Ed Fallon, a liberal former state representative, might be getting ready to challenge Rep. Leonard Boswell in IA-03, according to the Iowa Independent. Right now, the only tea leaves are a handful of “Fallon for Congress” domain names that were recently registered (the admin contact is Fallon’s home address).
Boswell is a fairly conservative Dem who seems to be perennially endangered despite the fact that he sits in a 50-50 district. Health troubles have also plagued him in recent years. The Independent contrasts the two men:
Fallon, who represented a Des Moines state house district from 1992 to 2006, finished an unexpectedly strong third in the 2006 gubernatorial primary with 26 percent. He led the field in the 3rd Congressional District. Fallon was seen as one of the most liberal members of the Iowa House, and if there was a 99 to 1 or 97 to 2 roll calls, Fallon was usually on the short end.
Boswell, on the other hand, is one of the more conservative Democrats in Congress. Rankings at Progressive Punch show Boswell as the 214th most liberal of 233 Democrats in Congress, and actually had him behind Republican Jim Leach for 2006. Boswell’s Progressive Punch score moves up to 170th when only this year’s votes are included. He recently voted with fellow Iowa Democrats Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack in a failed effort to block $70 billion in funds for the Iraq war, in contract to earlier votes for war funding.
I’m inclined to think this could be a fairly serious challenge, if Fallon does indeed pull the trigger. You don’t often see former state legislators jump into primaries like this, and if Fallon can successfully argue that Boswell is out-of-step with his district, he might gain traction. However, Iowa’s primary is just six months away, so Fallon would have precious little time to seal the deal in what will already be an uphill battle.
Personally, I’m going to reserve judgment here, but this could be a compelling race.
Interesting that Fallon would argue that anyone, much less longtime party stalwart Leonard Boswell, is not a strong Democrat. Fallon endorsed Ralph Nader in 2000.
would the most liberal state rep really be a good fit? I mean, I know Boswell has problems, but is getting more liberal here the answer?
I’m all for primary challenges of Blue Dog/Bush Dems, but only if they’re in overwhelmingly liberal districts.
This is a swing district and it could be tough to hold without an incumbent.
Boswell shouldn't be the answer for IA-03… I've said for awhile that Boswell just needs to retire; he's continually making the seat probably closer than it should be. Plus, he'll likely retire by 2012 anyways, leaving Latham to eat up and win the district from incumbency when Iowa goes down to 4 districts.
since his surprisingly strong showing in the 2006 gubernatorial primary. I'd love to see him in Congress, but I don't know that challenging Leonard Boswell will endear him to Iowa Democrats.