decorahnews.com special series: Northeast Iowa State Assembly race is among the most critical in Iowa

Elkader resident Roger Thomas served in the Iowa State Assembly for 16 years.  Thomas was so popular with his constituents that even when State Assembly districts were redrawn following the results of the 2010 U.S. Census, he won re-election despite being in a new district in which registered Republicans outnumbered registered Democrats--by more than 1,300 voters.

Now Thomas has retired, which means Iowa Republicans think their candidate in House District #55, Darrel Branhagen of Decorah, has a good chance of flipping the district from Democratic to Republican.  Iowa Democrats say their candidate, Rick Edwards of Decorah, is well-known in the area from his days as Decorah Parks & Recreation Director and will keep the district Democratic.

That question of who will win in District #55 is important because for Democrats to win a majority of seats in the Iowa House, they would have to hold all their present seats and pick up five seats now held by Republicans. If District #55 elects a Republican, Democrats would have to pull an upset of a Republican incumbent.

Campaign finance disclosure statements filed in mid-July by both candidates showed Edwards with $5,072 in cash on hand and Branhagen with $706.  Updated campaign finance disclosure statements are due in mid-October.

But spending by the individual candidates might not be the entire picture in this legislative race.  The Iowa Democratic Party has already paid for a mailing to people in the district in support of Edwards' candidacy and the Iowa Republican Party is expected to do the same for Branhagen.

Both candidates at this point are concentrating on "retail politics," going door-to-door throughout the district, especially in the southern part of the district where they are less familiar figures.

In an effort to familiarize the public with the two candidates, decorahnews.com sat down recently with both Branhagen and Edwards.  Our special special will continue Tuesday with a profile of Darrel Branhagen.