Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate in May 27 Cedar Rapids forum

The three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to run against U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, will square off in a public forum on Thursday, May 27, at Kirkwood Community College's Ballantyne Auditorium.

The forum is part of a "Cookies and Conversation" series organized and sponsored by IowaPolitics.com and Mediacom.

While the event is free to the public you are asked to register here.

The Gazette is a co-sponsor, as is The League of Women Voters of Johnson County. The forum is to start at 7:30 p.m. but doors will open at 7 p.m. Mediacom will show the forum at various times available at the previous paragraph's registration link.

Roxanne Conlin of Des Moines, Tom Fiegen of Clarence and Bob Krause of Fairfield have agreed to participate. Gazette columnist Todd Dorman and IowaPolitics.com Des Moines Bureau Chief Lynn Campbell will moderate and ask questions, but the public also may submit questions.

Looking ahead, The Gazette, KCRG-TV9, GazetteOnline and kcrg.com are planning candidate forums to be held next fall. We'd like to host forums for the gubernatorial race and also those for U.S. Senate and the first and second U.S. House districts.

In the meantime, check out the Sunday, May 23, and Monday, May 24, Gazettes.

Rod Boshart, a veteran Statehouse and political reporter, writes for Sunday about the three Republicans who want to win the party's nomination to oppose Democratic Gov. Chet Culver in the fall. For Monday, Rod writes about the Tea Party movement and its members hopes for the ballot box in Iowa.

Cedar Rapids Tea Party Web page.