It’s not surprising that some in the Republican Party want to make sure candidates who run under the party banner align well with party principles. In a time when the New York Congressional candidate for a special election was seen as too moderate and the longtime GOP seat was lost, some want to make sure solid conservative candidates are running for office.

So, Domenico Montanaro unveils today on FirstRead, some Republican National Committee members are listing 10 10  “conservative principles the group of signees wants potential candidates to abide by.” The list includes market-based reforms in standing in opposition to both climate change and health care reform efforts.

Who’s on board with the litmus test? Among the 10 sponsors are Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Steve Scheffler of Iowa. Many will recall multimillionare Ricketts from a failed 2006 bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., for a six-year Senate position, while Scheffler is a well-known social conservative who heads the Iowa Christian Alliance (formerly Christian Coalition of Iowa). What they are supporting is being called the Resolution on (Ronald) Reagan’s Unity Principle for Support of Candidates.

Got a tip (thanks, Cliff Tufty) of a Sioux City native running for major political office, as 1965 Central High graduate John Munger is running for governor in Arizona. Munger has firm roots in Republican Party politics, as his father, Robert P. Munger, served in the Iowa House and Senate. He got a start in politics serving as an intern for former Iowa 6th District Congressman Wiley Mayne of Sioux City in 1967, prior to getting a degree from Stanford University. Apparently, he’s been a southwest U.S. guy ever since.

He formed a law firm with brother Clark Munger in Tucson in 1977, then gained some impressive positions as Arizona Republican Party Chairman (in 1983) and as a member of the Republican National Committee. In 2008, he chaired the John McCain for President Arizona Campaign. The Journal archives are pretty good, and turned up the flyer the mustachoied Munger had for his state party chairman bid. It’s full of words like leader, budget, task force, door-to-door and Reagan. One portion notes the push to recruit minorities to run as Republicans.

Fast forward to today, Munger obviously isn’t afraid of an intraparty battle, as he’s running against Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, the former Arizona Secretary of State who was elevated to governor earlier this year when Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano joined the Obama administration as Department of Homeland Security Secretary. For a bit, former GOP Gov. Fife Symington thought of running again himself in 2010 (shades of Terry Branstad), but in October Symington endorsed Munger.

Not all Mungers, however are Republicans — first-cousin Sioux City attorney Stan Munger said with a laugh that he’s the rare Democrat. “I’m proud of it,” he said.

Stan Munger sees his cousin every two or three years, and he’s looking for a win, even though they differ politically. He’s not the least surprised John is running for governor.

“John has been very active politically and he loves politics,” Stan Munger said. “I am totally supportive and would love to see him succeed. He’s a great guy.”

Munger’s campaign theme is “Real Leadership, No Excuses.” He cites Arizonians having watched “in frustration as jobs and businesses disappear, our education system fails our children, a water shortage looms on the horizon, our transportation system totters, all while government has grown at twice the combined rates of inflation plus population growth for the last many years.”

A year ago tonight, the votes were counted and Barack Obama won the presidency and Democrats strengthened their holds in the two federal chambers. Republicans nationally and in Iowa licked their wounds, then looked ahead.

State Rep. Chris Rants, R-Sioux City, showing me a host of vote totals from various statehouse races on his laptop, pointed to where some of the statehouse elections could have turned for the GOP with not too many more votes. Rants said Republicans needed to do the grunt work of registering more voters to the party, then turning them out.

So are Republicans cutting into the voter registration lead of Democrats? From the early November voter registration totals from the Iowa Secretary of State office, Dems still are sitting on a very substantial lead, one of well over 100,000 people.

The number of active Democratic Party registrations is 682,641 compared to 577,789 registered Republicans (and with 704,824 active no party registrations in Iowa). If you throw the inactive registrations, the number becomes 723,626 for Democrats and 609,976 for Republicans.

Maybe many of those registered Democrats voted for Obama in 2008, have soured on him (and other Dems) and will switch for the 2010 election in which an Iowa governor position, U.S. Senate post and five congressional seats will be on the ballot. Or maybe that’s a substantial voter registration lead that gives Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn cause for concern.

Consider that the registration totals have barely moved in the last three months: At the beginning of August there were 683,117 Democrats and 577,223 Republicans.  Basically, Democrats have dropped by about 475 and Republicans gained 550. Yeah, it’s 12 months out, but the numbers provide an interesting snapshot.

State Rep. Chris Rants of Sioux City isn’t shy about taking control of political openings, and that apparently is true in some personal interactions too. Rants is still smiling tonight, the day after Tim Albrecht, his good friend and former spokesman when Rants was the Iowa House Speaker, was married to another Republican spokesperson. Albrecht now works for American Future Fund and maintains the popular TheBeanWalker.com Web site. He’s also the husband of Josie Klingaman, who handles communications for the Iowa House Republican leadership.

