The three Democrats vying for their party’s nomination in Iowa’s Third Congressional district debated on live TV last night in Des Moines and campaign finances were a hot topic. Candidate Jim Mowrer of Des Moines criticized rival Mike Sherzan, a retired businessman from West Des Moines.
“I think it’s very convenient that Mike says he wants to take all the money out of campaigns because he has contributed over $600,000 of his own money to the campaign,” Mowrer said, “and I don’t think that congressional seats should be bought like that.”
Sherzan fired back.
“Jim, you and I have agreed not to attack each other, but that sounded like an attack to me,” Sherzan said. “…I’ll fully admit I’m contributing to my campaign because I’m proud of my history and all the support I have, but…you’re actually getting more money from Wall Street than I am.”
Desmund Adams, a businessman from Clive, is the other candidate in the race and he’s raised the least amount of money.
“The bottom line is: Who can beat David Young?” Adams said. “…In order to unseat David Young, we’re going to have to have broad, built coalitions and we’ve built our entire campaign on that.”
Republican David Young won a seat in the U.S. House in 2014. He’s seeking re-election to a second term this November. Last night’s forum featuring the three Democratic candidates in the third congressional district was sponsored by The Des Moines Register and broadcast on KCCI, the CBS affiliate in Des Moines.
(Additional reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Sarah Boden)