Roll Call Declares All Iowa Congressional Races Competitive, Especially Latham vs. Boswell

The race for Third Iowa U.S. Congressional District was always going to be battle to the end.

Congressmen Leondard Boswell, (D-IA) and Tom Latham, (R-IA) both have benefited from engergized constituents.

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 Loebsack 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 Boswell's election chances against Latham:

But while Republicans are boosted by more competitive races in eastern Iowa, Democrats see more opportunity than ever in the western part of the state.  

Latham built a big fundraising lead early on, thanks in part to his close friendship with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). National and local Democrats sent their dollars north to the 4th district instead.

But good fundraising alone does not win races - especially in competitive districts like this one based in Des Moines. The redrawn district only marginally voted for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2008.

Democrats are more confident in Boswell's chances than they have been in months, even though they still privately concede that the race is an uphill battle.  

An analysis of the recent advertisement traffic underscores the lingering competitiveness of this race. Latham kicked off the airwaves fight with a couple of positive spots. Boswell started his television campaign with spots attacking Latham, and now the Republican has returned the favor with a negative spot of his own.

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