Boswell In ‘Tight Spot’ In 3rd District Race Against Latham

The matchup between two popular Iowa congressmen – Democrat Leonard Boswell and Republican Tom Latham – is the 18th-most competitive race in the country, according to the National Journal.

“Boswell has a habit of surviving difficult situations, but this is a really tight spot,” reported the National Journal, a Washington, D.C., political news organization, in announcing its list of the 75 most competitive races in the country this week.

But Latham has money and the support of Speaker John Boehner, a close personal friend, who Boswell has said is working to convince political action committees to dump Boswell.

The race is one of only two in the country in which redistricting pits a pair of incumbents against one another.

When Iowa lost a congressional seat in the 2010 census, 4th District Congressman Latham was thrown together with Congressman Steve King, another Republican with a long record of popularity in the former 5th District.

Influential Republicans surveyed in Patch.com’s survey said they’re confident Latham will prevail.

“Not only will Tom Latham out-raise and out-spend Leonard Boswell, Tom is going to out-work Leonard. Latham will have a historic win against Boswell,” one said.

All four of Iowa’s congressional races made the National Journal’s list. On the 3rd District race, the National Journal said:

“Boswell has a structural advantage in this matchup between two sitting members; he brings 121,000 Obama voters from the Des Moines area from his old district. But even though Latham has to introduce himself to more new voters, he has the money and the help from outside allies to do so, while his Democratic opponent has been reduced to complaining that Speaker John Boehner has pressured PACs into shutting off Boswell’s fundraising. Boswell has a habit of surviving difficult situations, but this is a really tight spot.”

The 60th most competitive race in the country is former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack’s campaign against King. Said the National Journal:

“King has shown little willingness to adjust to life in a swing seat, and continued inflammatory comments might damage him in the end against former state first lady Christie Vilsack. But he and his allies, including the Club for Growth, have made sure he has the resources to make his case: King raised over $850,000 in the most recent quarter.”

Eastern Iowa’s 1st and 2nd congressional districts also made the most-competitive ranking.

At No. 70 is 2nd District Congressman Dave Loebsack’s race. Loebsack, a Democrat, is challenged by Republican John Archer in the southeast Iowa district. The National Journal wrote:

“There are early signs that the political winds in Iowa might more closely resemble 2010 than 2008. Loebsack can still take heart in having survived a tougher climate last cycle, though.”

Finally, the 71st most competitive race is the matchup in Iowa’s 1st District. Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat, is challenged by Republican Ben Lange. “Ditto,” the National Journal wrote, echoing the rationale cited in the Loebsack-Archer race.