Campaign Evaluation: Rod Blum (U.S. House, IA-1)

[malkusm]

This thread is intended to be a collection point of the strong pros and cons of any potential liberty candidate / campaign that is being discussed / promoted on the forum. You are welcome to post both positive and not-so-positive attributes about the candidate as they related to their position on supporting liberty as well as issues relating to their campaign. The most important information may be aggregated in this top post for easy reference.

Candidate Name: Rod Blum
Office Sought: U.S. House, Iowa's 1st Congressional District
Website: http://www.rodblum.com/
Social Media: Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/blumforcongress) | Twitter (https://twitter.com/RodBlum)

Candidate Profile: On the Issues
Civil Liberties: [Rating TBD]
Constitutional Issues: [Rating TBD]
Economic Issues: [Rating TBD]
Foreign Policy: [Rating TBD]
Social Issues: [Rating TBD]
Overall Issues Rating: [Rating TBD]

Race Profile: Competition & Demographics
State: Iowa
District: 1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa's_1st_congressional_district)
Incumbent: Bruce Braley (http://braley.house.gov/) (D-IA) - Will not seek re-election.
Other Primary Candidates: Steve Rathje (http://www.steverathje.com/), Walt Rogers (http://www.smallersmarter.org/)
Non-Incumbent Candidates from Other Parties: Swati Dandekar (http://www.swatidandekarforcongress.com/) (D), Anesa Kajtazovic (http://anesakajtazovic.com/) (D), Pat Murphy (http://www.patmurphyforiowa.com/) (D), Dave O'Brien (http://www.obrienforiowa.com/) (D), Monica Vernon (http://www.monicavernonforcongress.com/splash) (D)
Cook PVI: D+5 (Leans Democrat)
Relevant poll numbers: None
Overall Race Profile Rating: [Rating TBD]

Miscellaneous Pros/Cons
Key strong points:

Unknown points for further research:

Possible weak points:

Possible deal breakers:

Overall Rating:

[Uriah]

Santorum endorsed Walt Rogers. Blum is somewhat known around the district. He ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination in 2012 against 2nd time candidate Ben Lange and lost 53% to 46% despite being outspent.

Interview with Rod Blum via Caffeinated Thoughts. http://caffeinatedthoughts.com/2013/10/candidate-interview-rod-blum-iowas-1st-congressional-district-race/

(Pleasant Hill, IA) Rod Blum, a Republican businessman running for Congress in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District race, caught up with Caffeinated Thoughts at the Caribou Coffee in Pleasant Hill yesterday while visiting Des Moines. In our 35 minute conversation we discussed his motivation for running, the government shutdown, debt ceiling, spending cuts, his prolife position, marriage, education, monetary reform, health care reform, Syria, military intervention, Iran and the Patriot Act.

You can watch the interview below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyySBKPq9EM

[AnarchoCapitalist]

Blum is a student of Austrian Economics and is very well known around the district. He has a legit chance to be right there with Amash and Massie, which in fact, he said specifically, he would be be an ally of Justin Amash. He plans on being transparent with his twitter/facebook like Justin does as well, which is pretty cool.

He would definitely be one to watch for in Congress though.

[Brian4Liberty]

Is he hanging out with Todd from Breaking Bad? ;)

http://www.rodblum.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/DBQ_YoungRepublicans-600x300.jpg


http://www.rodblum.com/cornerstones/

He seems to be good on the issues.

[TaftFan]

The video is certainly a must watch and nails down his positions extremely well.

But for those who won't watch and are curious about his foreign policy, here was his response to the Iran question in sum: He says Israel can carry out a strike if they feel threatened, and we should help them with technology.

IMO that is between Ron's and Rand's position.

[Bastiat's The Law]

I'm pretty impressed by this guy and he's flying under the radar!

[Uriah]

I'm pretty impressed by this guy and he's flying under the radar!

Not in Iowa. :D Wish I lived in his district so I could vote for him.

[AnarchoCapitalist]

Not in Iowa. :D Wish I lived in his district so I could vote for him.

He has a really good chance of winning too. The district leans barely left but not by too much. And his district was HUGE in 2012 for RP so he has a nice liberty base.

[Bastiat's The Law]

He has a really good chance of winning too. The district leans barely left but not by too much. And his district was HUGE in 2012 for RP so he has a nice liberty base.

What's his district/counties?

