Pat Murphy
The Democrat who lost to Republican Congressman Rod Blum in 2014 is trying for a rematch in 2016. Pat Murphy of Dubuque posted a 10-second video on Twitter this morning.
“The truck’s up and running and so am I,” Murphy says in the video.
It’s a used, 18-year-old white Chevy pick-up that was featured in a 2014 Murphy campaign ad.
“Everybody else that’s in this race, they can self-fund…I’m truly a middle class person,” Murphy told Radio Iowa this morning. “I’ll not be able to put large amounts of money into the race and quite frankly my career has been focused raising the minimum wage, pay equiaty for women…and making sure we protect civil rights for all Iowans.”
Two other Democrats have already been running in the first congressional district. Monica Vernon, a Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman, has been raising money and collecting public endorsements from Democratic Party leaders like Democratic Iowa Congressman Dave Loebsack since January. Vernon finished second to Murphy in last year’s Democratic Primary in the district. Gary Kroeger, a Saturday Night Live alum who now works in a Cedar Falls ad agency, is also running in the Democratic primary. Murphy lost the 2014 congressional race to Blum by about 7000 votes.
“I performed the best of any Democrat in the first district except for Tom Miller and Mike Fitzgerald,” Murphy said, referencing the Democratic attorney general and state treasurer who won reelection in 2014. “…It was a very bad year for Democrats, but I learned a lot from that experience. That’s why I feel like I’m the best candidate this time around. I won 18 of the 22 countes in the primary and so we fell real good about our chances in the primary and making sure that we hold Rod Blum more accountable when we get in the fall election.”
Murphy is former state legislator who once served as speaker of the Iowa House. The first congressional district covers 22 counties in northeast Iowa and includes the cities of Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque and Decorah.
(This story was updated at 11:32 a.m. with additional information)