Vernon, Murphy square off for second time

CEDAR RAPIDS - It's a head-to-head race this year, but the rhetoric and arguments haven't changed much since Monica Vernon and Pat Murphy competed for the Democratic nomination in Iowa's 1st District in 2014.

'Things are pretty much where they stood two years ago” when Murphy topped a five-way field for the nomination for an open-seat race, according to Mike McLaughlin, campaign manager for the former Iowa House speaker from Dubuque.

Vernon kicked off her campaign early - even before freshman Republican Rep. Rod Blum, who defeated Murphy, took office - and her campaign believes that a slow-but-steady buildup has put her in a strong position for the primary election three months from now on June 7.

'Monica's very first calls when she announced were to the Democratic activists in all 20 counties” of the northeast Iowa district, her campaign manager, Michelle Gajewski, said. 'She's spent the last two years getting to know people.”

As a result of those early organizing efforts, Vernon had 150 precinct captains actively promoting her candidacy throughout the 2016 caucus campaign.

'She's been doing the kind of work that needs to happen to reach the most number of people,” Gajewski said.

At the heart of Murphy's argument is that, as a 'lifelong Democrat,” he is the strongest candidate to face Blum, McLaughlin said. First District voters know him from his time in the Iowa House and years of working for and raising funds for Democratic candidates.

'He has a 26-year record in the district and lost just one election - in a really bad year for Democrats,” McLaughlin said.

He outperformed both 1st District Rep. Bruce Braley, who was running for an open U.S. Senate seat, and Vernon, who was long-shot Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jack Hatch's running mate.

In case anyone has forgotten, McLaughlin is quick to remind them that Vernon was a former Republican who switched parties in 2009.

Although McLaughlin saw the caucuses as a two-edged sword that made it difficult for anyone other than the presidential hopefuls to get attention, 'it gave us an opportunity to introduce Vernon to her first Democratic caucus.”

To drive home that difference 'between a lifelong Democrat and a six-year Democrat,” Murphy released a history of all the Democrats he voted for and supported over the years.

Vernon will tell her own story, Gajewski said. After winning nearly a quarter of the vote in the 1st District five-way Democratic primary that included two other Linn County candidates, Vernon was the party's lieutenant governor candidate.

That's why there is a 'growing movement of grass roots Democrats, union members, and elected Democratic leaders from across Iowa strongly supporting Monica for Congress,” Gajewski said.

Among those endorsements are Emily's List, several labor unions and members of Congress as well as Iowa elected officials, including several of Murphy's former legislative colleagues.

She's particularly pleased with the endorsement of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Red-to-Blue campaign. It typically targets a district, but in this case it specifically endorsed Vernon.

Murphy has endorsements, too - IBEW, Letter Carriers and Machinists locals, McLaughlin said, because 'people want to pick a winner and they want to pick a progressive.”

Vernon is nothing if not a progressive, Gajewski said. More than that, Vernon gets things done.

'From leading the charge to build the first homeless shelter for women and children in Cedar Rapids to her work on affordable housing for our seniors, Monica knows how to bring different groups to the table to get things done,” she said.

Perhaps the more important question for Democratic primary voters, Gajewski said is, 'Who do you want working for you?”

'If you need help with your Social Security, who do want helping you,” Gajewski said.

McLaughlin counters with Murphy's list of accomplishments in the Iowa House: raising the minimum wage, expanding preschool offerings, raising teacher pay, supporting alternative energy, blocking efforts to reverse same-sex marriage, expanding civil rights and protecting a woman's right to choose.

'Voters want someone they know, someone who has been fighting for them,” he said. 'Pat's the only one who has a portfolio of getting things done.”

About 30,000 Democrats voted in the 2014 primary and the campaigns expects similar turnout in June. Although participation in the caucuses didn't match 2008, the last time there was an open seat, Gajewski said Democrats are 'eager to vote for a progressive to replace Rod Blum.”

'We expect the same dedicated Democrats to show up,” McLaughlin said. 'They seem eager to participate.”

A third candidate, Gary Kroeger of Cedar Falls, recently dropped out and is setting his sights on an Iowa legislative seat.