Democrat enters First District congressional race

The newest candidate for Iowa’s First District Congressional seat is a professor at Clarke College in Dubuque. 51-year-old Michael Anderson says the campaign likely will draw national attention, and a lot of money. Anderson says people have a choice to “follow that money and say ‘I’m going to allow someone to purchase my candidate for me’,” or he says they can look at what the candidate has to say. Anderson, a Democrat, says he was inspired to launch his bid for the seat after hearing reports on campaign fundraising. He says before voting on legislation he’d ask himself and Congress what its impact would be on children, education, the environment, the elderly, the poor, and working Americans. Anderson says it’s the measure of a society, how it looks out for those who can’t look out for themselves. “That’s a very old notion and we’ve lost track of that,” he says. Anderson says “real citizens” who know what it’s like to live in this society should be officeholders. Anderson says recent campaigns have been dominated by money. He says he won’t accept any donations larger than ten dollars. First-district Congressman Jim Nussle, a Republican, is running for governor.