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IowaPolitics.com: New GOP Chair Strawn says communication, technology are key
1/10/2009

By Matt Clark
IowaPolitics.com

Iowa Barnstormers co-owner Matt Strawn of Ankeny was today elected the new chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa and quickly outlined his strategy to breathe new life into the party after two election cycles in which Republicans have taken a beating.

“It’s rebuilding the party from the ground up … aggressively building our fund-raising and financial base … working with our legislative leaders to actually get out on the trail and recruit those candidates that can articulate those philosophies that win elections … and simply communicating internally with the party,” Strawn said.

Strawn, a former state director for John McCain, won a three-way race for chairman against former State Rep. Danny Carroll of Grinnell and Hardin County GOP Chairman Andy Cable. The vote by the State Central Committee was 10-7 over Carroll, according to committee members. They attributed Strawn’s win to his ability to use fresh approaches to bring in new members.

Over the past month, Strawn took his candidacy for state party chairman to the public by doing a 10-stop “GOP Pizza & Politics” tour, even though only the 17 members of the State Central Committee got to vote. He said he thought it was important to reach out to Republicans statewide and find out what they think about rebuilding the party.

Strawn also said Republicans should take a cue from the successful tactics of the Obama presidential campaign by better utilizing text messaging and social networking Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter. He noted that he had already changed his status on his personal Facebook profile to reflect his excitement at being elected the party’s new chair.

“Very clearly, we were beaten 2-to-1 within 30 and under with Senator Obama’s campaign for president,” Strawn said. “One of the reasons we did is technology. Quite frankly, Republicans from the national ticket to here in the state, we’re not using the technologies to communicate with that very electorate…we’re telling those age groups that either we don’t care how you communicate or we don’t want to know. And either way, we’re sending a horrible message. So that’s one immediately from Day 1 we’re aggressively going to change the way we talk to that age group.”

Also elected today were former State Rep. Jim Kurtenbach of Nevada as co-chairman, who defeated current co-chairman Leon Mosley, 2008 U.S. Senate candidate Christopher Reed and former Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate for the post.

Matt Randall of Ames was elected treasurer of the state party, while recently retired state Rep. Bill Schickel of Mason City was elected secretary. Both are currently members of the Republican State Central Committee.

Strawn replaces Stewart Iverson, who did not seek re-election. He said Iowa Republicans' chief goals are to recapture the governor’s office in 2010, establish legislative majorities in the Statehouse, re-elect U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and U.S. Reps. Tom Latham and Steve King, and elect more conservatives in other state offices. He acknowledged Democrats have the upper hand in Iowa right now after victories in 2006 and 2008, but said there was reason for Republicans to remain optimistic.

“The challenges we have are great, but the opportunities as Republicans in this state are tremendous,” he said.

When asked if he was raised to be a Republican or had been attracted to the GOP on his own, Strawn said he publicly supported President Reagan’s re-election bid when he was in fourth grade, but was not sure he was a Republican until his college years at the University of Iowa.

“Nothing can harden an impressionable mind’s conservative philosophy better than spending four years in Iowa City,” he joked.
Republican Party of Iowa: Matt Strawn elected new chairman
Matt Strawn's blog
IowaPolitics.com audio: Listen to Strawn's press conference


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