The two republican Congressmen from eastern Iowa who have to run against one another or move if the second redistricting plan is approved are mum. Scott Bruns , Congressman Jim Nussle’s spokesman, read a statement from Nussle who’s from Manchester. It says until the process is complete, there’s no point in speculating about whether he’ll move, or stay put and run head-to-head against Congressman Jim Leach of Davenport. Bill Tate, a spokesman for Leach, read a one-sentence statement from Leach.Leach says the proposed congressional districts are “mathematically defensible but socially and politically awkward.”Democrat Governor Tom Vilsack hasn’t thoroughly reviewed the plan yet, but says it does address legislators’ complaint that the first plan had too much population variance from district to district.Democrats would have a voter registration edge in three of the proposed congressional districts, while Republicans would have the edge in two. The new western Iowa fifth district would have a whopping 50-thousand vote margin for Republicans. Democrats would have a 10-thousand vote edge in the new third; an edge of about six thousand in the new first and a 10-thousand vote edge in the new second. Republicans would hold an 11-thousand vote margin in the new fourth..
