URBANDALE, iowa — In a setback for the Tea Party and libertarian forces in Iowa, establishment Republicans on Saturday nominated their candidate for a House seat in one of the nation’s most competitive congressional districts.
The nomination of David Young in Iowa’s 3rd District punctuated the efforts of Republicans in the party’s mainstream who had desperately worked to avoid repeating embarrassing losses suffered in congressional races in other states in 2010 and 2012.
“There’s a strong sense of pragmatism in the Republican Party today,” said Doug Gross, a longtime adviser to Gov. Terry Branstad and a delegate to the congressional nominating convention Saturday.
Young, 46, a former chief of staff for Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, will face Democratic former state Sen. Staci Appel in the general election. Democrats must gain a total of 17 seats to retake the House, a challenge even House Democratic leadership said is a tall one.
Young overcame an early lead from state Sen. Brad Zaun, a Tea Party-backed legislator whom Democrats were already targeting for comments they characterized as extreme.
On Saturday, Zaun said President Barack Obama “pales in comparison” to President Richard Nixon, who resigned amid a political scandal. Referring to the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, Zaun said, “This president has blood on his hands.”
Young beat not just Zaun but Tea Party-backed Secretary of State Matt Schultz and evangelical conservative Bob Cramer. In all, there were six candidates, including renewable fuels executive Monte Shaw and GOP activist Joe Granadette.
Despite GOP House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s surprise loss June 10, the House primary season has so far favored Republicans perceived as having fundraising strength and institutional support over those viewed as the most devout conservatives.
The Iowa convention echoed GOP House primary results in swing-voting districts in northern Virginia, central Arkansas districts and New Jersey, where veteran Republican representatives are retiring but where Obama won or lost narrowly in 2012.
