Des Moines teacher seeks to oust Congressman Latham in 3rd District GOP primary

Joe Grandanette, a teacher and businessman from Des Moines, announced Wednesday he plans to oppose U.S. Rep. Tom Latham in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District Republican primary next June.

Grandanette, 59, has taught elementary school physical education for 26 years. He also owned an operated “Say Hello to Joe’s,” a sports nutrition store, for 14 years in Clive. The 3rd Congressional District covers most of southwest Iowa, including Des Moines and Council Bluffs. Democrat Staci Appel, a former state legislator from Ackworth, is seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the seat.

“The residents of Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District need someone who will represent them and not Washington, D.C., Republicans,” Grandanette said in a prepared statement. “Tom Latham voted the same way Leonard Boswell would’ve voted had he still been in Congress on the so-called debt compromise. I’m offering a bold alternative to the typical pale pastel offered by todays GOP.”