Golding says Mathis' name recognition too much to overcome

In the end, the name identification Liz Mathis built over 30 years of telling Eastern Iowans' stories as a television journalist was too much to overcome in less than two months, Republican Cindy Golding said.

Mathis doesn't deny her years as reporter and anchor on KCRG-TV 9 and KWWL helped her win a special election Nov. 8 to fill a vacancy in Iowa Senate 18, but said that wasn't the only factor.

Mathis defeated Golding 56 percent to 44 percent in the district that covers northern and western Linn County. Her election continues Democrats' 26-24 majority in the Senate.

“We stayed on message,” Mathis said. “We were professional about how we talked about our opponent. We made sure we brought in absentee ballots. We were organized. Those are the things that made this a win.”

Golding, a rural Cedar Rapids business owner, has been active in the community in school, church and scouting activities as well as in GOP politics. However, she wasn't widely known.

Golding thought she fared well in public appearances with Mathis where she exhibited knowledge of legislative issues. She has represented the Linn County Farm Bureau and National Federation of Independent Businesses, for example, at the Capitol.

Unfortunately, she said, there weren't enough of those opportunities. The long period from late September to late October when there were no joint appearances by the candidates was a tactical advantage for Mathis, Golding said this week.

“The problem was we didn't have any debates or interactions early on,” she said. That allowed the Mathis campaign to run an aggressive absentee ballot campaign that locked up many votes before voters could do a side-by-side comparison of the candidates.

“People said after the debate they would have voted for me,” Golding said. “We made tremendous gains after the debates. People who were doing polling said we were down by 30 or 40 points before the debates.”

The lack of public appearances is an oversimplification, Mathis said, and noted that it was the Golding campaign that played up the “celebrity issues,” including an ad comparing her to Barack Obama.

“I don't deny that I have name recognition,” she said. “How can you not after being on the air 30 years as a journalist.

“I believe my credibility stood because I did quality work and I was truthful and I was honest and that's what resonated with voters,” she said.

Mathis also pointed out that it's been five years since she left KCRG-TV 9. She's now the chief information officer for Four Oaks, a child welfare and juvenile justice agency

“Somehow the media seemed to forget about those five years and the things I've learned,” Mathis said. In those five years, she's been involved in elderly issues, child welfare and justice issues and, for the past three years, flood rehabilitation.

“No one asked me about what I've been doing for the last five years,” Mathis said. “Everyone was interested in what I did for 30 years. That's what everybody remembers me from.”