But when the polls closed, it quickly became clear that voters wanted to send Latham back to Washington, and in the end, he coasted to a 20-point victory and carried all 28 counties of the 4th Congressional District.

Incumbent 4th District Rep. Tom Latham won a resounding victory tonight over Becky Greenwald, cruising to his eighth term representing Iowa in the U.S. Congress.

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Ames, was elected to an eighth term Tuesday night, defeating his Democratic challenger, Becky Greenwald of Perry.

''I'm extremely pleased,'' Latham said. ''It's due to a lot of hard work by the campaign staff and volunteers, and that's why we're victorious this evening.''

Republican incumbent Tom Latham retained his seat in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, easily besting Democrat Becky Greenwald, according to preliminary precinct counts.

Latham, first elected to represent our area in 1994, can legitimately claim to be both a farmer and small businessman. He is a working representative who is there because he wishes to serve and for no other reason. He understands the challenges working Iowans face every day because he has faced those same challenges throughout a lifetime of hard work.

Latham, a Republican from Ames, has served in Congress since 1995. He is the senior member of Iowa's House delegation and sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, a position he has used to bring millions of dollars back to this district, particularly Ames and Iowa State University.

Fort Dodge Messenger endorses Tom Latham for Congress

"Tom Latham is not a congressman who believes in wasteful federal spending. He is, however, determined that Iowa be treated fairly by the power brokers in Washington. We need to keep him on the job protecting the interests of the 4th District and the entire Hawkeye state.

Latham has proved a judicious advocate for countless projects that have helped our communities thrive. He listens carefully to voters, and works tirelessly on Capitol Hill to explain Iowa's needs. He is a champion we can ill afford to lose.

This newspaper enthusiastically supports the re-election of Tom Latham."

In making our endorsement for the 4th District Congress race, one question trumped the rest:

Could Democratic challenger Becky Greenwald do a better job for North Iowa than incumbent Republican Tom Latham? The answer was no.

That's why we're supporting Latham, R-Ames, for an eighth term.

Congressman Latham has showed an continuing commitment to higher education and education in general, supporting numerous bills on the subject, including the College Student Relief Act (H.R. 5), the College Access and Opportunity Act (H.R. 609), the Low Income Educational Scholarship Amendment (H.R. 4380), as well as the Student Loan Provision Changes (H.R. 5715). On multiple occasions, he has seen fit to cross party lines on common sense legislation — particularly so with regard to education, but elsewhere as well.

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham is increasingly convinced that the $700 billion economic bailout is a bad deal for taxpayers.

Latham spent a majority of his speech at the well attended lunch talking about the economy. He voted twice against the $700 billion bailout plan that recently passed through Congress.

We have all heard from thousands of our constituents on this measure over the past two weeks. I spoke to one constituent of mine from Iowa yesterday who contacts me regularly to express her opinions and ideas. When discussing her opposition to this bill she summed up the frustrations of Iowans and the overwhelming majority of people across this country. She said "the people out here in the heartland see this bill and bailout as a result of Washington talking to Washington - and not talking and listening to the real people beyond the beltway.

Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, told a group assembled at the Iowa Veterans Home they should not worry about where their care will be coming from in the future.

Filling up the gas tank doesn't cost as much as it did just a week ago, but U.S. Rep. Tom Latham doesn't think anyone should start celebrating.

Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, in the midst of campaigning in Iowa's Fourth Congressional District, spoke out against the bailout package that was recently passed by Congress.

U.S. Congressman Tom Latham (R-IA) has recently been touring the 4th Congressional District talking to his constituents about the recently-passed $700 billion Wall Street bailout. His tour brought him to the office of The Standard for an interview Wednesday, October 8. "Overwhelmingly, Iowans are against bailing out all the greed and what happened on Wall Street," Latham said. "They think it's wrong to use taxpayer dollars to bail them out when businesses on Main Street don't have a bailout."

"Tom Latham has been a lifelong supporter of our men and women in uniform," said Gary Warman a VFW & American Legion Member from Iowa Falls speaking on behalf of the VFW PAC. "He is a trusted leader for Iowa veterans. His work on expanding health care access for veterans in rural states like Iowa has been recognized nationally."

Boone Mayor John Slight, who describes himself as a proud Democrat, called the Congressman the best candidate in this race. The 4th district is competitively drawn, and Democrats are hoping that an expected strong Democratic wave on Election Day sows the seeds of an upset.

Referring to the bailout bill, Latham stated, "The problem with the bailout vote and the reason I voted no twice on that was I didn't want to just give the Secretary of the Treasury a blank check, or a $700 billion check, with no control, no restraint, and they could go out and purchase anything they want, whether it be credit default swaps, any kind of exotic type of derivatives or anything with this money. And there is no real plan for it. There was never a hearing. There was never any real discussion, no mark-up in committee. Just to rush this thing through and to give the Secretary of the Treasury that check, I think is just simply wrong for the taxpayers and obviously it's not doing any good as far as the markets are concerned."

