OTTUMWA, Iowa – As Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks campaigns vigorously across the Second District today to unseat two-term Democratic Rep. David Loebsack, the Ottumwa Republican received four new indications that surging support will produce an Election Night victory on Tuesday.
The Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll on Sunday noted Loebsack is “in jeopardy” as “more Iowans say they plan to vote for Republican U.S. House candidates than Democrats.” Meanwhile, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post has named Miller-Meeks as his “wild-card pick” over Loebsack.
Politico.com writer Alex Isenstadt filed a Sunday story detailing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “last-ditch offensive to save some of its incumbents” including a “highly vulnerable” Loebsack.
Isenstadt notes that “among those in the Democratic consulting class, there’s a gloomy acknowledgment that many of the incumbents the DCCC has spent millions of dollars to protect won’t be coming back to Congress.”
His story continues, “‘Everybody that is tied will lose, and everyone that is ahead by a few points will lose because of the GOP wave,’ said one party media consultant who is involved in a wide array of House races. ‘There are going to be some surprises.’ Some strategists have resigned themselves to an election night that will bring an early end to the promising careers of Democrats they shepherded to victories in 2006 and 2008.”
Today’s Wall Street Journal also points to Loebsack as an endangered incumbent and includes this quote, “There are a few members we approached many, many, many months ago to get their act together who did not take that advice, and we’re obviously working closely to protect those who did not prepare themselves,” DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor late last month.
“Eastern Iowans are rejected David Loebsack’s agenda of massive deficit spending, higher taxes, government-run health care and bail-outs for Wall Street,” Miller-Meeks said. “It doesn’t matter how much money the DCCC pours into our district, Iowans are smart enough to see through their deceptive, negative campaigning and vote to replace him with some who will represent them instead of Nancy Pelosi.”
Miller-Meeks campaigned in Des Moines County this morning, attended the Ottumwa Rotary at noon and has an afternoon appearance at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant before hitting the phones to call voters and supporters later in the day.
