Patty Judge’s campaign is sinking fast as she attempts to work her way out of a lie in last night’s debate about her involvement in the veto of a major labor initiative during her time as Lieutenant Governor. And today, a new poll showed that Chuck Grassley is still in strong shape as voters aren’t buying Judge’s use of President Obama’s liberal Supreme Court nominee to make party-line attacks against the popular Senator.
And this report from the Associated Press only further highlights the embarrassment that is the Judge campaign. Recruited by Washington insiders and supported by Harry Reid, Judge is struggling just to make it through her own primary against a poorly-funded state legislator:
However, just as the progressive candidacy of Bernie Sanders turned the Iowa presidential caucuses into a nail-biter against the establishment favorite Hillary Clinton, Judge is facing a tough nomination battle against more liberal state Sen. Rob Hogg, who is supported by two key labor unions.
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Megan Suhr, chairwoman of the Marion County Democrats in south-central Iowa, said the perception that Hogg is more liberal and not backed by national party leaders could help him in a year when Sanders and Republican Donald Trump have seen so much success.
A key difference between the two has been their stand on a lawsuit by the Des Moines water utility, which is trying to force three counties to reduce farm runoff into the city’s water source. Hogg has supported the lawsuit while Judge joined with a private organization that criticized the utility and called for less confrontational actions.
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Danny Homan, president of the state’s largest public employee union, criticized the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s decision to recruit Judge shortly before the deadline to enter the race.
"I quite frankly am astounded and appalled by the DSCC coming into this state and hand picking a candidate without talking to anybody in this state … and they decide who Iowa’s candidate should be for the United States Senate," said Homan, who runs the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 61. Homan’s union and the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, have endorsed Hogg.
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Suhr, the Marion County chairwoman, said she expects a close race.
"I live in a district right next door to Patty … our counties are neighbors, and it’s not a slam dunk for her there," she said. "It’s a wide open field."
Under fire from grassroots Iowa Democrats and labor unions at the same time, Judge is facing a tough path to the nomination – and her Washington backers are surely starting to panic.