The same can be said for members of the House of Representatives, who later followed the Senate in approving the bill. However, we commend our own Rep. Tom Latham for voting no. With so much in doubt, and with such mixed results this week, we have to agree with Latham’s decision.

Elected officials must evaluate entitlement programs like Social Security or Medicaid in an effort to keep government spending in check, U.S. Rep. Tom Latham said today.

"A Central Iowa family has been nominated by Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, for the Angels in Adoption Award for their efforts on behalf of their newly-adopted daughter and 35 Guatemalan orphans."

"No one has done more to secure our freedom than our veterans and military personnel and they must never be forgotten," said Latham. "Organizations such as Leave No Veteran Behind are a part of an integral support system for the men and women who have put their lives on the line for our country."

Iowa Congressman Tom Latham met with the National Pork Producers Council recently. In the meeting, Iowa representatives from the council stressed the importance of international trade to the domestic pork industry, and specifically the pork producers of Iowa. Curtis Hollis from Waterloo, Scott Tapper from Webster City, Bill Tentinger from Le Mars, John Weber from Dysart, Mark Meirick from Protivin and Jeff Schness from Clive were on hand for the meeting.

“These programs have shown that with timely notification because a Silver Alert system is in place, the chances of the missing individual being found greatly increase,” said Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, who cared for his own father as he struggled through the final stages of Alzheimer’s.

With a population of 110,000 people and an economy strong in agriculture, South Norfolk, England, has a lot of similarities to Iowa's 4th Congressional District.

Iowa Lakes Community College president Harold Prior thanked Congressman Tom Latham Friday morning by calling him "a champion for Iowa Lakes" for his help in funding the wind turbine program.

Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, said Friday Congress could lessen the price of a gallon of gasoline more than 25 percent by the end of the year if it would pass a comprehensive piece of energy legislation.

On Thursday's roster was Rep. Tom Latham, an Ames Republican, who flew in for the day. "I've been back in Iowa doing town meetings for the last two weeks, and all I'm hearing about is the energy situation and the high price of gasoline," Latham said. "It is the defining issue."

Though very few were around to hear it, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, made his case for a new energy bill on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday.

Rep. Tom Latham on Thursday condemned Congress for its partisan squabbling and its inability to move forward on energy policy during a speech on the opening day of the Iowa State Fair.

Obtaining energy independence, including additional drilling for oil, is one of the key challenges the nation must tackle, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Ia., said Thursday during the Des Moines Register's Soapbox.

This was the first time officers in Iowa were offered the training thanks to Congressman Tom Latham, who secured over $1.5 million for the Iowa Central Homeland Security Training Center.

Iowa Congressman Tom Latham announced last week that the Veterans Administration Midwest Health Care Network has approved a plan for opening an outpatient clinic for veterans in Decorah next fall. The plan is now under review by the Veterans Health Administration Central Office in Washington D.C.

Iowa Congressman Tom Latham announced this week that the VA Midwest Health Care Network has approved a plan for opening an outpatient clinic for veterans in Decorah next fall. Latham submitted the following letter to Decorah Newspapers this week updating readers on the effort to bring an outpatient clinic to Decorah.

I get the same feeling each time I visit a gas station these days. As I fill my car’s tank I get a cramp in my stomach as the price on the pump ticks higher and higher with each visit. I drive away from the gas station and that cramp quickly turns in to anger and frustration when I think about how Washington and Congress have provided absolutely no leadership or solutions on our energy crisis.

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, says his party can capture the gas-price issue in the fall. What's more, he said the GOP is standing on the right side of history with what he believes is a tide-turning force surge in Iraq.

"The Midwest needs help from Congress now! This letter serves to convey my outrage with the House leadership for failing to bring emergency disaster relief bills before the House of Representatives to address the extreme and immediate federal assistance needs of the people Iowa and the other Midwestern states ravaged by devastating floods last June.

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, said Friday he is outraged that Congress will recess for five weeks without considering disaster relief bills for Iowa and other Midwest states.

It is "simply shameful" for Democratic congressional leaders to adjourn for a summer break without taking action on a second phase of Midwest flood relief, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Ia., wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today.

Members of the Iowa congressional delegation stepped up their campaign fundraising in May and June, reports filed with the Federal Election Commission show. Reports covering the period from May 15 through June 30, which were due Tuesday, said:

Republican Congressman Tom Latham held his 451st town hall meeting at the City Hall Auditorium, 923 8th St., to discuss current issues with Boone County residents. Latham focused much of his discussion on rising fuel prices and flood relief as he opened the floor to approximately 25 area residents.

Filling the gas tank means emptying the wallet these days and U.S. Rep. Tom Latham feels the same anger as the Fort Dodgers he represents when energy prices are mentioned.

Thanks to hard work by Rep. Tom Latham, the Republican who represents Iowa's 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, needed renovations and building projects for the Iowa Air National Guard unit based in Fort Dodge may become a reality.

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