Republican Machine Works to Turn Out Iowa Vote

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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning.

Five days remain until Americans decide who controls Congress. That is not enough time to change the general direction of major issues like Iraq or the economy. It is plenty of time for the kind of developments that sometimes shift the focus of a campaign.

MONTAGNE: Right now Democrats seem likely to gain seats in the House. The question is, how many? An NPR analysis rates 21 seats as toss-ups. Those races and a few others are likely to determine who's in power after next week.

INSKEEP: NPR's David Greene has spent much of this fall traveling back and forth to one key congressional district in Iowa. And David, why there?

DAVID GREENE: Well, this is a very tight race, Steve, and it's an open seat that both parties are fighting to get. And you know, also, in Washington we talk all about the political landscape and we hear analysts talking for hours about the election. This is the kind of place where you can go, settle down and really listen to the voices on the ground and the people who are really going to decide who wins. So it was a good place to really get a sense for the election season away from Washington.

INSKEEP: And you're just back from another trip there. Remind us who the candidates are.

GREENE: Well, the Republican is named Mike Whalen. He owns a restaurant chain called The Machine Shed. It's famous for its stuffed pork loin, which I tasted a couple times. He goes around the district telling Iowa voters that he wants to work for them.

Mr. MIKE WHALEN (Republican Congressional Candidate, Iowa): And I'm putting my application in this morning with all of you for the job of representing you in Congress.

INSKEEP: Filling it out, okay. And the Democrat?

GREENE: The Democrat is a lawyer named Bruce Braley. And here's what he sounds like.

Mr. BRUCE BRALEY (Democratic Congressional Candidate, Iowa): I can't tell you how excited I am to be the person who is going to bring this district back into the Democratic fold for the first time since 1976.

(Soundbite of cheering)

GREENE: And you know, Steve, one of the refreshing things about this race, it has been ugly at times. The national parties have poured a lot of money into negative advertising. But these two guys, they have a lot of respect from people in their communities. And Braley, the Democrat, has gotten some key endorsements. The Des Moines Register endorsed him.

INSKEEP: I'm glad you added the but, by the way. I was afraid you were going to say it's been refreshingly ugly.

GREENE: Exactly.

INSKEEP: Anyway, please, go ahead.

GREENE: No, it's been very refreshing in terms of not being totally ugly. But the Des Moines Register actually endorsed Braley, the Democrat, recently. And here's what the paper said: It would be difficult to find two more likeable guys. Both are well-educated, impressive people with energy and passion for doing what they believe is right.

And that's been typical in a lot of the endorsements.

INSKEEP: So how are things playing out in the final days?

GREENE: Well, a lot is going to depend on who turns out to vote. And I went to Dubuque, Iowa. That's in the district. It's a very Catholic city, voters care a lot about issues like abortion, same-sex marriage. A woman named Sandy Moses has been volunteering to try and get Republicans to the polls. And the state party sends her these very detailed lists of households that she needs to go and contact. They even give her street maps showing her exactly where she needs to walk.

Ms. SANDY MOSES (Republican Volunteer): It's just like a MapQuest map. And what it has is the homes that we're going to call on are numbered and highlighted for us.

GREENE: She's about the least aggressive person you could imagine. And when she goes up and rings the doorbell, sometimes she gets just the answer she wants.

Unidentified Man #1: Okay.

Ms. MOSES: We're wondering if we can count on your support on November 7th.

Unidentified Man #1: Yup.

Ms. MOSES: Good.

GREENE: You got the right people there.

Ms. MOSES: We got the right people, yeah.

Unidentified Man #1: Yup.

GREENE: But other times she strikes out.

Ms. MOSES: Do you think we can count on your support on November 7th?

Unidentified Woman: To be honest, I don't vote.

Ms. MOSES: You don't vote?

Unidentified Woman: I just - whatever happens happens.

Ms. MOSES: Okay. Well, we sure encourage you to vote. It's pretty important this year. Thanks a lot.

Unidentified Woman: I know. You're welcome.

Ms. MOSES: Uh-huh. Bye bye.

GREENE: Moses writes down whether a person is voting and whether they're definitely voting for Republican Mike Whalen. That information gets shipped back to the state party, then they can churn out new lists of people who will get another reminder before Election Day. But it's clear this is not a science.

Ms. MOSES: What's your name?

Mr. RYAN GALLIVAN(ph) (Dubuque, Iowa): My name is Ryan Gallivan.

Ms. MOSES: Do you plan to vote for our candidate?

Mr. GALLIVAN: Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to. But yes, I will more than likely vote Republican.

Ms. MOSES: Okay.

GREENE: Now, Moses puts down that Gallivan will vote Republican, but she's not totally sure from what he said, and neither was I. So I went back myself later in the day to ask Gallivan if the Republicans really can count on his vote.

Mr. GALLIVAN: So...

GREENE: You sounded kind of vague in your answer when you...

Mr. GALLIVAN: Yeah, because I'm not sure which way I'm going to vote.

GREENE: Gallivan is 31. He says he tends to vote Republican on issues like abortion, but he says he doesn't trust Republicans on the issue of Social Security. I asked him if this knock on the door by Sandy Moses made a difference for him.

Was it effective?

Mr. GALLIVAN: To tell you the truth, not really.

