Iowa Democrats Pick Conlin To Take On Grassley In November
Blog for Iowa congratulates Roxanne Conlin who will take on Chuck Grassley in November. (See BFIA interview with Conlin February 2010)
“My reaction is one of great humility and gratitude,” Conlin said. “I welcome the opportunity to run against Senator Grassley and test my ideas against his.” Iowa City Press-Citizen (The Press-Citizen and Cedar Rapids Gazette went with the AP story)
“He will get the race of his life!” Conlin told a crowd of more than 100 supporters Tuesday night after winning the three-way primary battle against Tom Fiegen of Clarence and Bob Krause of Fairfield. DesMoinesRegister
“You can do a lot with fervent supporters, and that’s even more than you can do with $5.5 million,” Conlin said. Sioux City Journal
BFIA takes note of the reporting of Douglas Burns of the
CarrollDaily Times Herald for mentioning the historic nature of Conlin's win.
“One of the things that makes us a very great place to live is our traditions. But sometimes those traditions harden into stereotypes,” Conlin said. “When I ran in 1982 about a third of voters said they wouldn’t vote for me because I was a female.”
Conlin said those views no doubt still exist in the Hawkeye State but that people are less likely to voice them, which she sees as progress.
“In addition to that, I think a lot of attitudes have changed,” she said. “We have women in powerful positions, doing good jobs.”
The Waterlooo-Cedar Falls Courier and Quad
City Times ran the same story by Charlotte Eby:
In her victory speech, Conlin pointed out Iowa has the unfortunate distinction of never electing a woman to the U.S. House or Senate or as governor.
“And I know, I know, I know, that it is time to break that last glass ceiling in Iowa,” Conlin said. She was the first woman nominated by either major party for Iowa governor, losing in 1982 to Terry Branstad.
Blog for Iowa would also like to express
thanks and appreciation to challengers Bob Krause and Tom Fiegen for
their feisty, hard-fought campaigns.
Blog For Iowa 