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December 23rd, 2023 Political Note #609 Lanon Baccam Iowa 03
2024 General Election
You could make a movie about Lanon Baccam. His parents, members of the Tai Dam community ln Laos, spoke a language similar to, but not the same as, the language we call Thai.
They lived through the War. They lived in what had become Communist Laos. In 1979, they escaped – risking their lives to come to America, escaping the repression of a Communist government.
By 1980, Lanon Baccam’s parents were in Mount Pleasant, Iowa – a city with fewer than 10,000 people. Mount Pleasant had something that was particularly helpful: jobs. Lanon Baccam’s father and mother, Inh and Bounmy, went to work at the Mackey Envelope Factory, an American industry still operating. Mount Pleasant had another thing that resonated for the Baccams. They had become thoroughly patriotic; thoroughly grateful for the opportunity to live in America.
Mount Pleasant is part of the heartland. According to the 2010 census, even after changes of the late 20th and early 21st century, Mount Pleasant was 85% white. It was 4.4% Asian, 4.3% African American, not what you would call a diverse community.
Lanon Baccam was born and raised in Mount Pleasant. He graduated from Mount Pleasant Community High School, a school with 9-12 enrollment that rarely exceeds 700. Community is proud of its athletic tradition. They have earned state-wide recognition in basketball, track and field, and football. Their marching band is good enough to hold its own invitational. Wikipedia lists three notable graduates. Two are football players. The third is James Van Allen, the physicist who discovered the Van Allen Radiation Belts — charged particles around planets that mostly originated from the solar wind.
Lanon Baccam graduated in 1999, but not with plans to become a scientist. At 17, he joined the Army National Guard. His parents, affected by an American war in Southeast Asia would next be affected by an American war in southwest Asia. In 2001, after 9/11, Lanon Baccam was shipped to Afghanistan. A combat engineer, he was part of a team that collected and destroyed unexploded devices. There is, in fact, a movie about a team doing that — disarming explosive devices.
What particularly struck Lanon Baccam about his service in Afghanistan was the positive community that existed in his team of combat engineers. As a candidate for Congress, he contrasts that sense of community with the Congress we now have. He says that “If a bunch of guys from across the political spectrum can build a brotherhood to defend this county, we can do that again in Congress and I plan to do that when I go up there.”
Lanon Baccam was able to manage a life in addition to his national guard service. He went to college and graduated from Drake. After volunteering for the Obama campaign in 2008, he got a job in the Obama Administration. An Iowan, he worked in the Agricultural Department. Smart and efficient and a little foreign by Ag Department standards, he rose to be Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services. One focus of his work was helping those leaving the military – through retirement or otherwise, find work in the civilian world. Later, in the Biden administration, he became the Secretary’s Director of Scheduling and Advance and then his Deputy Chief of Staff.
Announcing his candidacy for Congress, Lanon Baccam said: “…. politics is more divided than ever — and we need leaders to focus on finding solutions, not sowing division. In Congress, I’ll fight to lower costs for families, expand access to good-paying jobs right here in Iowa, and ensure seniors can retire with dignity. As a veteran who fought to protect our freedoms abroad, I will stand up here at home to protect women’s reproductive freedoms. Every day, I will put Iowa first.”
The Vilsacks, Iowa’s Democratic royalty, welcomed his candidacy, calling him a dear friend. “We have had the pleasure of knowing and working alongside Lanon for almost two decades, ….. Lanon is a public servant in the truest sense of the word from enlisting in the National Guard at age 17, to serving our nation overseas after 9/11, to helping expand economic opportunities for farmers and veterans over the course of his career. “Lanon is the type of public servant this state needs in Congress, and we are honored to support him in this race.”
Lanon Baccam is facing a one term incumbent. Zach Nunn is a member of the Air Force reserves. Three times after 9/11, he was deployed to the Middle East where he flew more than 700 combat hours. He has degrees from Drake, from an Air Force connected university, and from the University of Cambridge in England. He did security work for a British Member of the House of Commons, for Senator Chuck Grassley, and for the National Security Council. He served two terms in the Iowa House and a term as a state Senator before narrowly defeating the second term Democratic incumbent in 2022.
