The First Open Seat Of 2008
As John Deeth notes, Sandy Greiner, the eight term Republican incumbent from House District 89 (Washington County along with parts of Johnson and Jefferson Counties) will not seek re-election. Greiner faced a very competitive challenge from Mark Nolte in 2006 who, despite running in a heavily Republican district (2,000 more Republicans than Democrats) and not being a targeted candidate, lost by only 1,100 votes. Nolte was a long shot against Greiner in 2006 but he should be a very competitive candidate in 2008 since he will not be facing an incumbent.
Greiner’s retirement is the first of an expected wave of retirements among Republican lawmakers who have no desire to serve in the minority. It is typical for a minority party that has just lost power after a long reign as the majority to endure a wave of retirements. For example, in 1996, after the Republican sweep of both houses of Congress, 8 Democratic Senators and 30 Democratic Congressmen retired. This avalanche of open seats enabled the Republicans to consolidate their majorities in Congress. It is expected that Republican retirements will enable the Democrats to do the same in Des Moines. The Democrats already have several good opportunities to pick up seats in the State Senate before factoring in any open seats. As more Republicans retire, even more seats will come into play as popular incumbents like Greiner decide to leave politics. The Republicans have been losing seats in both the State House and the State Senate for the past two elections and if more incumbents like Greiner decide to retire, the third time will most definitely not be the charm.
1 comment February 14th, 2007
