What Role Did Rabid Homophobia Play in the Delightful Defeat of Ken Veenstra?



It might have come down to just good, old-fashioned politics



The
biggest story to come out of the Iowa primary elections on Tuesday was
on the Republican side.  Incumbent state Senator Ken Veenstra of
Orange City in NW Iowa was defeated by the more moderate Republican,
Dave Mulder of Sioux Center, and since Mulder will not face a
Democratic challenger, he's as good as got the District 2 Iowa Senate
seat in the bag.



So, what happened?  Even as we are swept away in a flood of giddiness, we're dying to know.



It looks
like there were a number of factors involved, but in the end, it might
have come down to just good, old-fashioned politics.



Redistricting



Veenstra
had served for 10 years in the Iowa legislature – the first six in the
House and the last 4 in the Senate.  However, Veenstra's district
was redrawn in 2002, so much of the power of the incumbency was lost on
the Republicans in the new District 2, according to my local source,
Sue Morris, the political reporter for the LeMars Daily Sentinel.



Morris
went on to say that name recognition was low for Veenstra in his own
district, particularly in Plymouth County, and his lack of campaigning,
no doubt based on the inaccurate assumption that being the incumbent,
he had an easy in, had a lot to do with the defeat.  Veenstra did
not put in the legwork; he did not go out door knocking, he did not,
until just recently, hold town meetings, and he only occasionally
showed up for local events.



On the
other hand, Veenstra's opponent, Dave Mulder, an educator for over 40
years, was out there stumping day in and day out, really making the
effort to go out and talk to the Republicans of District 2. 
Strike one.



Doesn't Work Well And Play Well With Others



The
ultra-conservative Veenstra was a high-profile senator.  He served
as an assistant Senate majority leader and he chaired the Human
Resources Committee.  Yet, Veenstra raised his profile even
further by becoming the top anti-gay crusader in the legislature. 
He authored the bill to ban gay marriage in Iowa – which narrowly
escaped passage  – and he led the fight to prevent the appointment
of a gay man to the Iowa Board of Education.  Veenstra was
vicious, vindictive, and vocal in his homophobic quest.



According to David Yepsen of the Des Moines Register,
“part of the reason for his high-profile, anti-gay efforts in the
Legislature seemed to be a desire to bolster his standing with social
conservatives in the heavily Republican northwest Iowa district. But
GOP strategists said Wednesday the tactic didn't work, and Veenstra
even lost his hometown.”



That may
well be so.  Sue Morris in LeMars believes that if you had
conducted an exit poll of Republican voters on Tuesday, most would have
indicated they agreed with Veenstra's anti-gay stance.  It's
questionable, however, whether they would go so far as to strongly
affirm his hate tactics when another, much more personable and
appealing candidate, was an option.  Strike two.



The Bandwagon Effect



Another
key factor in the race seems to be the endorsement of challenger Dave Mulder by
the bigwigs in the Sioux County Republican Party.  According to
Morris, the Sioux County Republicans are very obedient, and if their
leaders are going to endorse a candidate, that's good enough for them.



Why
Sioux County endorsed Mulder over the incumbent Veenstra is another
matter.  For one, according to Morris, the Sioux County Republican
leadership tends to be more moderate.  In addition, there seemed
to be a common sentiment that Northwest Iowa has been frequently
overlooked by the Iowa Legislature and is not getting their fair share
of resources.  One might infer that some believe this was the
fault of the current representation, his unappealing personality, and
his decision to actively pursue his divisive, socially-oriented hate agenda.



Challenger
Mulder was strong on economic development and bringing more resources
to NW Iowa, and was equally strong on education, both public and
private, whereas Veenstra was pro-private education at the expense of
public education.  Mulder was able to rally the public school
teachers to support him, and appeared to most to be the kind of a guy
who could work well with others – meaning, in the end, more resources
for District 2. 

Mulder himself believes that education was the
key difference between him and Veenstra, and the reason Mulder
won.  According to Morris, Mulder talked education constantly,
believing in its importance all the way from pre-school to community
college and university levels.  Looks like even in this very
conservative NW Iowa district, putting education in its proper
high-priority place is a big concern.  The Republican-controlled
legislature underfunded education once again, and Veenstra was a leader
in that legislature.  Strike three – you're out.



Linda Thieman