Know the Candidates
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Cindy Golding will carry the Republican banner into a Nov. 8 special election that could change the balance of power in the Iowa Senate.
Golding won the nomination Thursday with 51.64 percent of the vote on the first ballot over former U.S. Attorney Matt Dummermuth, and Marion businesswoman Mary Rathje.
Golding now faces Democrat Liz Mathis of Robins and formerly of Waterloo, a former TV anchorwoman and now chief information officer for a Cedar Rapids nonprofit. Mathis, who is the Linn County Democratic Party’s handpicked candidate, is expected to be formally nominated by Democrats Wednesday.
“This is just the beginning,” Golding said after winning the nomination. “It won’t be easy. (Mathis) is a formidable opponent.”
Former KWWL/KCRG anchor Liz Mathis said to be running for Iowa Senate seat
September 21, 2011
Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
MARION, Iowa — Three candidates for the Republican nomination in a special election to fill a Linn County Iowa Senate seat touted their conservative, pro-growth credentials Tuesday in front of a packed house at the county GOP monthly meeting.
Across town at the opening of President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign field office Democrats praised their hand-picked candidate to replace Swati Dandekar, a Marion Democrat who resigned to take a post on the Iowa Utilities Board.
Activists in both parties predicted the campaigns for special election Nov. 8 will be intense and expensive.
UPDATE:Senator resigns, leaving slim Democratic majority in jeopardy; special election Nov. 8
September 16, 2011
Des Moines Register
Iowa Republicans will have a shot on Nov. 8 to knock Democrats from their one-seat senate majority due to Gov. Terry Branstad’s appointment of a Democratic senator to the Iowa Utilities Board.
The special election to fill the seat being vacated by Sen. Swati Dandekar of Marion is in a district that has more Republican registered voters than Democrats.
If Republicans win, the 50-seat Senate in 2012 will be evenly split.
That would give the GOP a far better chance to push ahead on a handful of issues that have been blocked in the Senate such as a proposal to amend the state constitution and eliminate marriage rights for same-sex couples, members of both parties agreed.
Get out there and vote for equality!
Remember April 3, 2009?
“God Bless the Supreme Court of IOWA!! Thank you for your bravery and Thank you for Justice!”
“Never been so proud to call ourselves IOWANS, or less surprised. This is the fair, reasonable, beautiful land that we knew, loved, and always will. America has a heart, and it’s in the right place–It’s called IOWA.”
“Iowa has supported equal protection in many ways throughout its history, even before statehood, as a territory.”
“This was a historic moment in the annals of equality that will hopefully be repeated in all of the remaining states.”
“Go Iowa. Go America. Go Equality!”
The day the Iowa Supreme Court ruled unanimously for marriage equality was one none of us will ever forget. But now, because of that beautiful, fair and impartial decision, our entire justice system is under attack.
One of the most important things you can do for equality today is turn your ballot over and vote YES, YES, YES, to retain our Iowa Supreme Court Justices.
Don’t know where to vote? Find your polling place now!
Show out-of-state hate groups that we will not stay home, we will not stay silent. We will Stand Proud and we will Vote Proud! Even if you aren’t registered, you can do so at your polling place and vote at the same time!
Get out there today and cast your vote for pro-equality statehouse candidates. Vote to reelect Gov. Culver, and vote YES to retain justices Ternus, Baker and Streit.
Our freedom depends on it.
Get rid of Kent Sorenson for good!
“The Sorenson race is bound to be ground zero for the fight to protect traditional marriage.”
– Craig Robinson, editor of The Iowa Republican
Craig Robinson’s got it right: We’ve got a chance to not only get rid of Kent Sorenson and his anti-equality rhetoric, we can gain a fair-minded seat in the House!
HOW? Sign up now to help spread the word about voting Staci Appel and Scott Ourth!
When Kent Sorenson announced he would be vacating his House seat to take on Staci Appel in Senate District 37, supporters of equal saw a glimmer of hope they could be rid of Sorenson for good.
Sorenson, who wears his LUV Iowa button around the Capitol and was featured in Focus on the Family’s magazine, told virulently anti-gay radio host Steve Deace: “I am running against a liberal Democrat who fully supports the destruction of the family as well as the homosexual agenda, and she’s also married to one of the Iowa Supreme Court Justices that wrongly ruled in favor of destroying marriage last year.”
Don’t let Sorenson win: Pledge to help spread the word about voting Staci Appel and Scott Ourth!
Poised to take Sorenson’s place in House District 74 is Warren County public affairs director Scott Ourth. Ourth served on the campaigns of Gov. Tom Vilsack, Gov. Chet Culver and Rep. Leonard Boswell, and is a dedicated and passionate voice for human and civil rights.
We can’t take any chances on losing these seats and our freedom to marry! Do you part today!
Carolyn Jenison
Fairness Fund Chair
Save the Iowa Supreme Court Justices!
Iowa’s judges are under attack from fringe out-of-state groups like the National Organization for Marriage and the American Family Association. They’ve dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into a media campaign to oust three supreme court justices who ruled in favor of the freedom to marry.
The Fairness Fund has been fighting back, asking pro-equality voter across the state to flip the ballot over and vote YES, YES, and YES to Iowa’s judges.
With the polls dead even at 36-35 the Fairness Fund is planning an aggressive facebook advertising campaign to turn out pro-equality voters and reach undecided Iowans before election day.
Please support these efforts and help us reach our $15,000 goal today!
Two rallies, two different messages in Sioux City Tuesday
Two different rallies with two very different messages in Sioux City Tuesday.
The Iowa Supreme Court justice vote debate made its way to town.
The group supporting the retention of the three justices, called “Homegrown Justice” held a rally at the downtown library.
Key speakers say Justices Ternus, Baker and Streit, made the difficult, but correct decision when they voted in favor of gay marriage in 2009.
UPDATE: Location change for Mason City rally
MASON CITY FOLKS: Homegrown Justice Tour rally location changed to Southbridge Mall’s center court, 100 South Federal Avenue. Join us there at 5:30 tonight!
Find more stops on the Fair Courts for Us Homegrown Justice Tour!
Counter the Out-of-State Hate Bus!
| Rick Santorum, Tony Perkins, Brian Brown, and Steve King are rolling through Iowa next week – on the same bus!
They call it the JUDGE BUS, but we call it what it is: the OUT-OF-STATE HATE BUS. Join us to counter these efforts and attend your local Homegrown Justice Tour stop. The National Organization for Marriage claims to be “throwing every penny we have into this.” We don’t have the resources of the out-of-state fanatic who are rolling through town, but we do have the grassroots support of Iowans. |
Join us at your local event!
October 25 October 26 October 27 10:00 AM – Waterloo/Cedar Falls October 28 |
Justices say opponents wrong to say they should have sent decision to lawmakers
from WQAD-Quad Cities
Two Iowa Supreme Court judges defended their ruling in a same-sex marriage case and say opponents are wrong to claim the court was obligated to refer the issue to the state Legislature.
Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justice David Baker on Wednesday told the editorial board at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids that opponents misinterpret the Iowa Constitution when they argue the court was wrong in 2009 when it struck down a state law that banned marriage by same-sex couples. Some opponents contend the court was obligated to send the matter back to the Legislature.
Baker says the court would have overstepped its role if it told another branch of government to take up the issue.
