Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Braley today announced via Twitter that he’s crossed the million dollar mark in fundraising. Braley, a four-term congressman from Waterloo, announced in February that he would seek the seat Democrat Tom Harkin now holds.
“The challenge I face right now is I have a very important job to do and that’s representing the first district of Iowa and I’m going to keep my focus on that, but at the same time I’m spending time in my spare time getting out, traveling around the state, talking to Iowans,” Braley said in Decorah this morning.”The most important thing to do to run for any statewide office is to listen to the concerns of the people you hope to represent.”
Senator Harkin announced in late January that he would not seek reelection in 2014. On February 7 Braley formed a campaign committee. In the past seven weeks, Braley raised more than a million dollars for his senate race. Braley said running a statewide campaign is “tough,” but the top concerns of Iowans tend to be the same no matter where they live.
“One of the things that a lot of people in politics try to do is talk about different parts of Iowa as if they were different states and the reality is we have a shared identity,” Braley said in Decorah. “We have a lot in common.”
Over the past two months Braley’s campaign has announced a series of endorsements from key union groups and the other two Democrats who hold statewide office — Attorney General Tom Miller and State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald.
No Republican candidate has launched a bid for the senate, although Congressman Steve King, Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey have all said they are considering it.
Additional reporting from Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson in Des Moines