JOHNSON COUNTY
– Returns from a Johnson County mock election show the race between Art
Small, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Republican incumbent
Charles Grassley may be much closer than pundits have predicted.



Small
received 40 percent of the vote during the county auditor’s
sixth-annual mock election at the Johnson County fair Thursday.
Grassley garnered 51 percent of the vote. Nine percent of voters chose
third-party candidates.



While
the mock election only includes data from a small sample of potential
voters, the results show that Small is already positioning himself to
take the U.S. Senate seat this cycle, said campaign communications
director Jennifer Hemmingsen.



“These
numbers are very promising,” Hemmingsen said. “Charles Grassley’s $6
million campaign war chest and 30 years in Washington only gave him an
11 point edge – that’s saying something. As Iowans get to know Art’s
vision and new approaches to persistent problems like trade, the
national debt and health care, those numbers will shift even more
dramatically in Art’s favor.”



Small’s
aggressive campaign schedule for the next three months will take him
all over the state, showing voters they have a real choice in this
election, Hemmingsen said.



“Sure,
‘Grassley works,’ as his campaign is fond of saying, but for whom,” she
asked. “A quick peek at his work in the legislature shows it’s
certainly not for the people.”



“Art stands for Iowa,” she said. “People are excited about that.”



A record-setting 1100 people participated in the mock election this year. Just over 700 voters participated in 2002.