Partly leaders say close Presidential race key to legislative races

The executives of Iowa’s two major political parties say a competitive Bush/Kerry contest is key to turn-out in the fall election. Gentry Collins is executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa.Collins says a majority of Iowans haven’t voted for a republican presidential candidate since 1984, when Ronald Reagan was re-elected. He says it’s very important in 2004 to have President Bush do well in the state in order to have republican candidates for the legislature do well, too. Jean Hessburg, executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party, says having democratic presidential candidate John Kerry do well is “tremendously” important for Iowa democrats on down the ticket. Hessburg says democrats are focused on statehouse races, too, so if the race for the White House generates more turn-out among democrats, it will hopefully benefit democrats in statehouse and courthouse races, too.