Roll Call Declares All Iowa Congressional Races Competitive, Including Boswell v. Latham

In a marquee battle for their congressional futures, Democrat Leonard Boswell and Republican Tom Latham still have a ways to go before November, but Boswell's chances are better than they have been in months, according to a story published yesterday by Roll Call.

Roll Call said that all of the Iowa races at the U.S. Congressional level appear competitive, and even comfortable incumbents like Congressmen Dave Loebsack, a Democrat, and Steve King, a Repuyblican, should receive tough challenges this fall.

Democrats are more confident in Boswell's chances than they have been in months, even though they still privately concede that the race is an uphill battle, Roll Call reported.

Look for more back-and-forth ads between the two candidates, who were thrown together after Iowa lost a congressional set in redistricting.

An analysis of the recent advertisement traffic underscores the lingering competitiveness of this race, according to the analysis. Latham kicked off the airwaves fight with a couple of positive spot, but Boswell started his television campaign with spots attacking Latham. Now the Republican has returned the favor with a negative spot of his own.

This is perhaps not so surprising in a state that couldn't be much more evenly divided politically, added to redistricting and a lot of attention in a presidential election year.