Krusty’s 2008 Republican US Senate Primary Voter Guide

The Republican nomination for US Senate is a three way battle between Steve Rathje, Christopher Reed, and George Eichhorn. In all honesty very little separates the candidates in terms of issues, so the decision facing the voters today is simply based of personality and experience.

Steve Rathje has been at it the longest, and his time spent traveling on the county central committee rubber chicken circuit could pay dividends. However, the popular theory on Rathje is that the more people know him, the less likely they are to support him. It’s hard to believe that, if Rathje and his 3 year campaign win, it will be considered an upset.

My guess is that Rathje finishes 3^rd.

George Eichhorn is filling up the answering machines at home with messages for former colleagues urging you to support him. That activity, coupled with his impressive list of endorsements, makes him the front runner in this race. This was evident in his debate with Christopher Reed on Friday night when Reed called him out for the state’s spending habits while Eichhorn was a legislator and his vote to give Illegal Immigrants in-state tuition at our regent schools.

Here is the shocker, Eichhorn finishes 2^nd.

So what does that mean? It means Christopher Reed wins the Republican nomination tomorrow night. While I have been critical of Reed’s debate and radio performances, I believe that the voters are looking for something fresh and new. In this race Rathje has been annoying people for at least two years, and George Eichhorn is an old face that hasn’t found much success after losing his re-election campaign for the Iowa house.

People make it sound like he just lost due to a tough year for Democrats, but the truth is he was out-worked by his opponent. To make matters worse, he has put together a string of losses that began when he sought to be the nominee for Stew Iverson’s state senate seat. He lost at the nominating convention. Eichhorn then ran for re-election in his house seat, and lost that. I contend that people don’t like it when people obviously want to run for something else, and then “settle” on what they already have. Then Eichhorn wanted a seat on the Republican State Central Committee; he lost that election as well.

Simply put, Eichhorn does not have the track record of someone who could catch fire and knock off Tom Harkin. He’s a nice guy, and I understand why people would vote for him, but my vote is for Reed. I’ve also heard that many of my conservative comrades will be joining me. You should too.