(Part of UPI's Special Report on Election 2002)
DES MOINES (UPI) -- In a state where 15 percent of the population is over 65, minorities represent only 6 percent of those who live there and many still live on farms, global issues like Iraq and terrorism are having little impact on incumbent Democrat Sen. Tom Harkin's bid for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.
The race is one of a handful around the country that will determine which party controls the upper chamber come January.
Both Harkin and his Republican challenger, veteran GOP Congressman Greg Ganske, voted in favor of the resolutions authorizing President Bush to take action against Iraq but the two agree on little else, with Ganske attempting to paint Harkin as too extreme to represent the Hawkeye state.
The two candidates met in a series of three debates, arguing about such issues as whether people should be allowed to invest some of their Social Security funds, prescription drug coverage for seniors and farm issues.
"I'm going to use everything at my disposal to make sure they never privatize" Social Security, Harkin told a campaign appearance in Clinton right after the last of the match-ups.
"Keep in mind ... we get more money from Social Security in Iowa than we get from all the corn and beans that we market," Harkin said during the third debate.
Ganske said Harkin is misrepresenting his position on Social Security. The Republican said he just wants to allow workers under 50 to be able to invest some of their withholdings in private accounts.
Most people don't think of farming as a Big Oil issue. But with controversy over whether to drill in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, Harkin, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has put oil production on the table, saying there's no need to drill in Alaska. "You can go drill in our cornfields."
Ganske poked fun at the recently adopted Farm Bill that Harkin helped write.
"I know there are an awful lot of farmers around Iowa who aren't happy with this bill," Ganske said, adding two-thirds of commodity payments would go to giant farming operations.
Harkin maintained, however, the measure will pump billions into the state's economy.
Ganske has also attacked Harkin as being extreme over stem cell research. Harkin has said he favors stem cell research, using only donated eggs not being used for artificial insemination.
The campaign has been filled with negative campaign ads, despite their lack of effectiveness in past Iowa campaigns. Ganske attacked Harkin on welfare for illegal aliens, among other issues. Harkin has attacked Ganske's voting record on student loans and Medicare and accused him of misleading voters.
Probably the biggest surprise in the campaign was "tape-gate," but during their last debate, Ganske said he planned to allow the whole thing to lapse.
"I'm not planning on doing anything about it," Ganske said. His remarks followed a declaration by prosecutors that nothing illegal took place.
The flap already was pretty much of a flop to most voters.
It all started Sept. 3 when Des Moines businessman Brian Conley, 53, who briefly worked for Harkin in the mid-'70s, taped a talk to supporters by Ganske. The tape was then transcribed and leaked to a reporter.
The highlight of the session, which involved about two dozen contributors at the Savery Hotel, was a remark attributed to the four-term congressman in which he said: "You've never seen a campaign where anyone will attack (Harkin) like we're going to. With a smile on our face. Not angry, not growling or scowling -- just being so happy that we are just going to whip back the stress from our shoulders."
Harkin, a former legal aid attorney, apologized and called the incident "juvenile."
Jim Hutter, associate professor of political science at Iowa State University, said he thinks the tape flap was a non-starter with voters and was mystified over why Ganske was so upset about it.
"Nothing went on in that meeting that Harkin staffers couldn't have predicted six months ago," Hutter said.
"I think the Harkin people have erred by not ridiculing Ganske for colossal foolishness. ... Frankly, if it were a basketball game, you'd say, 'No harm, no foul.'"
The shenanigans led to the resignation of Harkin campaign manager Jeff Link and threatened to wipe out what was once a 20-point lead in the polls. The latest Iowa Poll conducted for the Des Moines Register gave Harkin a 54 percent to 34 percent lead over Ganske. The poll of 805 likely voters was conducted Sept. 21-25 and had a margin of error of 3.5 percent. But the latest WHO-TV, Des Moines, poll, conducted Oct. 6-8, showed Harkin leading 53 percent to 44 percent, with just 3 percent undecided or favoring other candidates and an error rate of 4.1 percent.
(Reported by Marcella S. Kreiter, UPI Regional Editor, Chicago)
