I don't recall nearly as intense a reaction to Bill Clinton's or George Bush's nominees for secretary of agriculture. Either food and farm issues are more salient now than they used to be, or I am noticing it more because Barack Obama is tapping an Iowan to head the USDA.

A few days ago I posted a Vilsack reaction linkfest at the Iowa progressive community blog Bleeding Heartland, but the hits just keep on coming.

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In general, some of the down-ticket races in states across the country are ignored.  As we've seen in 2000 and 2004, Secretary of State positions have become critical and now we see the launch of SoSProject.com to help elect progressive secretary of states who will support paper trails and expand enfranchisement of all citizens.  But not every state has a secretary of agriculture so they don't necessarily get any attention and the issues get pushed aside -- but the issues are crtical and will have long-lasting implications.  In Iowa, the race is critical and it got some deserved attention.

Today, the New York Times has an editorial in the paper about the Secretary of Agriculture race in Iowa and just how fundamental and reprsentative the race is for those involved in agriculture across the country.  I'll reproduce the editorial in full below:

"There is a governor's race going on in Iowa -- Culver vs. Nussle, a tossup -- but the race to watch is the one for secretary of agriculture. Both candidates support ethanol production, and who wouldn't when ethanol has given Iowa the lowest fuel prices in the nation? But otherwise they are about as different as it is possible to be and still be an Iowan for agriculture. Bill Northey, a Republican, farms corn and soybeans and has been endorsed by the Farm Bureau. His Democratic opponent is Denise O'Brien, who raises poultry, apples and strawberries. She and her husband farm organically, and her campaign vehicle is a green biodiesel school bus.

The candidates capture a real split in the farm world -- in Iowa and the nation as a whole. Mr. Northey proudly represents the industrial vision of farming that has turned Iowa into the land of the two-crop, corn-soybean rotation, a place where the chance to produce corn-based ethanol looks like diversity. Ms. O'Brien has been unfairly accused of belonging to "fringe" groups, and she is clearly not the Farm Bureau candidate. "Organic" is anathema to the Farm Bureau. But she is a reminder that Iowa would be better off with greater agricultural diversity, stronger communities and a greater emphasis on the health of its natural resources.

The sharpest difference between these two candidates concerns the ability of counties and towns to restrict the siting of feedlots and farm operations that concentrate huge numbers of animals. Mr. Northey believes in a single set of regulations across all of Iowa's 99 counties. Ms. O'Brien argues that factory farms should be regulated by the state but that communities should be able to voice their concerns too. After all, they are the ones who have to live downwind."

It is short, sweet, and to the point.  I wouldn't call it an endorsement for either candidate, but there seems to be a bit more positives for O'Brien than Northey (but as most conservatives would argue, what would you expect from the Times?).

I'm glad the Times covered the race because it will bring national attention to a highly competitive race -- and one that many Democrats figured would basically be thrown to the Republicans after watching Dusky Terry (the party's choice, essentially) be defeated in the primary.  I'll admit that at first I was not excited about O'Brien or the Ag race right after the primary.  Call me a sore loser, but it was true.  And as the summer progressed I became much more excited as I saw her on the stump and as I saw the way she communicated with the voters -- both rural and urban.

I'm excited for Denise O'Brien's chances right now -- she's outraising her Republican opponent even though he smeared her during a fundraising appeal a few weeks ago.  Now, we all should expect the Farm Bureau to drop some quick and substantial cash in the next few weeks to keep Northey competitive.  But we can help keep Denise competitive by going to my ActBlue page and donating a quick bit of cash to keep her campaign going strong.

October 15 is the last big filing deadline for the campaigns across the state to talk about their monetary advantages on their opponents and to get the last feel of the race in terms of cash (which can be critical in some races).  Let's help Denise out and drop her a few bucks.

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