Secretary of State Matt Schultz sent out a media advisory late Tuesday afternoon to alert the media of a press conference he will hold on Thursday morning at the Council Bluffs City call. While the release simply states that Schultz will make an announcement regarding the Third District Congressional race, everything from the location to the press riser and podium indicates that he will be throwing his hat into the ring.
Schultz seriously considered running for the U.S. Senate after Congressman Tom Latham and Congressman Steve King passed on the opportunity. While he passed on that opportunity, the open Third District Congressional seat is apparently too enticing of an opportunity to pass up.
With Schultz running for Congress, the Secretary of State’s office is will now be open. Democrat Brad Anderson, who has been running for the office for a year now, has a leg up on whomever his Republican opponent ends up being. It’s now incumbent on Republicans to find a formidable candidate to enter the race in short order.
Had State Auditor Dave Vaudt not resigned his position this spring, Mary Mosiman, the former Story County Auditor and Deputy Secretary of State under Schultz, would have been an obvious successor. With Mosiman seeking election as Iowa’s State Auditor, Republicans must now get a littler creative in finding a candidate.
A number of legislators have indicated interest in running for the open U.S. Senate and congressional seats, but when the rubber meets the road, most of them have opted against seeking higher office. One legislator, freshman State Representative Rob Taylor is supposedly interested in running for the office, yet seeking statewide office after only being a legislator for one year might be stretch.
Former State Representative Rod Roberts has indicated an interest in running for the U.S. Senate, but perhaps the open Secretary of State’s office might be appealing to him. Roberts may struggle to find footing in the U.S. Senate race, but he would be the odds on favorite in a primary should he seek the nomination for Secretary of State.
Having run for statewide office before is clear advantage, but the goodwill Roberts earned by running a positive campaign and displaying a lot of class at the Republican state convention that followed the contentious gubernatorial primary has not been forgotten. Beyond that, Robert showed in the 2010 gubernatorial primary that, not only did primary voters generally like him across the state, he also has the ability to raise the type of money it will take to run for Secretary of State.
Another name that is often associated with various races is former Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate. Having done the job before, Pate would be able to make a strong case against Anderson, but Pate has flirted with running for office a number of times, only to ultimately opt against it. If Pate is interested in seeking public office again, this is the perfect opportunity to do so.
Schultz’s decision to run for Congress means that Republicans are now scrambling to find a Secretary of State candidate. While that’s not exactly what Republicans thought they would be doing in the January of an election year, if they are able to recruit a good candidate, they should be able to hold the seat against a Anderson, who’s background is working on political campaigns.