Deeth Disects Bob Krause

I posted earlier today that Bob Krause is getting set to challenge Charles Grassley in his 2010 reelection race. I didn't much about Krause except that he is chair of the Iowa Democratic Veterans' Caucus and was elected to the Iowa House as a 23 year old back in the 70's.

John Deeth takes a deeper look and disects a Krause - Grassley matchup...

Krause was once a wunderkind, elected to the legislature at 23 in 1972 and running statewide for state treasurer before he was 30, in 1978. In 1982 he tried a comeback in the state Senate but lost the primary. He now lives in Fairfield but his House district was on the north central border in Kossuth, Emmet and Palo Alto counties.[...]

The good news is that Krause is getting into the race against Chuck Grassley early, earlier than we've seen in a few cycles. (Art Small's 2004 campaign was literally last minute; there were some worries that we wouldn't get ANYone.)

By all accounts Krause is a good guy, but this is hardly an A list or even B list candidacy. Don't get me wrong; I've known Jean Lloyd-Jones, Dave Osterberg and Art Small for ages, and supported and voted for all of them. And my personal politics are more in line with someone like Osterberg than with Tom Vilsack.

But Vilsack was the A lister here. God bless the President, but he screwed at least three Senate races (ours, Kansas and Arizona) putting the cabinet together, and shuffled the deck dramatically in the four with appointees (Colorado, Delaware, New York and his own seat in Illinois). We won't necessarily hold all those. [...]

But you run the race you have, not the race you want. The A lister is gone, and the other A listers (Braley and Loebsack) are settling into the House. But there may be some B+ listers out there yet. [...]

Krause announces his exploratory committee on Saturday. Not many folks other than us junkies will be tuned in to this introduction. And an introduction is definitely what this guy needs. If there's some substance there, starting early helps, but if not, then you're just the next Steve Rathje.

Grassley Gets a Challenger

A Democrat is preparing to challenge Sen. Grassley in the 2010 election. Bob Krause of Fairfield is set to form an exploratoy committee about a possible run against Grassley. Krause is currently chair of the Iowa Democratic Veterans' Caucus and used to be an ISU professor and employee at the Iowa DOT.

From Radio Iowa...

Krause was elected to the Iowa legislature when he was 22 years old and served six years representing his hometown area before running unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 1978. Krause has worked behind the scenes on campaigns dating back to 1970 and he worked in the Carter Administration as a regional official for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Krause admits he's "bounced around" the country, trying his hand at a small business, before signing on as an Iowa State University professor. "Ultimately, I wound up with the Iowa D.O.T. and I was there for a number of years until I retired in 2008," Krause says.

He's written a few books and worked as a consultant in this country and overseas for a wide array of clients, including defense contractors. "I tried to go out and do the things that other people in the world do," Krause says. "I went out, tried to make a living, tried to be creative with my life, tried to give service in different areas."

Krause, who retired after 28 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, is a member of the Iowa Democratic Party's State Central Committee and he's chairman of the Iowa Democratic Veterans' Caucus. Krause has scheduled an event at the Fort Des Moines Historical Museum on Saturday at 12:15 to announce he's formed an "exploratory committee" for a U.S. Senate campaign.

I don't know Mr. Krause, but will be in Des Moines on Saturday and will try to stop by his announcement.