The top Democrat in the Iowa House says the campaign apparatus each of the presidential candidates set up in Iowa before the Caucuses may prove to be a huge advantage for Democrats in the fall election. House Speaker Pat Murphy, a Democrat from Dubuque, suggests Iowa Democrats running for city, county and state-level office will benefit.
“If you take a look at Senator Clinton and Senator Obama, they had huge organizational structures — both volunteer as well as paid staff. Much of that will still be on the ground and many of those people will be coming back because they have the knowledge of Iowa.
Iowa’s always a toss up state,” Murphy says. According to Murphy, Democrats have another advantage over Republicans in the fall here in Iowa because of the G-O-P appears to have picked John McCain as its presidential nominee — and McCain didn’t have much of a Caucus campaign organization in Iowa.
“Because he wasn’t here, I think there is no question he is going to be somewhat hurt by his organizational activities,” Murphy says. Murphy was uncommitted to any candidate before the Caucuses, but on Caucus Night he wound up standing with his wife in Hillary Clinton’s circle of supporters. Murphy says either Clinton or Obama will be good “top of the ticket” names for Iowa Democrats.
Murphy says his children supported Obama in the Caucuses because they found Obama inspiring, while his 48-year-old wife wants to see a women president in her lifetime. “Either one of them are very strong for the Democrats and I think will win the state of Iowa,” Murphy says of Obama and Clinton. Murphy made his comments Friday during an appearance on Iowa Public Television.