Tuesday, February 10, 2009

King for Governor?

In yesterday’s taping of Iowa Press, Congressman Steve King seemed to have floated the possibility of running for governor in 2010 – at least that is what all the headlines are saying. When you actually read the article, King just said what most politicians say when asked about running for higher office. He basically said he isn’t ruling it out.

The headline for the Des Moines Register is “Citing 'duty,' King weighs run for governor.” When you read the actual quote in the article you will see that King has given that answer before numerous times. King said, “"There's a duty for me, I think; I've made no decisions….it would be constructive for me at this point to say that the most important job right now is to bring together and reunify the Republican Party in this state."

I think the best quote from Cong. King I’ve seen about a possible run for higher office is in the Spencer Daily Reporter. In March of 2008 King was asked if he had thought about running for governor in 2010. King responded, “That's always a hard thing. If I would say 'no,' then I would preclude an opportunity that might emerge at some point between now and 2010. If I said I'm thinking about it, then it starts the rumor mill churning along. I can just give it to you the way it is, the way my wife understands it -- and actually, she doesn't ask me about this: I don't get out of bed in the morning thinking about it. I don't go to bed at night thinking about it and I'm not planning my strategic moves with that in mind."

So you can either believe him or not. But there is no good answer unless King absolutely doesn’t want to run for Governor. But if there is any chance, he must say that it is a possibility.

What does it mean for Iowa if he does run? Or if he doesn’t? Sound off in the comments. Let’s get the discussion started.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think King should do it. We can then focus on the General Election and just kick the crap out of Culver and the D's for the next year and a half.

King Slogan:

"CHANGE BRINGS HOPE"

Anonymous said...

Yes King, please run. Then we'll lose yet ANOTHER Congressman!

Don't be so quick to think you can skip a primary. King doesn't have the support you think he does with soco's. King and Vanderplatts would be pretty close and that leaves a 3rd, more moderate candidate to come in and take the nod.

Anonymous said...

Annon 11:40 sounds like the bvp kool-aide drinkers are worried about a real conservative that's done something. Please run Steve you can get a hack like bvp and take out the Big Lug in the general!

Anonymous said...

I don't think it's just the bvp "kool aide drinkers" that are nervous. King is clearly the 800 pound gorilla for the 2010 primary.

I would like to see him do it but I don't think he will. Then the question is "If not King, then who's the best Republican who can beat Culver?". I think we have some good answers in Whitaker, Rastater, Vaudt, and Northey. I like our bench.

For the sake of fundraising, SK should make up his mind sooner rather than later so we can set the field.

Anonymous said...

King would be Iowa's greatest governor ever! I hope he runs!!!!

Anonymous said...

It's time that this state had a REAL conservative run for governor. Not these so called conservatives unlike BVP a guy that's been running this entire century for governor who has not had an orginal idea in 10 years.

Anonymous said...

Sorry guys. King is a pretty weak candidate. He holds his seat in Congress not because he is good but because it is easy to hold. If King lived anywhere other than the 5th District, he would have ended up like David Hartsuch.

Anonymous said...

King got 60% of the vote in a horrible Republican year, won all 32 counties, and raised over a million dollars.

Facts suck don't they!

Anonymous said...

Yes, facts do suck 9:33! King’s District is has a +10 R vs. D advantage. At a base minimum, a gerbil with the Republican nomination should be able to get 56% in that district … King, as an incumbent in one of the strongest Republican district in the country only got 59% there … twice … Also, given all of the advantages King has, $1,000,000 in an election year isn’t really something to phone home about.

If you are looking for facts that support a strong candidate, look at Latham. Democrats had a registration advantage in his district. And he outperformed King. If you move King to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or even the 4th District, his performance in his own district would suggest that he will simply perform at the base minimum Republican vote percentage which, in every district but the 5th means that he would lose to a Democrat.

So yes 9:33, facts suck. Facts suck bad.

Anonymous said...

Lets hope that SK will just keep his seat in the congress. SK running for Govenor, would only open the flood gates of democratic voters. He would bring more than Culver could. SK is the best thing for the 5th district.

ConstitutionDaily said...

Anon 10:08:

King outpaced the voter registration while being the most outspoken candidate Iowa has ever had. He also outpaced all others in the district since it was formed in 2002 by a least 5 points (except Northey).

Also - nobody said Latham isn't a strong candidate. He's a very strong candidate and would have a lot of support in a state wide race.

The other anon comment referred to King and Hartsuch being similiar and we all know that is a bunch of bs. Nobody in their right mind would believe that.

I don't know who the strongest candidate Iowa has to offer but Latham, King, and Northey have to be near the top of that list.

Oh - and good luck comparing candidate A against candidate B. Each area is completely different as well as each candidate.

Would King focus on some of the things he does in a district like Latham's? I doubt it. Would Latham stay so low key in a district like King's? I doubt that too.

If any of those guys ran we would have a great chance at taking back the Governor's office.