The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has filed an ethics complaint against a Republican running for Congress over an ad. Democrats say Republican candidate Peter Teahen is running ads for his Cedar Rapids funeral home that are thinly disguised campaign ads.
The commercial features Teahen speaking to the camera about veterans, flags and patriotism and only mentions his family business at the end. Teahen says the commercials are at least five years old and do not violate federal election laws.
Teahen says the ads always run at this time of year to pay tribute to Memorial Day and his dad and other veterans who served. He says the last time the ads ran was 47 days before the primary, well outside the 45-day limit set by the F-E-C. Teahen says the complaint shows the Democrats are worried about incumbent Congressman Dave Loebsack being re-elected.
"The Democrats have accused me of something to try to impact a Republican primary, because they’re afraid I can unseat Loebsack in the fall," Teahen says. But he says "their charges are wrong" and he is compliant with the Federal Election Commission regulations. Teahen says the Democrat know the ad is legal and are just trying to defame him. "I’m flattered that the Democratic Party is so concerned that I can beat Dave Loebsack," Teahen says.
Teahen says the funeral home changed the commercials to feature his daughter during the election cycle. He says they went to the expense of doing new commercials for TV and radio to make sure they are in compliance. Teahen is in a three-way Republican primary with Lee Harder and Marianette Miller Meeks for the second district Republican nomination.