Will GOP Change? Watch Iowa

by Stuart Shapiro

Democratic Senator Tom Harkin from Iowa announced his retirement last week.  Iowa is the very definition of a swing state and the GOP may have a stark choice for it’s 2014 nominee between Reps Steve King and Tom Latham.  Nate Silver lays out the choice:

The leading G.O.P. candidates are thought to be the two Republicans who currently serve in Iowa’s delegation to the House, Steve King and Tom Latham. Mr. Latham has repeatedly been elected from swing districts, and has a relatively moderate track record. According to the statistical system DW-Nominate, he was more moderate than about 80 percent of Republicans in the House based on his voting record through 2010.

Mr. King, in contrast, rated in the 90th percentile for conservatism among Republican representatives, according to the same system. He also has a history of drawing attention to himself with provocative statements on issues ranging from gay marriage to immigration.

Let’s go King!  Please follow in the footsteps of Mourdock, Akin, Angle, and O’Donnell!

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.