earnest.
In a report filed June 1 with the Federal Election Commission, Young reported $62,364 cash on hand, while Appel in mid-May reported $466,000 in cash and no debts.
Appel, who was defeated in 2010 after one state Senate term, has been running for Congress since last July after initially wavering on the idea.
Several other Democrats were mentioned as possible candidates — including state Sen. Matt McCoy of Des Moines and former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack — but none decided to enter the race. Her campaign has been endorsed by Emily's List, which works to get pro-choice Democratic women elected to office.
Her supporters note that no woman has ever been elected to Congress from Iowa.
David Young
AGE: 46.
GREW UP: Van Meter and Johnston.
CURRENT HOME: Van Meter.
EDUCATION: Johnston High School, 1986; Drake University, 1991, bachelor of arts, English.
FAMILY: Not married.
CAMPAIGN WEBSITE: youngforiowa.com.
What's Next:
YOUNG'S AGENDA: David Young, a former chief of staff to U..S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, will campaign on reducing the deficit and the federal debt; bolstering the economy while attracting capital investment and creating jobs; and government accountability. He says he's traveled the 3rd District extensively and knows how to listen to Iowans. "It is not impossible to make a difference in Washington without selling your soul. I have seen it from Sen. Grassley," he adds.
APPEL'S FOCUS: Former state Sen. Staci Appel will run as a defender of the middle class who's interested in providing jobs while addressing climate change and protecting the environment. She'll argue that Iowa could benefit from having a woman in Congress for the first time. In the Iowa Senate, she fought for passage of a statewide ban on smoking in public places and a prohibition on texting while driving.
"LIBERTY" CANDIDATE PLANS HOUSE RUN: Bryan Holder of Council Bluffs, who attended Saturday's 3rd District nominating convention as a Republican Party delegate, said he planned to switch his voting registration Monday to "no party" and will run for the U.S. House this fall as a political independent. He describes himself as a "liberty" candidate.
UNHAPPY WITH THE OTHERS: "I am doing this because I feel that there are certain issues that these candidates cannot discuss. I haven't heard any of them take to task the military industrial complex, the out-of-control spying that the NSA (National Security Agency) is doing ... and we have millions of people locked in prisons. It is sort of sad that all this money is being spent on campaigns and people are out of work. We have people who don't have health insurance and this country has a lot of problems."
THREE-CORNERED HAT: Holder, 41, wore a three-cornered hat Saturday, similar to those worn during the Revolutionary War. He is a photographer and videographer with a law degree from Creighton University. He said he didn't vote for any of the candidates at Saturday's Republican Party convention in Urbandale, but that he planned to return to the party after the election.