IA-03: Boswell and Fallon pick up the pace

(Via MyDD.)

Welcome to my latest diary on the Democratic primary to represent Iowa’s third Congressional district. It’s been a while since my last summary of how the race is going, because I got sick recently and spent a week in the hospital.

Both candidates have stepped up their campaign activities in the past month, and I’ll bring you up to date in this diary.

For background on Ed Fallon’s challenge to incumbent “Bush dog” Leonard Boswell, see this diary, which has biographical information on both candidates, and this diary, which outlines the main arguments for and against each candidate.

I’m covering this race more frequently and in more detail at the Iowa progressive community blog Bleeding Heartland.

I have not seen any public polling on this race, and I have not heard anything about the results from Boswell’s internal polling.

Boswell is taking the challenge seriously. Since the beginning of the year, he has been e-mailing constituents more regularly. This past week I got my first call from a field organizer for Boswell as well as a direct-mail piece touting the incumbent’s record on the economy. Also, Boswell held a telephone town-hall meeting on Tuesday, but I was not able to listen in.

I was intrigued to read that in mid-February Boswell signed on to House Resolution 333, which calls for impeaching Vice President Dick Cheney. One benefit of Fallon’s challenge is that it has pushed Boswell toward some progressive positions he might not otherwise have taken. Another example (which Fallon likes to point out) is that Boswell did not sign on to the Safe Climate Act when it was introduced in March 2007. However, after word got around that Fallon was planning to declare his candidacy, Boswell signed on to that legislation in December.

Full post here.