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• Collins, the Senate Republicans' campaign director, maintained that competition in the primaries will make the party's eventual nominees stronger for the general election.
• Republicans see a potential to expand the field from the top tier races to contests in Michigan and Minnesota. Iowa seemed like a prime opportunity for Republicans after five-term Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin announced he would not seek another term.
• Democrats rallied around four-term Rep. Bruce Braley. But on the GOP side, there are no fewer than seven candidates seeking the nomination in Iowa, including conservative radio host Sam Clovis, state Sen. Joni Ernst, former energy company CEO Mark Jacobs and former U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker. There is talk that even more will enter the race.
• Iowa's June 3 primary has a 35 percent threshold. If no candidate gets that much, the nomination would be decided at a party convention where the most conservative members typically nominate a harder-right candidate.
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SD lawmakers will deal with money, moral issues
CHET BROKAW, Associated Press
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- The death penalty, health care for poor people and education reform will be among the top issues tackled by the South Dakota legislative session that opens Jan. 14, legislative leaders said.
• Many of those issues are intertwined in the state budget, which means final decisions will not be made until lawmakers pass the next state budget as the session winds down in March.
• Gov. Dennis Daugaard set the stage for the legislative session when he unveiled his proposed state budget in early December. He said more than $100 million available on a one-time basis, including some reserves and a windfall of unclaimed bank accounts and other property receipts, can be used to pay off debts and other obligations early. That would free up ongoing revenue to give 3 percent increases in state aid to school districts, reimbursements to heath care providers in the Medicaid program, and pay raises for state employees.
• House Republican Leader David Lust of Rapid City said lawmakers will discuss whether 3 percent increases for those priorities are feasible and advisable.
• "I still think there's a ways to go with the budget and how that will all shake out as far as what happens with the extra dollars we may have," Lust said.
• House Democratic Leader Bernie Hunhoff of Yankton said many lawmakers will seek to boost state aid to school districts by more than the governor recommended. (Continued on page 15)
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