Poll: Murphy would lead Vernon in 1st District

DES MOINES - Should he choose once more to run for northeast Iowa's seat in the U.S. House, former state legislator Pat Murphy would enter the Democratic primary race with a 9-point lead over Monica Vernon, according to a poll commissioned by Murphy.

Murphy outpolled Vernon, 43 percent to 34 percent, in a survey of 350 likely Democratic primary voters conducted last week in Iowa's 1st Congressional District and released Tuesday by Murphy. Gary Kroeger was chosen by 12 percent of respondents.

The poll was conducted by Myers Research, a Washington, D.C.-based polling firm that Murphy also solicited during his 2014 campaign.

Murphy and Vernon were the top finishers in a five-way Democratic primary for an open-seat U.S. House race in 2014. Murphy won the primary but lost in the general election to Rod Blum.

Vernon in January announced her intention to run for the U.S. House seat, and Kroeger joined the race in April.

Murphy recently told reporters he is considering another run for the seat. Federal campaign finance records show Murphy has not been raising money for his campaign.

If he does run, Murphy has the support of former Cedar Rapids mayor and state legislator Kay Halloran.

'I think that there is a groundswell of acceptance of a long-term, successful Democrat,” Halloran said. 'I served with Pat in the General Assembly, and I know the kind of work he does and the amount of work he does.”

Since entering the race, Vernon has built a coalition of supporters. Vernon's 2016 campaign has been endorsed by 2nd District U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack and seven other members of Congress, Iowa's attorney general and treasurer and 25 current and former state legislators.

'We're encouraged by the groundswell of support Monica has received from both the grassroots and Democratic leaders across Iowa and nationally who know that Monica is the best candidate to beat Congressman Blum,” Vernon's campaign manager said in an email.

Myers Research successfully predicted the outcome of the 2014 1st District Democratic primary.

Its February 2014 poll showed Murphy at 36 percent, Vernon at 17 percent, Swati Dandekar at 13 percent, Anesa Kajtazovic at 11 percent and Dave O'Brien at 8 percent.

Roughly four months later, Murphy won the primary with 36 percent of the vote. Vernon finished with 23 percent, Dandekar with 18 percent, Kajtazovic with 14 percent and O'Brien with 6 percent.