Rants said he had been after Ida Grove native Albrecht to ask out Klingaman when she worked for State Rep. Doug Struyk. Albrecht apparently dawdled, because Rants said he didn’t nag, but “encouraged repeatedly” Albrecht to get with it. He said not all political spouses can “stand the 24/7″ nature of politics, but he knew the two political animals would do well together.

“For me, those guys are like the perfect couple,” Rants said.

Rants said the two finally dated by the time of the 2006 campaign cycle (which, not to rain on the new married couple’s honeymoon, didn’t go too well for Republicans).  “I guess if your relationship can survive a stressful campaign, it can survive anything,” Rants offered.

Rants handled the blessing at the dinner, then sat in the second row in the wedding, watching the emotional “Timmy” try not to break down on his big day. Rants said it was a fun day with the typical bride and groom side of guests, plus then a mass of “politicos,” legislators and the like. He said no one checked voter registration at the door, so it was possible a Democrat was even in attendance — though no doubt as a friend of the couple’s parents.

Congrats to the couple. It’s no wonder Albrecht’s Twitter account has been dormant this weekend.

Two high profile Obama administration officials will make appearances in Iowa and South Dakota in the near future, as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Vice President Joe Biden will stop by. Former Iowa governor Vilsack will make the first appearance on Oct. 5 in Bath in northeastern S.D., as he tours flood damaged areas and holds a town hall meeting with farmers and ranchers. The Vilsack meeting will be at the home of Jim and Barbara Hundstad, where he’s slated to talk about domestic energy development and rural economic development initiatives.

Biden on Nov. 21 will headline the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner in Des Moines, a pumped IDP Chairman Michael Kiernan announced this morning.  Kiernan said it is thrilling to have Biden for the Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner, as “there is a great deal of admiration for Joe Biden among Iowa Democrats.”

The J-J dinner is the party’s biggest annual fundraiser. Today the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is sending around a fundraising request for the 2010 election, saying President Obama’s initiatives in health care reform and other key areas will falter unless Dems keep control of both federal chambers. The DSCC quotes Biden: “If (Republicans) take them back, this is the end of the the road for what Barack and I are trying to do.”

The South Dakota Republican Party this morning is announcing landing Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to keynote the annual state dinner to be held Oct. 2. Pawlenty, who was in mix of vice presidential options last year for John McCain, isn’t just hopping the border, he’s going way west for the Rapid City event. He’ll talk about how the Republican Party can have electoral electoral success in 2010.

There’s another prime GOP South Dakota event on that early October weekend, and thankfully this one is right in the neighborhood.  As reported in this blog previously, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer will keynote the Republican Jewish Coalition dinner at the Dakota Dunes Country Club on Oct. 4. Fleischer worked almost four years for President Bush and his “Taking Heat” book reached No. 7 on the New York Times bestseller list.

The dinner is designed to be an annual event, State Rep. Dan Lederman, R-Dakota Dunes, reports. “We look forward to hearing Ari’s message on the events of 9-11, the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the future of the United States in the Middle East Peace Process,” Lederman said.

Woodbury County Republican Party Chairman Brian Rosener  didn’t return calls for a Journal article on the Woodbury County Republican Party Central Committee vote on whether to oust two members for their less-than-supportive stance for plans of gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City. Dennis Hill was removed from his position, former county chairwoman Barb Vakulskas was not.

But right after I wrote a blog post on the topic (here), Rosener has issued a statement on the meeting, citing the need to reprimand the two, while calling out former chairman Steve Salem, who led the party in 2006 after Vakulskas resigned in the middle of her term. Salem was then ousted as chairman in late 2006 after describing the detrimental impact of social conservatives in the party. One example was having two GOP campaign buildings in the city, since the two sides couldn’t cooperate.

With that as background, here is Rosener’s statement:

At its last meeting, the Woodbury County Republican Central Committee brought to a vote two members for removal for their disruptive conduct, conduct that has been ongoing.  I have even had to call speakers and apologize for their behavior.  The behavior displayed at our June meeting led a number of Central Committee members to request a vote for the removal of these disruptive members. 

   It is unfortunate that Steve Salem is again attacking Christians in the Republican Party.  Perhaps Steve is still looking for someone to blame for the results he experienced while he was chairman, when Steve should consider that at the close of the 2006 elections, the GOP was visibly rattled, absorbing significant losses across the nation. Despite the fact that a MAJORITY of Republicans who lost during that season were considered “moderate” Republicans (in contrast with 94 percent of the nation’s most “extreme” conservative congressmen who WERE re-elected), a faction of “moderates” in the GOP wouldn’t allow what should have been a “teachable moment” to stop them from barreling forward toward yet another failure in 2008.

  Initially, the GOP gave signs of an apparent determination to “re-invent” itself as a “big tent” party. While this term “big tent” appealed to the sensibilities of many good people (sounding warm, friendly, and welcoming), in the end, true conservatives came to realize it was code for something far from hospitable. Instead, a dark and ugly spirit of compromise took hold. A non-conservative “Republican” movement seized power and insisted on a course AWAY from the proven principles that had once made Republicans great.

