Congressional candidate says presidential campaign helps

Republican candidate Stan Thompson says President Bush’s coattails are helping his congressional campaign. Thompson dismisses the idea the focus in Iowa on the presidential race is curbing attention to other races. Thompson says the momentum Bush has shown in Iowa the past month has helped the Thompson campaign “quite a bit.” Thompson says candidates ride the tide of their party, and he says there’s a “strong republican tide” right now in Iowa. Thompson, who is challenging democratic Congressman Leonard Boswell, says that’s in direct contrast to his experience in 2002, when he first ran against Boswell. Thompson says in ’02, popular democrats Tom Vilsack and Tom Harkin were running for reelection, and Boswell was buoyed by turnout for Vilsack and Harkin. Thompson believes he’ll benefit from having popular republicans like President Bush and Senator Charles Grassley at the top of the ticket in ’04.