Mike Whalen
Posted on 07/24/2006 7:49:43 AM PDT by iowamark
The number of political luminaries already flying into Iowa these days not only signifies an early start in the White House 2008 campaign, but also offers a clue into the sizzling race in Iowa's 1st Congressional District.
In the last month, following the contentious Iowa Democratic and Republican primaries, big shots like Vice President Dick Cheney, White House political adviser Karl Rove and prospective 2008 Democratic presidential contenders John Edwards and Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana have come in to stump for the candidates in this northeastern Iowa district. According to analysts, the flow may not let up until November as this appears to be one of the most competitive races in the country, with no clear frontrunner in sight for the seat left vacant by Republican Rep. Jim Nussle, who is running for governor. "I think it's going to be tight right up to November," said Peverill Squire, political science professor at the University of Iowa.
Much of the contest has been attributed to the fact that neither of the two candidates for the congressional seat — Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Mike Whalen — has an obvious advantage over the other, at least from the perspective of resources, name recognition or political experience. That equality holds true especially in regard to the district's political makeup — Iowa's 1st District is nearly evenly split between Democrats, Republicans and independents.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Mike Whalen
The founder of the Iowa Machine Shed restaurants.
What a great place to eat! Whenever I'm in Des Moines, I make a special trip over there.
It would be nice to see a businessman get elected to Congress instead of another lawyer.
Mike Whalen is a good guy. I think he faces an uphill battle against Braley at this point. Any televised debates scheduled that you know of?
Whalen would win if the election were today, but it is not today and the Dems are waging a smear campaign. Whalen has had Karl Rove and Vice President Cheney campaigning for him in recent weeks.
So then, its and elitist v. a more or less regular guy. Sounds like your typical dem v. repub race to me.
First District thread. FYI
Whalen looks like the real deal to me. Corn fed Iowegian. What does the other man look like? That NE Iowa has gotten industrial, not like the rest of the state.
Here's a link to his campaign website. There's a photo right there at the top.
He "looks" like a lawyer to me,,,
http://www.brucebraley.com/
My district self-ping for reference...
You might have heard a rather catchy radio ad denouncing Whalen for his opposition to a minimum wage increase. The ad has a 'game show' sound to it, and tries to make a point that he's a wealthy restauranteur and that some of the people who would be helped by the increase are the people who work for him.
It's the usual party-of-envy stuff.
The ad is paid for by some Dem committee to elect Dems to Congress. It never mentions his opponent.
Thanks. Well, he looks like an Iowa lawyer, nonetheless. A mot more wholesome than a Chuckie Schumer, for instance. He looks like a neophite, and a youngster. Also, apparently, he thinks all the voters in Iowa are seniors. I'll bet experience and gravitas carry this race.
Saw it. I think Lamberti has a good chance against Bozwell, too. Bos seems to be piling on on this stem cell issue. They're a bunch of liars. I need to check to see if our side is getting ready to take them on.
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