CONTEMPLATING A 2014 POLITICAL BID

Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the Family Leader conservative action network, said Tuesday he continues to listen to supporters urging him to seek the 2014 GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Tom Harkin. However, he said he has not made a decision and probably won't until mid-February. “It's got to be right for my family and it's got to be right for the organization,” said Vander Plaats, who was at the Iowa Capitol building Monday for the Family Leader's annual rally and lobbying day at the Legislature. Vander Plaats led a successful 2010 effort to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices involved in a controversial ruling that legalized same-sex marriages in Iowa. He previously lost three GOP primary bids for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in Iowa, but was Republican Jim Nussle's running mate in the 2006 election.