Candidate for Lieutenant Governor says she may run for the big job some day

Iowa’s political stage may have at least one new player after the election, despite the outcome of the Governor’s race. Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Debi Durham, G-O-P gubernatorial candidate Doug Gross’s running-mate, acknowledged this week she’s now getting questions about running for Governor herself sometime. Durham says it’s a new path for her, and she really had to think about jumping into politics when Gross asked her to be his running-mate. Durham says, regardless of the outcome of the election, running for office has been one of the most enriching experiences of her life.Durham says campaigning has forced her to reevaluate how she looks at things, because she’s seen the “face” of some issues and that’s caused her to think about her political philosophy. Durham says when she first talked to her family about Gross’s invitation to be his running-mate, her son asked her why she wasn’t running for Governor. Durham says women bring a more holistic approach to problem solving, even on the political level. She says governing is about bringing people together. Durham, though, got a verbal slap from her running-mate this past week when she spoke out against the state’s “English Only” law. Gross said it would be him, not her who sets legislative policy in a Gross/Durham Administration, and Gross said he had no intention of asking lawmakers to repeal the law. Gross has said he’ll have Durham run the Department of Economic Development. She says Gross outlined that this would be a partnerships and that she would be involved in all areas of the government, even though her emphasis will be on rejuvenating the economy. Durham has been the president of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce in Sioux City for the past eight years.