I'll have more thoughts on the election later, but first, we have to mention some words about Jim Leach.
Jim Leach, R-IA, was my congressman when I was in Iowa. He started serving in 1976 and is widely known as one of the top 10-20 liberal Republicans in the house. The district was redrawn in 00, causing him to be placed in the more Democratic areas of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Gore and Kerry both carried this district, but he kept getting elected.
He is widely regarded as an honorable man who ofter touts his integrity (and it is genuine).
Two positions made him stick out this year:
1) He was one of 5-10 Republicans against the Iraq War.
2) He was the co-sponsor of the Internet Gambling Bill. I read somewhere that most gambling interests fear Leach (he is chairman or vice-chair of the Banking Committee) more than any other Rep.
He lost last night by about 500-1000 votes to a college professor who ran in 04 (Leach won, 52-48, in 04).
It is very easy to believe that the votes he lost by were U of Iowa Students that voted against Leach due to the Internet Poker ban.
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