Congressman Bruce Braley (D. IA-1), the populist congressman and Iowa Democrats top choice to run for Senator Tom Harkin's (D. IA) seat is meeting with Democratic Senate leaders to discuss the upcoming race:
http://thegazette.com/...
U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley is planning to meet with Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate, but says he has not decided whether he will run to succeed Sen. Tom Harkin.
However, speculation that the four-term Waterloo Democrat will run for the Senate grows, fueled in part by meetings Wednesday with the Iowa House and Senate Democratic caucuses at the Statehouse.
Braley talked about the “tremendous legacy of Sen. Harkin, which everyone in there knew and appreciated,” Braley said after meeting with House Democrats. - The Gazette, 1/30/13
Braley will be meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D. NV) and DSCC Chairman Senator Michael Bennet (D. CO) to discuss the race. The mention of Braley running for Harkin's seat caused lawmakers and supporters to immediately jump on board with Barley's campaign if he decides to run. Braley is going to give the Senate race serious consideration:
In the meantime, Braley is weighing the pros and cons of a Senate bid.
“I’m the sort of person who makes decisions in a careful deliberative way,” Braley said. “So when I ran for Congress I sat down and prepared a list of all the pros and all the cons. I sat down with my wife and talked through them. It’s not something you rush into.”
“The timeline I’m on is to make sure I give it thoughtful and deliberate consideration,” he said. “My wife and I are giving serious consideration to this, but we have not made a final decision.” - The Gazette, 1/30/13
This past Sunday, I wrote about why Braley is the right prairie populist candidate for this race:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
One of the top reasons I want Braley in the Senate is because he listened to his constituents concerns and voted against SOPA:
I also think Braley will be going up against this clown, which is sure to be an entertaining race: