Democrats Set to Take on Vulnerable Iowa Republicans

By Simone Pathé

Posted June 7, 2016 at 11:39pm

Democrats need to win two competitive seats in Iowa to hope to make a dent in their 30-seat deficit in the House.

And they now have their candidates. In Iowa’s 1st District, Monica Vernon will face off against freshman GOP Rep. Rod Blum in November.

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Vernon defeated 2014 nominee Patrick Murphy 69 to 31 with 74 percent of precincts reporting.

Murphy defeated Vernon in the 2014 primary and went on to lose to Blum by 2 points. This year, however, Vernon consolidated Democratic establishment support behind her. Vernon, a former Republican , raised far more money than Murphy.

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The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call rates the 1st District Tilts Democrat.

In the southwest corner of the state, Democrat Jim Mowrer defeated businessman Mike Sherzan for the right to take on freshman GOP Rep. David Young in the 3rd District.

Mowrer, an Iraq War veteran, led 49 to 37 with 72 percent of precincts reporting. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee did not pick a favorite in this primary.

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The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call rates this seat a Tossup.

Democrats are also targeting six-term Sen. Charles E. Grassley. Former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, who was endorsed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, won her Tuesday night primary with 48 percent of the vote, with 93 percent of precincts reporting.

Contact Pathé at

simonepathe@rollcall.com

and follow her on Twitter at

@sfpathe

.