GREENE: The guy running the Republican get-out-the-vote operation in Dubuque is Dino Teppara. He lives in Washington. He's worked Republican campaigns before. The national party flew him into Iowa about a week ago and put him up at a roadside motel.

Mr. DINO TEPPARA: It's called the Heartland Inn, and I'm on the first floor right near the Coke machine, so it's perfect.

GREENE: He works out of the county Republican headquarters in a windowless office.

Are you thinking about putting a calendar up, or something to fill the walls? Or it's going to stay this bare?

Mr. TEPPARA: I think it's going to have to stay this bare, because I'm just here making phone calls 12 hours a day.

GREENE: And that's it. He wakes up, makes calls, gives instructions to volunteers, eats many of his meals at McDonald's. Teppara is really honest about the Republican Party's problems this year. He says a series of scandals has really hurt them. But he tries to make the best of it.

Mr. TEPPARA: When you're playing the number one team in the country and you're down - the spread is that you're down by three touchdowns on paper a week before the game, you know, no one expects you to win and your opponent can take you for granted.

GREENE: If the ground operation succeeds and you guys hang on to both majorities, what would that prove about the Republican ability to turn out people?

Mr. TEPPARA: What it would show is, even a tough environment for a political party, if they're able to motivate their base to vote on election night, they can overcome many, many difficulties.

GREENE: The Democrats are trying to make sure Republicans can't overcome their difficulties. Now, when I was in Dubuque, NPR producer Mithani Matori(ph) was 70 miles south in the city of Davenport, Iowa. She went out with a team of Democratic volunteers. They were mostly young, very eager.

Unidentified Man #2: All right. You guys ready to change the world?

(Soundbite of laughter)

Unidentified Man #3: I am ready to change the world, sir.

Unidentified Man #4: You know it.

Unidentified Man #1: Let's go. Woo!

Unidentified Man #5: Go Democrats. Yeah!

Unidentified Man #6: Woo!

GREENE: Out on the streets, Democrat Mike Anthony gets good news at this house.

Mr. MIKE ANTHONY (Democratic Volunteer): Just coming by to see if you plan on voting November 7th.

Unidentified Man #7: Yup.

Mr. ANTHONY: Yup? Definitely?

Unidentified Man #7: Absolutely.

Mr. ANTHONY: All right. Do you know who you're going to vote for at all?

Unidentified Man #7: Democrats.

Mr. ANTHONY: Democrats?

Unidentified Man #7: Yeah, straight. Yeah.

Mr. ANTHONY: Awesome.

Unidentified Man #7: I wouldn't vote for the Bush crime family for anything.

Mr. ANTHONY: Awesome. Would you be interested in voting by absentee ballot at all?

Unidentified Man #7: Yes.

Mr. ANTHONY: Yeah?

Unidentified Man #7: Yeah.

Mr. ANTHONY: You want to?

Unidentified Man #7: All right.

GREENE: The Democrats have their maps and voter lists, just like the Republicans. But this is not a snap-snap operation like the Republicans had. The Democrats are a bit slower on the ground.

Mr. ANTHONY: What do you guys think we should do? We could down - we could go down here. Go over to 12th, go down College, loop up around, then get this. Then get 12th.

Unidentified Man #8: Dude, it's totally up to you. I really don't care. Either way, we're going to get the houses.

Mr. ANTHONY: Yeah, that's true.

GREENE: Republican Sandy Moses and a partner hit 30 households in 25 minutes. The Democrats hit 30 households, but it takes them more than two hours. So are Republicans generally better nowadays at getting out the vote?

Mr. JERRY MESSER (Union Organizer): I don't believe the Republicans are any better than the labor movement or the Democratic Party. We've been doing this, the Republicans learned from us. And that's - I mean that's fact.

GREENE: That's Jerry Messer. He's a union organizer in Davenport, Ohio who's been helping to turn out Democratic voters since the 1960s. He's been working the streets this year for Democrat Bruce Braley. Messer says the unions invented voter turnout, and their strategy hasn't changed much.

Mr. MESSER: Offer rides to the polls or babysitting. Whatever we have to do to get our members to the polls, we're going to do it.

GREENE: He does admit dwindling membership in the unions has hurt their ability to turn elections. And he says the Republicans may put more cash into their turnout efforts. But he insists this is going to be a good year for Democrats.

Mr. MESSER: They've got more money than we do to fly people in from different areas and different states and things like that, to go door to door. But I don't think they do a better job of it. And I think on November 7th in Iowa you're going to see a blue state.

INSKEEP: That's the forecast of a union organizer who spoke with NPR's David Greene, who is with us in the studios here.

And David, is this really all about who turns out their voters next week, which is the conventional wisdom?

GREENE: Well, certainly a lot of it is, Steve. But there are other factors too. The Republican Mike Whelan is bringing Laura Bush for the second time to campaign for him this week. And on the Democratic side, Bruce Braley has begun to run positive ads. One has him with his whole family. He's outside in the driveway washing the family car. And often the candidate with confidence is the one who goes positive at the end of a campaign. But you know, there are a few days left, and we'll see what happens.

INSKEEP: Isn't that what voters ask at the end of a campaign, who's going to wash their car the best?

GREENE: That's right.

INSKEEP: Okay. NPR's David Greene, thanks very much.

GREENE: Thanks, Steve.

INSKEEP: And you can get forecasts for key House, Senate and governor's races at npr.org.

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