Roll Call Declares All Iowa Congressional Races Competitive, Including Braley vs. Lange

The re-election of First Iowa District U.S. Congressman Bruce Braley, (D- IA) was once considered a sure thing, but that could be changing.

So says the analysis of political publication Roll Call, which declared in a story published yesterday that all of the Iowa races at the U.S. Congressional level appear competitive, and even comfortable incumbents like Braley and Steve King, (R- IA) should receive tough challenges this fall. This is perhaps not so surprising in a state that couldn't be much more evenly divided politically, added to redistricting and a lot of attention in a presidential election year.

Here's what Roll Call had to say about Braley's election chances going up against his challenger attorney Ben Lange:

Republicans are confident enough to reserve $350,000 in airtime for this district. The current spending is a trial balloon to see if the race can become more competitive.  Democrats have yet to reserve anything, but Braley - a good fundraiser - has a strong cash lead.  

Anticipating a tough rematch, he started to fundraise and air television advertisements early. He made several trips to Des Moines, which many Democrats say help lay the groundwork for a future statewide bid. This remains Iowa's least competitive House district, but that's no longer a low bar. Roll Call is changing its rating of this race from Safe Democratic to Likely Democratic.

For reference, here's a link to a Gazette story about congressional redistricting that has a handy map of the new districts.