Democrat House member exploring run for governor

DES MOINES - After announcing that he's exploring a campaign for governor in 2018, Rep. Todd Prichard delivered his maiden campaign speech to a nearly empty Iowa House of Representative on Thursday afternoon.

The empty seats and faint applause are not indicative of what the third-term Democrat from Charles City said he is finding when he talks to party members at soup suppers, off-year caucuses and central committee meetings.

'There's a lot of anger. I think there's a lot of concern and I think there is a lot of fear (because) of the way they see the state changing,” Prichard said in an interview earlier Thursday. The Republican legislative agenda is 'not in line with what I would consider Iowa values.”

Running for governor was not part of his agenda when Prichard, 42, ran for a vacant House seat in 2012. That's changed this year, he said, as he's watched majority Republicans stripping public employees of collective bargaining rights, weakening the state's workers' compensation program and limiting spending on traditional priorities like education.

That's frustrating because 'regardless of where we are from or what party we are in, we were elected to create good-paying jobs, raise wages and make it easier to raise a family and get ahead,” Prichard said. Republicans, he said, 'have failed in that mission.”

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann doubts Prichard will be the last Democrat to get into the race.

'I would imagine whenever you have the loss of an incumbent, there will be a lot of people exploring,” he said, referring to Gov. Terry Branstad's anticipated departure to be U.S. ambassador to China. 'But let me tell you something, there's a lot of experience and a lot of money and a lot of shoe leather between exploring and running against a lady who has been already trained and ready to go on Day 1. (Lt. Gov.) Kim Reynolds has the complete package.”

If Prichard runs - and he thinks he has until next year to make a decision, he'll be running against Branstad as much as Reynolds, who is expected to serve out the governor's term.

'I haven't seen any points of separation between Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds,” he said 'Their agenda seems to be one and the same, so I think the policies and decisions made by the Branstad administration are very much tied to Lt. Gov. Reynolds.”

As a challenger, Prichard said, he would have to make the case that he can do a better job and lead Iowa to a better place.

'Given the decline of education, lack of wage growth, there's a narrative there we can tell voters,” he said. 'This administration, these policies, have not advanced the interests of the people of Iowa.”

That's especially true in rural Iowa, Prichard said.

Republicans, he said, have ignored the issues Iowans care about most: increasing wages and driving meaningful economic growth across the state 'particularly in rural and smaller communities like Charles City that too often have been left behind by politicians in Des Moines.”

He cited a $10 million tax credit for Facebook that led to 10 jobs and a state Economic Development Authority report that there were three times as many jobs created in 11 counties as in the other 88.

'If we remain on the path of this failed economic vision, rural Iowa will continue to fall by the wayside as jobs move to larger communities or out to the state entirely,” Prichard said.

Prichard is a native of Davenport, one of the state's largest communities. As someone who has spent most of his adult life in rural northern Iowa, 'I think I can cross the gap between rural and urban Iowa.”

Urban and rural issues aren't all that different, according to Prichard. 'It's about providing good job opportunities to all Iowans, regardless of where they live.”

Prichard, who joined ROTC while at the University of Iowa, has served four tours overseas, including a deployment to Iraq as a company commander with the Iowa Army National Guard 1-133 Infantry Battalion. He's now a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve.

In 2004, Prichard opened a law practice in Charles City and has worked as a prosecutor, defender and litigator. He and his wife, Ann, a schoolteacher, have three children.

For more about Prichard, visit ToddPrichard.com.