Republicans Like Iowa Mayor’s Record; Will He Seek Harkin Seat?

The mayor of one of Iowa’s most successful small cities says he’ll decide early next week whether to seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin’s seat. Harkin, a popular Democrat, announced earlier this year he will not seek a sixth term.

It’s a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, said West Des Moines Mayor Steve Gaer, who was approached about six weeks ago by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to recruit and elect Republicans to the U.S. Senate, about seeking the nomination.

Gaer said the NRSC credited him with bringing people together to reach consensus, something leaders see as lacking in Congress, and also noted West Des Moines robust growth during the recent recession.

As most of the nation continues to recover, Gaer’s city just completed its third-best year ever in terms of economic growth, with $310 million in building permits issued in 2012.

2013 is off to a strong start, too, with Wells Fargo & Co. announcing a in the community of 61,570, whose daytime population nearly doubles to 120,000 because of jobs and retail opportunities.

The national economy tanked in 2008, but West Des Moines has plowed on relatively unscathed.

“We’ve added thousands of new jobs, and we’re one of only 93 cities that has a triple-A from Standard & Poors and Moody’s – and we were upgraded by Moodys in the recession,” Gaer said. “We haven’t raised the property-tax rate, something the citizens of Iowa would find attractive.”

As the leader of a municipality that doesn’t have partisan elections, the mayor admits he hasn’t had to scale one of the hurdles he would in a Republican primary. Gaer, who describes himself as a social moderate, wonders if he could survive primary among politically fractured Iowa Republicans who disagree on issues such as gay rights, same-sex marriage and abortion.

But with a focus on smaller government, fiscal restraint, jobs creation and security, Gaer is exactly the type of candidate the Republican National Committee said is needed to win elections. A recent Growth and Opportunity Project post-mortem said defeats at the polls resulted from a perception on the part of some voters that the party is and that it’s a party of “stuffy old men.”

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“In primaries, is seems that you have to be far to the right if you’re a Republican or far left if you’re a Democrat, so the challenge is that you have to get through the primary,” Gaer said.

He’s also concerned about the amount of money he’d have to raise to win a primary – between $1 million and $1.5 million, according to the experts he’s consulted.

Gaer said other considerations include the demands of a special-needs daughter, who requires around-the-clock care, and whether he’ll seek another term as West Des Moines mayor. He’s finishing his second term as West Des Moines mayor and is up for re-election in November.

Gaer, the chief operating officer and general counsel for R&R Realty Group in West Des Moines, says he’s changed jobs twice to be able to spend more time with his family.

“The biggest consideration is how that would impact the family,” he said

Other Republicans Looking at Race

Only two Republicans have announced they plan to seek their party’s nomination.

Urbandale’s Matt Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney, has announced his candidacy and he’s already being cast as an extremist after saying last week that he would vote in lockstep with Tea Party favorites like Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz if elected, the Des Moines Register reported.

Paul Lunde of Ames, an attorney who unsuccessfully challenged former U.S. Rep Neal Smith, a Democrat, in 1992, also said Saturday that he intends to run.

Other potential GOP candidates, according to a Des Moines Register report, are:

Joni Ernst of Red Oak, a state senator, a veteran and a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard.

Mark Jacobs of West Des Moines, a former CEO of Reliant Energy, a Fortune 500 company, and founder of Reaching Higher Iowa, a nonprofit aimed at improving public education.

Ron Langston of Des Moines, owner of an entrepreneurial and business innovation consulting firm, Langston Global Enterprises, and President George W. Bush’s director of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Development Agency.

Kevin O’Brien of Iowa City, owner of nine McDonald’s franchises, including one in Iowa City.

Rod Roberts of Carroll, a former state representative who now heads the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals and is an ordained Christian minister. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2010.

Matt Schultz of West De Moines, Iowa’s secretary of state, whose push for a photo ID as a requirement to vote in elections won favor with some conservatives and rankled moderates and liberals.

A.J. Spiker of Ames, the chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa and a real-estate agent.

Bob Vander Plaats of Grimes and formerly of Sioux City, a Christian conservative who ran unsuccessfully for governor three time and is best known for sharp stands against gay rights, same-sex marriage and abortion.

Dr. Stuart Weinstein of Iowa City, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Iowa.

David Young, a Van Meter native who is U.S. Sen Charles Grassley’s chief of staff

Congressman Bruce Braley, who represents Iowa's 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives, has announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination for the Harkin seat. So far, he's the only Democrat to announce.