The fire blazing in the room at Java Creek Cafe was not the only heat when former Governor Terry Branstad visited with Linn County GOP activists. Rumors were spreading like hot embers through the room that Paul Pate is a candidate for Secretary of State. A couple of Pate’s former staff members were in attendance, Todd Henderson and Dawn Svenson. The rumors circulated even more as Henderson showed a potential announcement of Pate as a candidate. An activist’s Facebook page has photos of herself and Paul Pate with the description stating he is a candidate for Secretary of State. Is this the worse kept secret in town or just someone really hoping to push Pate into running again.
I am sure Matt Schultz has caught wind of this and is kicking into high gear, especially since George Eichorn officially announced yesterday. It seems candidates are coming out of the wood work. Matt has made numerous trips to Linn County and has gotten to know the activists. Two of the most active people have agreed to be his campaign chairs for the county, Emma Aquino-Nemecek and Althea Hasse.
The Linn County GOP is going to have a lot of visits in the next year with so many candidates for Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, House, Senate, Congress, Dog Catcher…
I think it would be great to see Paul Pate return to the political realm. Paul has done a lot for Iowa serving as State Representative, State Senator, Secretary of State and Mayor of Cedar Rapids.
UPDATE
James Lynch with the Gazette has confirmed that Pate is indeed looking into the possibility of running a second time for the position of Secretary of State. His article.
