Paul Johnson, from Iowa's 4th

by Jerome Armstrong, Wed Oct 27, 2004 at 03:58:48 PM EDT

Paul Johnson has run a terrific campaign in Iowa's 4th CD, his stance on wind energy is progressive to the max. And you gotta check out his ads, "Finance" is one of the best grassroots ads of the year... "fancy voiceover guys" what a line. You gotta remember, Iowa voters see the slickest of the slick in ads. This guy smells authentic.

Johnson just got the Des Moine's register endorsement (and we remember what that did for John Edwards), and the Ames Tribune turned away from Latham, and endorsed Johnson. The 4th is a even match-up between Democrats and Republicans, you never know... VoteJohnson.org

Tags: House 2006 (all tags)

Comments

10 Comments

Sort by

permalink

Damn

What a great candidate! Any polling for the district? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Kerry will have some coattails for folks like this.

by fwiffo 2004-10-27 04:57PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Damn

Hey fwiffi, you asked about any polling in the district? There's some info posted here about an internal Latham (the incumbent) poll "An internal poll leaked from someone in Latham's office had us only 3-4 points behind,..."

http://www.reachm.com/amstreet/archives/2004/10/27/swing-state-iowa

If you apply the incumbent rule, this race is just that much closer.

by JTrout 2004-10-27 06:04PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Damn

Will Kerry have coattails? Kerry isn't even leading in IA. More likely, if this guy is really generating some real grassroots momentum, will he have any coattails for Kerry to ride on? It would be great to get IA in the blue column for good.

by NJIndependent 2004-10-27 07:33PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Damn

Electoral-vote's got Iowa in a dead heat. Head of the IDP recently said that whoever wins will do it with a margin of less than 1/2 of 1% - so there isn't a whole lot of coat-tailing. DCCC is spending its time on other races, to the detriment of Iowa, in my opinion. You've got a candidate in a swing-state chipping away at an incumbent with an empty record after 10 years in the house. Even with gobs of cash from Delay's American majority pac, Katherine Harris, and others, we're siezing the momentum. The fact that Paul has placed limits on PAC funds has probably sent a signal, though, to many - that he's not your typical candidate. No PAC can give more money than an individual can...so far 93% of Paul's finances are from individual contributions. That we are where we are given that figure is something we're proud of.

by Votejohnson 2004-10-27 08:29PM | 0 recs

permalink

Thanks guys - we need all the help we can get!

Paul is the real deal...and I think Iowans are starting to realize that in a major way. I have yet to see any candidate in the country with as extensively developed positions - when they started going up, a lot of people said it was suicide to come out with a position on civil unions, or a detailed foreign policy, etc. We link our positions to Latham's corresponding platitudes ("America is the greatest country on the planet. I'll always work to defend it")...you may not agree with Paul's positions but at least you can see them. Paul's blog just won Democracy for Iowa's "Best Blog" award, and has been a joy to run.

The "Finance" video has been getting a great reception! Which makes me proud since I directed and produced it for the campaign...total cost: $70 worth of film and the patience of nearly a hundred Iowans who assembled for the closing shot.

This isn't david vs. goliath...we're close - we just need a final push to run ads on the networks, and to finish a massive mailing that lists all the endorsements.

by Votejohnson 2004-10-27 05:21PM | 0 recs

permalink

Well deserved

As one of the hundred plus Iowans in that ad, it's great to see it get some kudos. What's even better is seeing some love for Paul Johnson on MyDD. The Register endorsement was huge, Paul has a real shot. I've just been motivated to chip in $100 to the Johnson campaign. If anyone out there reading this has just a wee bit more to give the cause in the final days, please consider contributing as well.

http://www.votejohnson.org

by JTrout 2004-10-27 05:34PM | 0 recs

permalink

Before I forget, link to the commercials -

Click here to head to the commercials page. Click here to launch the realplayer version of the ad Jerome mentioned (and our favorite) - "Finance."

by Votejohnson 2004-10-27 05:50PM | 0 recs

permalink

I hate to rain on the parade, but...

...this district is where I was born and raised (Story and Marshall counties) and I don't share the optimism of anyone on this thread. Johnson has been too underfunded, and I haven't seen any traction to speak of on his part. Although Iowa media buys are inexpensive compared to more urban districts, that's offset by the fact that the district is huge geographically, covered by several media markets. Latham had a major scare in 2002 against a strong candidate but ended up pulling away and winning handily. This time I don't see a close race against a guy with no name recognition. I'm skeptical of the rumor that an internal Latham poll shows a 4-point race, I'd have to see a credible source to believe that.

by DCCyclone 2004-10-27 08:46PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: I hate to rain on the parade, but...

DCCyclone - Appreciate your comments, although I'd tend to view comparisons to the '02 race as tenuous...there's more than one way to win a race. Last time the DCCC & RNCC duked it out and Iowans ended up losing...not this time around. The 4th is a huge district, but Paul just finished his last of 28 county forums yesterday evening. You may be hearing from the wrong people though...we don't do skepticism well.

by Votejohnson 2004-10-28 05:23AM | 0 recs

permalink

Great public servant

Paul Johnson is a true friend of the farmer and the environment. Give him all the support you can. He'll never disappoint you.

by John Hyde 2004-10-28 08:00AM | 0 recs