Candidates meet voters on eve of Iowa primary

Iowa's congressional hopefuls rushed through their districts Monday and worked the phones in the final day of campaigning before what was expected to be a low-turnout primary election.

Dozens of candidates also will seek their parties' nomination for legislative office in Tuesday's election, but most attention was focused on races in the 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts, which make up the eastern half of Iowa.

The 2nd District race will pit incumbent Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack of Iowa City against Joe Seng, a state senator and veterinarian from Davenport. Muscatine home builder Dan Dolan and Bettendorf attorney John Archer will compete for the GOP nomination.

In the 1st Congressional District, Independence attorney Ben Lange and Dubuque businessman Rod Blum are vying for the Republican nomination to face Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley, who is unchallenged for his party's nomination.

Loebsack planned stops Monday in Newton, Knoxville and Davenport. On Tuesday, the three-term congressman will vote in Iowa City, then hold events later in Ottumwa, Fairfield, Burlington, Fort Madison and Davenport.

The Iowa secretary of state's office declined to release an estimate on turnout, but county officials said it appeared low. Brian Fritsch, Loebsack's campaign manager, said that's not surprising.

"It's basically on par with what we've anticipated," Fritsch said. "We're reaching out to folks, making phone calls to remind Democrats that we have an election coming up tomorrow."

Seng said he would spend the rest of the campaign making personal phone calls to fellow veterinarians, health care officials and religious leaders. Seng, who is Catholic, has made his opposition to abortion a major theme in his campaign as a way to contrast himself with Loebsack, who generally supports abortion rights.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," Seng said Monday. "I think I've gotten my message through, and I think people in this the district are ready for a change."

Archer spent Monday at campaign stops in Iowa City and Bettendorf while staff members completed a door-knocking tour of nearly 8,000 homes, said campaign manager Steve Hensler. On Tuesday, Archer will make phone calls and give media interviews in a final push to sell his message to voters, Hensler said.

"It's organized chaos," he said.

Dolan and campaign volunteers spent Monday door-knocking around Davenport after stops in Muscatine and Clinton, said campaign manager Matt Leopold.

"Everywhere we go, people are enthusiastic about tomorrow," Leopold said. "Everywhere we go in the district, jobs are the number one issue - and Dan has created jobs."

County auditors from several of the largest counties reported low turnout, which they attributed to a lack of a governor's race or other high-profile contests.

"We're a little behind from where we were a few years ago," said Linn County Deputy Elections Commissioner Tim Box. "It's been really slow. We don't really have a headliner this year, as we do in a gubernatorial year when you see more television ads."

Box said Linn County sent 1,039 absentee ballots to voters and had received 839 back so far. In 2008, the most recent comparable election, nearly 1,300 voters in Linn County cast absentee ballots. Linn County is the most populated county in the 1st Congressional District.

Scott County Auditor and Elections Commissioner Roxanna Moritz said her office sent 1,138 absentee ballots to voters, and have received roughly 720 back so far - less than 1 percent of the 114,000 registered voters. In the 2008 primary, nearly 3 percent of voters cast a ballot.