Dawn Pettengill Defects to House Republican Caucus
April 30th, 2007 at 10:21am Chase Martyn
State Representative Dawn Pettengill left the Democratic caucus for the Republican caucus today. The Register has the story from Chris Rants’s press conference, which just happened:
The change cuts the Democratic majority in the House to 53 seats and gives minority Republicans 47 seats. It takes 51 votes to pass legislation.
Pettengill had battled publicly with the House Democratic caucus this year over issues such as labor union fees and the cigarette tax increase. She had indicated publicly she might consider leaving the caucus, although she had suggested she was more likely to become an independent.
“The House Democratic leadership pursued an agenda which veered far from the principles for which my constituents and I stand,” she said in a statement. “My decision gives me the best opportunity to represent the values of my constituents.”
This is going to make progressives — particularly the ones I know who knocked doors for her during the last campaign — pretty unhappy. Pettengill is known for her emotional outbursts, and my sense is that she perceives her district to be more conservative than it actually is.
I posted a while back about why I didn’t think Pettengill was going to defect. It turns out I was wrong. This kind of transition, from the majority to the minority (particularly when it looks like the Republicans will likely remain in the minority through next campaign cycle) is surprising, but Pettengill planted the seed for a defection months ago.
As an aside, this comes as a double-disappointment for many progressives, who were hoping that Rants planned to announce his resignation today. Rumors that he will resign have been circulating for months, and there is no word yet on whether Pettengill’s switch will influence his decision on that one way or the other.
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Entry Filed under: Miscellaneous, Campaign 2006, Iowa Legislature, Democratic Party, State Politics, Republican Party, Labor Issues, Iowa Legislature
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4 Comments Add your own
1. desmoinesdem | May 1st, 2007 at 1:21 pm
I didn’t think she’d jump either, but on balance it’s probably good that she did. The media pay more attention to criticism of party leaders that comes from within the same party than they do to criticism by members of the other party (which is dismissed as partisan noise that is less newsworthy).
A great book on journalistic standards of newsworthiness and how they skew coverage is Robert Entman’s Democracy Without Citizens, from way back in the Stone Age (around 1989).
Pettengill will get less media attention next session, because she’ll be just another Republican who occasionally votes with the Democrats.
And you door-knockers? Don’t be discouraged–let’s get behind a candidate to defeat Pettengill in 2008.
2. Susan Kreis | May 4th, 2007 at 3:09 am
She does not realise that there are just as many Union republicas angry at how she voted on the fair shair bill.
Not to mention many Independent Union members.And we
all have relitives that vote too. I was at one of the mettings
she was at . and she said she was for it. Hmm say one thing
to get the backing then turn around and do the other. It is to bad that we have some like this. If she thinks going to the other side
will get her elected she better think again. By the way I am
the only democrat in my family and non of then will vote foe her the next time. WE are a Union family.
3. Linda | January 18th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
How do you cahnge party’s????
4. Fitzy | June 27th, 2010 at 2:51 am
http://www.balloon-juice.com/wp-trackback.php?p=21026
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