Like all of the Republicans in the House, he has gone along with extreme actions including authorizing the impeachment investigation of Joe Biden. He occasionally gets himself tied up in knots – insisting that he supports exceptions to abortions, but voting to support a bill that precluded abortions after six weeks of pregnancy which would preclude most women from bringing those exceptions to bear. In adult politics, he has not been caught doing anything as egregious as his college escapade installing a baby monitoring device to spy on the student body president. Like most Republicans he condemns Democrats as being socialists. He has not yet personalized this claim against his opponent, whose family came to Iowa as refugees from Communism.
Zach Nunn’s victory in 2022 was so narrow he was #5 on Len’s List of vulnerable Republican House Members and is tied for #7 on Daily Kos’s List. In his one term, along with many Republicans in the chaotic House of Representatives, he has only made himself more vulnerable. Do what you can to send Lanon Baccam to Congress. He would be the first person of Laotian origin to be in Congress. More important, he would be a great addition based on his Iowa heritage. DONATE TO LANON BACCAM.
Support Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
Help sustain the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris campaign. Every donation, large or small, makes a difference. Larger donations mean more money for the campaign. But many in the media count the number of small donations as a measure of enthusiasm for the candidate. DONATE TO JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/web-bfp-december-2023 See Len’s Political Note #605
Other Midwestern Congressional Contests
Four Midwestern races where your money is needed now
Michigan 07. Had Elissa Slotkin been the candidate, she would have been #29 on Len’s list of Vulnerable Incumbents. Curtis Hertel is more vulnerable than that. Daily Kos’s List makes Michigan 07 #1 among vulnerable Democratic seats. As of October 1, Curtis Hertel had $600,000 available for campaigning; Tom Barrett was not far behind with $400,000. DONATE TO CURTIS HERTEL See Len’s Political Note #601
Iowa 03 – #5 on Len’s list of vulnerable Republican seats and tied for #7 on Daily Kos’s list. A US Agriculture Department Undersecretary whose family escaped Communist Vietnam Lanon Baccam is the probable Democratic candidate against Incumbent Zach Nunn. On October 1, Zach Nunn had $1.4 Million. Lanon Baccam was not yet a candidate on the date of the last report. Help Lanon Baccam catch up in the financial race. DONATE TO LANON BACCAM
Nebraska 02 – #11 on Len’s list of vulnerable Republican seats and #12 on Daily Kos’s List. State Senator Tony Vargas is the Democratic opponent to Incumbent Don Bacon. Bacon has been a leader of the crumbling Republican moderates. Had the moderates been effective in Congress, Bacon would be less vulnerable. On October 1, Incumbent Republican Don Bacon had $1 Million. Tony Vargas had $750,000. Both will need more to compete in this race. Help Tony Vargas succeed. DONATE TO TONY VARGAS Len’s Political Note #587.
Iowa 02 — #22 on Len’s List of vulnerable Republicans. Law professor, former State Rep, and previous candidate Christina Bohannan has a reasonably good chance to defeat Incumbent Republican Marianette Miller-Meeks. Miller-Meeks, who won her first race by 9 votes, had $1.4 Million for her campaign on October 1. Christina Bohannan has a respectable $600,000 for a challenger. DONATE TO CHRISTINA BOHANNAN
Six more Midwestern races where your donations would be extremely valuable
Illinois 17– Inc Eric Sorensen is #12 on Len’s list of vulnerable Democrats and tied for #16 on Daily Kos’s List, Eric Sorensen, a former television weatherman, has two possible Republican opponents. Eric Sorensen had $1.1 Million on October 1. His opponents had little or nothing. DONATE TO ERIC SORENSEN Len’s Political Note #552.
