Urbandale Residents Can Submit Questions for Boswell-Latham Debate: Full 3rd District Schedule

Urbandale residents may submit questions for this week's debate in one of the most closely watched congressional races in the country between two incumbents pitted again each other because of re-districting.

Tom Latham will meet Leonord Boswell Wednesday in one of a series of debates to be held before the Nov. 6 election.

The one-hour debate, sponsored by KCCI and the Des Moines Register, will be broadcast live from 7 to 8 p.m. from KCCI’s Des Moines studios and will be livestreamed at DesMoinesRegister.com and kcci.com. KCCI is found on Channel 8 in Urbandale.

Moderators will be KCCI senior anchor Kevin Cooney and Register political columnist Kathie Obradovich.

The Des Moines Register invited residents of the 3rd District can submit questions for consideration ahead of Wednesday’s debate.

Redistricting forced the two longtime Iowa congressmen into the 3rd District, Democrat Boswell’s territory in the U.S. House of Representatives for the past 16  years. His opponent, Republican Latham, who currently represents the old Iowa 4th District, has been in Congress two years longer.

If the election were today, who would you vote for in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District? Take our poll, tell your neighbors who you support and why in the comments.

Boswell lives in Des Moines and Latham moved to Clive so he could run against Boswell in the 3rd District rather than face U.S. Rep. Steve King, the old 5th District representative who is challenged by former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack in the new 4th District.

Race a Toss Up

The 3rd District race is one of only two in the country in pitting incumbents against each other because of redistricting (the other is in Ohio). Real Clear Politics said the race is too close to call.

Late last month, the Benenson Strategy Group conducted 400 telephone interviews in the 3rd District and determined Boswell and Latham are tied at 45 percent each, the Des Moines Register reported. Boswell had a lead among those not registered as Democrats or Republicans, 49 percent to 34 percent.

But Republicans have a big edge in registrations in the district, with 164,646, according to Iowa Secretary of State registration figures released Oct. 1. That compares with 153,357 registered Democrats and 146,268 voters who did not declare a party.

The National Journal called the 3rd District “the very definition of a swing district in a swing state” because it includes not only the most populous city in the state, Des Moines, but also its most sparsely populated county, Adams.

The race is considered too close to call, but Latham clearly has a fund-raising edge. At the end of the second-quarter reporting period, Latham had $2.1 million in the bank and backing of super PACs like Karl Rove’s American Crossroads super PAC and the Koch brothers, compared with Boswell’s $472,000, according to the National Journal’s report.

With the election less than a month away, the race remains a toss up, making the debates more important.

Other Boswell-Latham Debates

Thursday, Oct. 11, at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs. Sponsored by Iowa Public Television, the debate begins at 7 p.m. at the Arts Center, 2700 College Road, Council Bluffs.

Wednesday, Oct. 17, Shenandoah High School auditorium, 6:30 p.m. KMA Radio will broadcast the event.

Tuesday, Oct. 23, Des Moines radio debate. No other information available.