  This movement produced a second failed attempt to garner independent votes by boosting John McCain to the front of the presidential ticket. The good news for the Republican Party is this: with two seasons of great losses now chiseled upon the record of moderate republicanism, a new day has dawned. Between tea-parties and town-hall meetings, conservatives are standing up again and returning the party to its roots. In coming elections, we will prevail and pull America from its path toward status as a “nanny-state.”

Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan this afternoon is warning Iowans to be wary of “partisan polls that are disguised and presented to the Iowa media as legitimate private surveys.” Kiernan is taking exception with polls taken by 2002 Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Gross of the golden metro circle, which he said were paid for by a 527 advocacy group looking to get Republicans elected and which use “loaded questions.”

The bigger problem, he said, is when the larger traditional media then cite polls performed by Gross’ group. When it happens, Kiernan thinks the practice warrants a call to the Iowa Democratic Party.

Yesterday The Iowa Republican Web site included a Krusty Konservative piece on the Gross poll. Krusty cites that the Iowa Republican and Gross have commissioned three polls in recent months, while noting financially hamstrung traditional media outlets have not conducted a single poll.

Kiernan said the “loaded questions” polls are part of an effort to smear Gov. Chet Culver. The IDP chairman has said his chief 2010 goal is the re-election of Culver.

ADD AT 4:10 P.M. — So, what does the poll say, you correctly inquire? This, from James Q. Lynch of our Des Moines Bureau:

Iowa Republicans and independents favor a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage and Democras are evenly split on the issue, according to polling done for a group hoping to elect  a Republican replacement to Gov. Chet Culver. The findings of Hill Research Consultants reinforce the Iowa First Foundation’s argument that Culver, a first-term Democrat, is vulnerable to a Republican challenger in 2010.

In addition to finding a majority of Iowans hold the governor responsible for the state’s fiscal problems, Iowa First said the results show  he’s out of step with Iowans on same-sex marriage. Marriage became a flashpoint in the 2009 legislative session when the Iowa Supreme Court struck down a ban on same-sex marriage in April. Bipartisan efforts to bring the issue to a vote were blocked by the Legislature’s Democratic majority. Culver agreed with the Democratic legislative leadership not to debate the issue.

The poll of 500 likely 2010 general election voters makes clear “the path chosen by Culver and the  Democrats is the wrong one for Iowa,” according to Doug Gross, a Republican activist and and Iowa First founder. It’s also evidence the 2010 “issue agenda” favors Republicans, he said.

There’s increasing talk about the chances for Republicans in 2010 to seize back some seats in the federal chambers,  in the Iowa Legislature and the Iowa governor position. That’s fueled by polls showing improvement for Republicans vs. Democrats on a generic ballot with no names, just party affiliation, and whether the country is on the right track/wrong track. It’s also instructive to note the reality of the voter registration totals, which at this point still show a big advantage in Iowa for Democrats.

The Dems gained strongly in the 2006 election, then following a huge degree of interest in the 2008 presidential caucuses and the fall general election the party surged to a lead of more than 100,000 registered voters. Looking at the Iowa Secretary of State voter registration totals last updated Aug. 3, the Dems are holding firm even as Republicans are getting enthused about their gubernatorial candidates and trying to register more voters. Ousting Iowa Gov. Chet Culver won’t be easy, given the 100K-plus margin.

Looking at active voter registrations, there are 683,117 Democrats and 577,223 Republicans.  Throw in the inactive voter registrations and the totals become 724K for Dems and 610K for the GOP.

Within Iowa’s 5th District here, the strongest district for the Republican Party, there are 140,895 active Republican registered voters and 98,972 for Democrats.  But considering all active and inactive registrations (there are 2,102,501 Iowans registered to vote all told), the 5th District has the least number of registrations of the five districts — in order, the 1st District leads with 437,411, followed by the 3rd (430,521), 4th (430,323), 2nd (411,952) and the 5th (391,775).

The stat Republicans can embrace? ‘No Party’ registrations still outpace even those of Democrats.

Two weeks after his much-touted swing through Northwest Iowa to speak to Siouxlanders as part of the American Future Fund Conservative Lecture Series, U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., has admitted to an extramarital affair last year with a campaign aide. Any plans Ensign had to seek the 2012 presidency are now kaput.

Siouxlanders turned out to hear the thoughts of the senator who describes himself as a fiscal and social conservative. This Ensign affair news (his wife wasn’t with him at the press conference yesterday, but she issued a release) is deeply disappointing to Republicans who thought he could be a new voice for the party.

And people also love to jump all over politicians for their hypocrisy, which is apparently why the comments section to a CNN Ensign piece is closed. When it comes to snark on Ensign, I can’t summarize it better that eastern Iowa columnist/blogger/gadabout Todd Dorman, who wrote that Ensign  figured “what happens in the office of a senator who represents Vegas stays in the office of a senator who represents Vegas.”