Indiana 01 Inc Frank Mrvan is #18 on Len’s list of vulnerable Democrats. On October 1 Frank Mrvan had $600,000. His apparent opponent Trucking Company Owner Randall Niemeyer had not yet begun to raise money. Help Frank Mrvan raise enough money to discourage his probable opponent. DONATE TO FRANK MRVAN Len’s Political Note #576
Ohio 13 Inc Emilia Sykes is #24 on Len’s list of vulnerable Democrats and #15 on Daily Kos’s List. On October 1, she had $750,000 available for her campaign. The probable Republican nominee City Councilman Chris Banweg had $100,000. Neither candidate has enough. Help Emilia Sykes raise the funds she needs. DONATE TO EMILIA SYKES Len’s Political Note #590
Ohio 01 Inc Greg Landsman is # 26 on Len’s list of vulnerable Democrats and #21 on Daily Kos’s List. On October 1, he had $1 Million available for his campaign. The only Republican in the race, Orlando Sonza, had less than $100,000. Greg Landsman, nevertheless, needs additional resources to keep the pressure on. DONATE TO GREG LANDSMAN Len’s Political Note #598
Minnesota 02 Inc Angie Craig is # 27 on Len’s List of vulnerable Democrats and #13 on Daily Kos’s List. On October 1, she had $1.5 Million available for the campaign. None of her opponents had resources to speak of. Angie Craig needs resources to discourage opponents. DONATE TO ANGIE CRAIG Len’s Political Note #592
Ohio 09. Inc Marcy Kaptur is not on Len’s List or Daily Kos’s List. The fault for that is the way those lists are calculated. She won substantially in 2022 against a flawed candidate Joe Majewski. The district is skewed Republican and several Republicans are campaigning for the position. State Rep Craig Riedel had $500,000 on October 1; Marcy Kaptur had one million dollars. Inexplicably, national Republicans appear to be gathering around one more try for Majewski. DONATE TO MARCY KAPTUR. See Len’s Political Note #554
Two House races where we do not yet know who the Democratic candidate will be.
Michigan 10 #3 on Len’s list of vulnerable Republican seats and #13 on Daily Kos’s List. Former local judge Carl Marlinga or University Board Member Anil Kumar have been described as incumbent John James’ most likely opponent from among a large field of contenders for the Democratic nomination. Republican Incumbent John James had $2.1 Million on October 1. Anil Kumar had $550,000; Carl Marlinga had $150,000.
Wisconsin 03 has three candidates who would like to unseat extreme right first year incumbent Derrick Van Orden who is #18 on Len’s List of vulnerable Republicans. The Democrats are Businesswoman Rebecca Cooke, former County Board Chair Tara Johnson, and State Rep Katrina Shankland. Van Orden had $1.4 million on October 1. Rebecca Cooke had $300,000, Tara Johnson had $100,000, and Katrina Shankland had not yet entered the race. We will have a better idea about money on January 1.
Midwestern Senate Contests – These are crucial
Ohio Incumbent Sherrod Brown is considered by some to be the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent now that Joe Manchin is not running. He has three possible opponents. An early November poll found Sherrod Brown tied with or narrowly ahead of his several possible opponents. The October 1 reports showed Sherrod Brown with $4.5 Million — more than the closest opponent financially. He needs every bit of support you can provide. DONATE TO SHERROD BROWN See Len’s Political Note #556
Michigan Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin is the favorite to win the nomination for this open seat. The Republican favorite is former Congressman Mike Rogers. Polls reported in August showed Elissa Slotkin up by 5 points. She had $5.1 Million in hand on October 1; Rogers had $800,000. DONATE TO ELISSA SLOTKIN See Len’s Political Note #589
Wisconsin. Incumbent Tammy Baldwin has no serious opponent so far, but wealthy businessman Eric Hovde keeps promising to announce for the Republican nomination. A poll conducted in May found her only one point ahead of a Congressman who will not run for the Senate. She is preparing for a serious race and had $6.8 Million on October 1. DONATE TO TAMMY BALDWIN See Len’s Political Note #570.
One more Midwestern Senate race for interest’s sake
Indiana Psychologist Valerie Lin McCray is one of several Democrats who have expressed interest in this race and the only one for whom there is a poll. In that October poll, Republican Congressman Jim Banks, the only Republican so far with enough signatures to run for this open seat, led Valerie Lin McCray by 9 points – not a lot for an established politician against an unknown. She reported no funds raised for the October 1 reports; Jim Banks reported the relatively small amount of $2.7 Million. Don’t get your hopes up. Let’s see if she has raised some money by January 1.
