First, full disclosure: I've known and worked with Liz Mathis, who just announced today that she's running as a Democrat for Dandekar's old seat. Liz and I worked together at KCRG (me at radio, Liz the co-anchor on KCRG-TV9). We didn't cross paths that much, but we have many friends in common.
That said, it looks like if she's the nominee Wednesday night, the Democrats have a political powerhouse.
She has HIGH name recognition in the area, having been a news anchor at both KWWL-TV and KCRG-TV over the past 30 years. She's still stayed in the "newslight" over the past couple of years due to the projects she's worked with. When we worked together, I know that her "Q", the measure of likeability used in the TV news anchor world, was extremely high in all demographics.
Plus, she's a PR person who's comfortable talking with people AND her husband runs a PR firm. Liz works for an agency that deals with juvenile justice and at-risk kids, so she can articulate that view easily.
None of the announced candidates have any prior government experience, so there's no incumbency advantage. And some are well-known in eastern Iowa GOP circles. But I don't think any of them will score better than Mathis in popularity in the district.
Turnout is key--maybe that's why Democrats are quietly building an absentee ballot brigade to win the election. That's too bad that something that's so fraught with controversy is about to be unleashed in this election, because I think Mathis has a good shot at the election without any shenanigans.
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