Polk County, Iowa (RI) — One of the five GOP candidates for governor aired his grievances against a rival Thursday night during a Polk County Republican Party fundraiser.
Eddie Andrews celebrated surviving the challenge to his nominating petitions for the June 2nd Primary. “I’m still standing better than I ever did,” Andrews sang, and the crowd applauded. He criticized competitor Adam Steen’s campaign for denying, then admitting it had a role in the process that wound up having a state panel examine dozens of signatures on Andrews’ nominating paperwork.
And Andrews says if Steen doesn’t drop out of the race, he should at least fire campaign staff involved. “That’s a severe character flaw that should be nowhere near Terrace Hill,” Andrews told reporters after Steen left the event. Steen did not mention the dust up in his remarks at the fundraiser, but did answer reporters’ questions.
Steen says while his campaign got copies of all his competitors’ nominating petitions, it was not his campaign but a supporter who cares about election integrity that filed the objections to Andrews’ nomination. “What voters care about is the message at hand,” Steen said. “They see through this little quarrel.”
Candidate Brad Sherman, like Steen, avoided mentioning the dispute Thursday night and instead trained in on Rob Sand, who will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for governor.
Zach Lahn closed by saying it was an honor to campaign alongside Andrews. Congressman Randy Feenstra — the other Republican running for governor — was in D.C. Thursday, casting votes in the U.S. House.
KIWA Staff Photo
