Politics & Government
One-Time Republican Enters Congressional Race as a Democrat
Monica Vernon has been a Cedar Rapids City Council member since 2007. She changed her party affiliation from Republican to Democrat in 2009.
Cedar Rapids city council member Monica Vernon is entering the slate of contenders hoping to represent Iowa’s First Congressional District.
“I’m running to bring my common sense approach to problem solving to Washington. I’d like to help Congress move past the gridlock and get busy working on issues that real people deal with at their kitchen tables every day,” she said in a statement announcing her campaign.
According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Vernon is the owner of marketing research firm Vernon Research Group. She has been on the Cedar Rapids City Council since 2007. She has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Iowa.
In May 2009, she changed her party affiliation from Republican to Democrat:
“I think there are a lot of Iowans who are looking for someone who will listen to them, who is just like them, who makes up her own mind about the issues, who is somewhat in the middle,” Vernon told the Gazette. “A lot of Republicans feel the party has left them, and I am certainly one of those.”
Vernon is seeking the Congressional seat currently held by Bruce Braley. Braley announced earlier this year he will be seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate when Sen. Tom Harkin retires in 2014.
The First District includes 20 counties in north east Iowa; Allamakee, Black Hawk, Benton, Bremer, Buchanan, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Howard, Iowa, Jackson, Jones, Linn, Marshall, Mitchell, Poweshiek, Tama, Winneshiek, and Worth counties.
Visit MonicaVernonforCongress.com for more information on Vernon's campaign.
Current contenders for the seat are Democrat Pat Murphy of Dubuque and Republicans Rod Blum of Dubuque and Steve Rathje of Cedar Rapids. Marion Democrat Swati Dandekar has also formed an exploratory committee and is considering running.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.