Blum undecided whether to support Boehner for speaker

CEDAR RAPIDS - U.S. House Speaker John Boehner made a campaign appearance for Rod Blum, but that alone won't guarantee Blum will cast his first vote as a congressman to re-elect the speaker.

'As of right now, he hasn't made his decision,” spokesman Keegan Conway said Monday afternoon about whether Blum will vote for Boehner to remain speaker and leader of the U.S. House GOP majority.

He's getting plenty of advice, Conway said.

'He's talking to members of Congress and actively fielding calls pretty much since 8 o'clock this morning in our Washington office,” he said.

Blum, 59, a Dubuque Republican who defeated Democratic state Rep. Pat Murphy, also of Dubuque, to succeed four-term Democrat Bruce Braley, will be sworn in Tuesday. One of the first decisions he'll be called on to make will be the election of a House speaker. Some House conservatives, including Iowa 4th District Rep. Steve King, have announced plans to support someone else.

As for Blum, there's not a particular 'someone else,” Conway said.

'It's a question of what's best for the district and what does the district wants,” Conway said. 'So he's weighing the voice of the constituents right now.”

Some callers want to see the country move in a different direction, Conway said. 'They're not happy.”

Others tell Blum that Boehner should be given an opportunity to work with a GOP Senate majority to advance conservative legislation.

'We're getting both sides,” Conway said.

His indecision doesn't mean Blum is not appreciative of Boehner's support during the campaign in the heavily Democratic district that includes Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Waterloo-Cedar Falls and Marshalltown.

'It's not just the speaker. There were other people throughout the campaign who helped,” he said. 'We're keeping an open mind.”