Today, the Iowa Independent reports that the Energizer bunny of Iowa gubernatorial politics, Bob Vander Plaats, is mulling an independent bid for the office.
Just because I am actually keeping score; on Primary Day while Iowans were still voting, a political observer said this, “If Vander Plaats gets close to 40% of the vote in today’s race, he will seriously consider an independent run for the office.” Vander Plaats did get 40% and is making moves like he will run. One point for me. (Full text of the blog where I said this is here http://bit.ly/itoldu)
Let me reiterate what I said that day, in many ways, the Vander Plaats folks would prefer a Culver victory over one for Branstad. They do not like Culver, but Branstad’s victory in November would limit options for them in years to come – like who gets to be Party chair, who controls Party resources and who is in charge of the messaging carried and heard by conservatives. The heart of the battle in Iowa is not about winning an office, but for who controls the Republican/conservative/Tea Party cause. Vander Plaats is not ready to go into that good night and Branstad puts a significant dent into the aspirations of many who support Vander Plaats.
If Vander Plaats walks away, he is a three time loser. If runs as a independent candidate and Branstad wins, Vander Plaats gets to call himself a martyr for the cause. If he runs and Culver wins, Vander Plaats supporters will say that the wrong guy won in June and will continue to inveigle their way into the Party apparatus. Stay tuned Iowans; the messy political games have just begun.
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.
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