[Uriah]

1st Congressional district
counties: Worth, Mitchell, Howard, Winneshiek, Allamakee, Fayette, Clayton, Bremer, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Delaware, Dubuque, Marshall, Tama, Benton, Linn, Jones, Jackson, Poweshiek, Iowa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa%27s_1st_congressional_district

[malkusm]

Poll is now open. Please vote for the overall rating for this candidate in the next 2 weeks.

[Uriah]

5 star

Liberty Iowa endorsed him for the 2012 race and now again for 2014. I haven't heard anything negative about him in anyway other than narrowly losing his primary last year.

[compromise]

4 star. Good on the issues but could do a little more to get his name out there.

[Uriah]

4 star. Good on the issues but could do a little more to get his name out there.

How so? He is traveling his district pretty well from what I can tell. Do you mean nationally, with liberty folks?

[compromise]

How so? He is traveling his district pretty well from what I can tell. Do you mean nationally, with liberty folks?

Yeah, nationally. He doesn't seem to have much backing from the DC groups. He really should talk to FreedomWorks and CFG.

[Brian4Liberty]

Rod Blum interview on Steve Deace show. Interview starts at 19:00 mark:

http://stevedeace.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/deace_hour1_103013.mp3

Highlights:

- He talks about his successful business, intrusive regulations, Main St. vs. Wall St. and Corporatism.
- Learned a lot from his last campaign.
- Personal responsibility, fiscal sanity, Free Markets, constitutionally limited government, sanctity of life.
- Supports Second Amendment. "Shall not be infringed", along with it being a natural right.
- Asked about how government should enforce (Christian) morality. Answer: Morality should be at the family and church level. Legislating morality doesn't tend to work, and only gives government more power.

- No questions on foreign policy or the Federal Reserve.

[Uriah]

Thanks^^^

[Brian4Liberty]

Any more input?

[AnarchoCapitalist]

Blum is a bonafide 5 star candidate imo ...

[Brian4Liberty]

Everyone vote in the the poll. One week left.

[Brian4Liberty]

http://www.rodblum.com/walt-rogers-endorses-rod-blum-for-congress/


Waterloo, IA – Today, State Representative Walt Rogers (R-Waterloo) announced his endorsement of Rod Blum, Republican candidate for United States Congress in Iowa’s First District.

“I am absolutely confident that Rod is the best candidate to win this critical Congressional seat for our party,” said Rogers. “Rod’s background as a small business owner, combined with his campaign’s organizational and financial strength, make him uniquely capable of winning in November. I look forward to doing everything I can to support Rod in this race, and I encourage my fellow Republicans in the First District to join me in uniting behind his campaign.”

“I truly enjoyed sharing the campaign trail with Representative Rogers, and I am honored to receive his support in this race. He is an extremely hard worker, a proven leader, and a dedicated public servant,” said Blum. “I know that Walt will continue to lead the charge for smaller, smarter government in the Iowa legislature and I am excited to work alongside him towards a successful 2014 for the Republican party.”

Rod Blum is a Republican candidate for United States Congress in Iowa’s 1st District. Rod graduated with a finance degree from Loras College and received his MBA from the University of Dubuque. A lifelong resident of Dubuque and current owner of Digital Canal Corporation, he is married to Karen Blum and has five children. For more information please visit: www.RodBlum.com.

[Uriah]

^^Thanks.^^ Rod should have the nomination locked up now. Rathje is a perennial candidate and from all accounts is not really running a campaign.

[T.hill]

Sub-forum?

[Brian4Liberty]

Blum won the Primary, bump for the General election...

[Uriah]

This race is winnable.

[Aratus]

Is the race still winnable? i hope this lil bump helps!

[Uriah]

Is the race still winnable? i hope this lil bump helps!
Yes. More and more likely. Polls show him making gains and leading with independents.
More voters in the district want someone to put a check on Obama. The last poll I saw had him in the lead by a point.

[Brian4Liberty]

524974183428927489

[JohnM]

Not just winnable, but won!

[William Tell]

Not just winnable, but won!

5 star candidate for sure! :)

[Okaloosa]

https://www.facebook.com/blumforcongress

Can we get this guy more likes on Facebook. Only 1,658 as of this post. Hold him accountable, show your support. Also, he could ver likely endorse Rand Paul in 2016 making him important in the state of Iowa.

https://www.facebook.com/blumforcongress

[TaftFan]

https://www.facebook.com/blumforcongress

Can we get this guy more likes on Facebook. Only 1,658 as of this post. Hold him accountable, show your support. Also, he could ver likely endorse Rand Paul in 2016 making him important in the state of Iowa.

https://www.facebook.com/blumforcongressI'll spread him around.