Davenport Democrat Bill Gluba has officially launched his campaign for Iowa’s first-district congressional seat. Gluba says the hotly-contested seat is one of only a handful in the country without an incumbent. Gluba calls it the most targeted Democratic race in the country, saying “there will be several million dollars coming out of Washington,” from progressive groups looking to help the Democratic nominee. He says that means this time he’ll have the money to buy enough TV, radio, direct-mail and newspaper ads to “go head-to-head, toe-to-toe with any of the Republicans.” He says he’ll win the general election if he gets through the primary. The seat is vacant because Jim Nussle is running for Iowa governor. Gluba says he’s running for Congress to “clean up the mess in Washington.”
He says we have to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home with dignity, save Social Security by standing against “risky privatization schemes” Republicans keep bringing up, and he says bad trade deals are skating through Congress causing the out-sourcing and exporting of American jobs. Gluba faces Bruce Braley of Waterloo and Rick Dickinson of Dubuque in the first-district Democratic primary.