GOP took lessons from Obama to map 2010 wins

DES MOINES - They weren't wearing WWOD bracelets, but Republican strategists took a page from President Barack Obama's 2008 playbook in identifying and wooing Iowa independent voters who were key to Tuesday's election victories.

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” said Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn, who told reporters that Republican strategists learned from the trouncing they took at the hands of the Barack campaign two years ago in fashioning an outreach programs that targeted independents who previously had not voted for GOP candidates. “You can learn a lot from studying your political opponents.”

Strawn said his party put together a coordinated campaign to target 100,000 independent voters who cared about jobs and the economy, government overspending and government debt and made sure they made it to the polls with the help of a “surge” in volunteers during the last two days of the 2010 campaign.

“It certainly isn't rocket science that independent voters swing elections in this state,” Strawn told reporters in discussing a stunning GOP turnaround that scored victories up and down the ticket that were unimaginable two years ago when Republican stock plunged at the polls. He also said Republicans had a “clear, consistent message” about what “one-party Democratic rule was doing in Des Moines” and the need for a return to principled conservative leadership that “penetrated with voters.”

While Iowa Republicans recaptured the governorship after a 12-year hiatus, they also scored an upset when Matt Schultz defeated incumbent Secretary of State Michael Mauro, seized control of the Iowa

House with at least 60 seats, and gained back seats in the Iowa Senate where a 25-25 tie still is a possibility. However, Strawn said the “untold story” was the GOP victories at the county level, where Republicans won supervisor races in Cerro Gordo, Linn, Scott, Dubuque and Warren counties.

“I think that signifies a significant shift, not just at the top levels of government here in Iowa with the election of Terry Branstad, but at the local legislative levels and at the county levels,” he said. “That gives Iowa Republicans reason to be excited far beyond the upcoming legislative session.”