I went to the 50th wedding anniversary of some old friends in Des Moines over the weekend, and the Fallon/Boswell race had everybody talking. The crowd there- mostly older labor union people- was split down the middle in terms of who was supporting who, but the interesting thing was that the Boswell campaign has gone over the top with nasty mailings about Ed that it is causing a serious backlash. With his money and huge name ID edge, and the fact that Boswell has kept in good touch with the district and is well-liked personally, he should have won this race without breaking a sweat. I'll be surprised if Ed can win with all of Boswell's advantages.
But Boswell's over-the-top negative campaign against Ed has caused a serious negative reaction, and has got everyone talking. I talked to at least half a dozen people who said they were planning to vote for Leonard, but have switched to Ed because of the mailings, and even Boswell's supporters have been made nervous and set on edge by the mailings.
I think Ed will fall a little short tonight, but if he wins, give at least some of the credit to Boswell's mistakes.