1st District challenger says voters ready for policy changes

Nothing personal, but Ben Lange fundamentally disagrees with incumbent 1

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District Rep. Bruce Braley.

“It's about policy,” the Republican challenger said about the race to unseat Braley, a Waterloo Democrat who is seeking a third term.

Lange, an Independence attorney making his first run for office, thinks voters agree with him that Braley and the Democratic-controlled Congress are on the wrong policy track.

Not only has Braley voted with San Francisco liberal House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about 98 percent of the time, but he's voted a for a host of spending initiatives voters believe are inappropriate, Lange said in the days following his primary victory over Will Johnson, a Dubuque Tea Party member.

He believes voters in the 12-county district that stretches from the Quad Cities to Cedar Falls are looking for policies more conservative than those offered by Braley and Pelosi.

“When you run through the policies -- all of them, put them together, the total voting package -- it rings true to voters because Iowa is not San Francisco, California,” Lange said.

Braley believes the election will be a referendum on his performance.

“I have been very busy doing my job,” he said. “I'm going to continue to focus on doing my job.

“I have five months to talk to the voters of the 1

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District about my promise to them when I was first elected to listen, to work hard and to get things done,” said Braley, who was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote in 2008. “I think I've lived up to that promise and I expect the voters to hold me accountable on Election Day.”

Lange believes voter dissatisfaction with the incumbent and current health care, immigration and fiscal policies makes the 1

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a winnable district for a Republican with a “compelling conservative” alternative.

On the campaign trail, he sees many voters, especially those with young families, who are getting involved for the first time because they are concerned about unsustainable spending decisions.

“I'm going to continue to show the distinction between two distinct candidates: one who will continue on the same path, the other who will offer a conservative alternative,” Lange said.

He's undaunted by Braley's sizable fundraising advantage. Federal Election Commission records show Braley with $625,281 cash on hand in mid-May. Lange reported $26,019.

“Money doesn't buy you votes,” he said. “You need to win the voters out there and that's what we are going to do.”

He won the GOP primary with 53 percent of the vote. He believes he can build a winning coalition of Republicans, conservatives and Tea Party members.

For more, visit the candidates' websites at

www.langeforcongress.com and

www.brucebraley.com.