Dems look to Iowa for inspiration

The annual Democratic county leaders event during the week of the State Fair has produced its share of turmoil in recent years. Gov. Rod Blagojevich and House Speaker Michael Madigan have exchanged barbs. Comptroller Dan Hynes issued a public apology for Democrats’ handling of the state.
This year the party is bringing in Iowa Gov. Chet Culver to be the key speaker at next week’s event.
Democrats consider Culver to be a rising star in the party. Here’s his bio info:
The 43-year old Governor Culver is the second youngest governor of any state in the country. The Democrat easily won his election as governor in 2006 becoming the first Democrat to succeed a Democratic governor in Iowa since 1937. (Governor Culver succeeded Tom Vilsack as Governor. Vilsack is currently the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in the Obama Administration.) Culver also serves as the federal liaison for the Democratic Governors Association.
Before his election as governor, Culver was elected Iowa Secretary of State in 1998 at the age of 32 making him the youngest Secretary of State in the nation. He was re-elected Secretary of State in 2002 by an overwhelming margin.
Governor Culver is married to Mari Culver, an attorney, and they have two young children. Culver’s father, John Culver, served as a U.S. Congressman and then U.S. Senator from Iowa in the 1960s and 1970s.