SECRETARY OF STATE CANDIDATE FILES FINANCIAL REPORT

(Cedar Rapids, IA)  Today, former Iowa Secretary of State and Mayor of Cedar Rapids, Paul D. Pate after exceeding the necessary petition signature requirement by 100% while submitting over 2000 in 60 days, continues to build momentum by announcing that he has over $55,000 cash on hand from over a hundred donors in just a few short months.

"I'm overwhelmed by the continuing rapid growth of support Iowans are showing for this campaign.  It is clear they do not want nor can they afford to have Iowa's chief elections commissioner be a partisan political operative from either party.  I have served the people of Iowa as Secretary of State and hold the proven experience to be that non-partisan leader they desire," stated Pate.

A nationally recognized small business leader by the Small Business Administration, Pate is the President of Pate Asphalt Systems in Marion and recently served as Mayor of Cedar Rapids from 2002 -2006.  While Mayor, Pate was elected President of the non-partisan Iowa League of Cities representing over 870 municipalities.  Previously, he served as Iowa Secretary of State from 1995-1999 and represented NE Cedar Rapids, Marion and parts of Linn, Buchanan and Delaware Counties in the Iowa Senate from 1989-1995.

"As I travel across the state the consistent message that I've been receiving is that Iowans want access to voting with safeguards to protect against potential voter fraud.  Those two priorities are not mutually exclusive and will take real leadership to ensure both," said Pate.

Pate and his wife, Jane, of 35 years are the parents of three adult children and five grandchildren.

In his first statewide primary endorsement, Northey voices public support ahead of the June 3rd primary

West Des Moines-Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today endorsed Republican U.S. Senate candidate and business leader Mark Jacobs. During an event in West Des Moines, Secretary Northey voiced his public support for Jacobs, citing the importance for Iowa agriculture of having a proven business leader in Washington.

"As the Secretary of Agriculture in Iowa, I consider it my job to promote agriculture and it's businesses - including family farms, small town elevators, big city factories and the hundreds of smaller companies in between. In short, the business of agriculture pays a lot of bills in this state. And Mark Jacobs has the experience to help Iowa agriculture and the thousands of Iowa jobs related to farming. As a successful CEO, he protected jobs and made a payroll. That type of proven experience will be good for Iowa agriculture," said Northey.

He added, "While there are many good candidates in the field, I have gotten to know Mark personally. He's a conservative and a man of principle. Mark has the integrity and a work ethic that would make any Iowan proud."

Jacobs responded to Secretary Northey's endorsement, saying, "I am honored to have the support of Secretary Northey. He has been and will continue to be a strong advocate for Iowa. I look forward to the opportunity to work with him to make sure Washington works for Iowa."

Secretary Northey will be joining Mark Jacobs the remainder of this week on the "Real Solutions" Tour with stops in Cedar Rapids, Waverly, Cedar Falls, Dubuque, Mason City, Fort Dodge, Spencer, Sioux City and Council Bluffs.

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In the survey of voters, 48% indicated they would either definitely or probably vote for Branstad, while 33% said the same of Hatch.

"The Governor's lead is about where it should be at this point for an incumbent governor in a state without some of the political upheaval we are seeing elsewhere," said Steve Grubbs, CEO of Victory Enterprises.

The survey is balanced by party affiliation, gender, age and geography.  "We used the party turnout numbers from 2010 as the basis to set our targets for this survey. In that year, 40% of voter turnout was Republican and 35% Democrat.  In this off-year election, 2010 is the best predictor of voter participation this year."

In order for Senator Hatch to win, he will need to change the nature of the race substantially between now and November. As it stands, he would need  to win the undecided voters 9:1 in order to overcome Branstad's lead.

In other results, the Governor's job performance sits at 54% approving and 32% disapproving.

"The bottom line is the governor is sitting in a strong position as he enters the summer.  Incumbents prefer to be over 50% in their re-elect ballot test to feel comfortable, so its clear the governor cannot take this election for granted," said Grubbs.

Click to view the Iowa Statewide Survey top lines.

The survey has a margin of error of 4.9% and 400 registered voters participated.

This survey is the proprietary property of Victory Enterprises, Inc.

Davenport, Iowa, April 25, 2013 - The delegates of the Quad City Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, voted at their April 21, 2014, Labor Council meeting to endorse the following candidates for the upcoming Primary Election on June 3rd:

Scott County:

Democrat Primary - Supervisor James Laird and Brinson Kinzer

Republican Primary - Supervisor William P Cusack

Muscatine County:

Democrat Primary - Supervisor Rob Krysh

Recorder Nancy Long

Treasurer Kas Kelly

The Labor Council believes that these candidates are the best choice for Scott and Muscatine County Working Families. The Labor Council has not made primary endorsements in Louisa County which is also part of the labor council jurisdiction, but will consider making them before the General Election.

We at the Quad City Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, realize that voting is a deeply personal matter, and it is the first responsibility of a citizen in a democracy. Therefore we take candidate endorsements seriously and have a vetting process that includes a questionnaire and interview with delegates to the Quad City Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO in order to be considered for endorsement for the June 3rd Primary Election.

We hope that you will vote pro-worker by voting in the Primary Election, Tuesday, June 3, or by voting early. Voters may vote from home by requesting an absentee ballot from the County Auditor's Office.

Early voting in person at the Auditor's office is also available starting Thursday, April 24, 2014, through Monday, June 2nd.