Iowa GOP May Face Tea Party Challenge for Governor

Image of the comely Bob Vander Plaats
from  PartyOfJesus.com

Facebook can be a strange place.  There, I have reacquanted myself with old friends from high school, former co-workers, and far-flung extended family members. Also in the mix are people who were barely acquaintences, but all are designated as "friends." Which can be kind of awkward when you have a public fight with one of them.  One such "friend" went to school with my brother, and we've had some heated conversationis, mostly about religion and politics (for him, very in the former and conservative in the latter; me. . .um. . .opposite). 

Some months ago, this friend was touting Bob Vander Plaats as his choice for Iowa governor.  I'm not from Iowa, but The Other Half is.  That wouldn't by itself be enough for me to care.  Iowa, however, is one of the few states in this country where my same-sex marriage is legal, and Vander Plaats campaigned on the repeal of that status.  In fact, it was one of his big selling points.  Vander Plaats, it turns out, is something of a tea bagger, and he really, really doesn't like the gay.  So, I was quite pleased that he was defeated in his primary election.  But it looks like Vander Plaats isn't going gracefully into the good night.

[Excerpt]

IA-Gov: A harbinger of things to come for the GOP?

News broke [last] Thursday that a meeting had occurred between [Bob] Vander Plaats and GOP gubernatorial nominee Terry Branstad. At that meeting, Vander Plaats, who finished second in the GOP gubernatorial primary, apparently asked for a spot on the ticket, an idea that was rejected. That rejection opened the door for a potential third-party run for governor this fall.


Several sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Iowa Independent this week that Vander Plaats is seriously considering a run, with the chances of him entering the race at about 50/50. . .

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