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Updated: 10:24 PM Oct 31, 2004
The Stretch Run
Voters swamped with candidate pitches Postal employees have become the unwitting foot soldiers of presidential politicking in the battleground state of Iowa. Posted: 3:53 PM Oct 29, 2004 |
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Postal employees have become the unwitting foot soldiers of presidential politicking in the battleground state of Iowa.
President Bush and Senator Kerry have both spent a lot of time wooing Hawkeye State voters and along with personal appearances they're banking on a late blitz of mailings to gain an edge on Tuesday.
That mailing campaign has literally put the burden on Ken Sydow's shoulders.
"Wednesday, it was really bad," Ken says. "There was seven different pieces for sixty percent of the route."
Ken and the rest of Iowa's mail carriers have been doing the heavy lifting in the campaign blitz. In Council Bluffs alone there have been roughly 70 mass mailings by the candidates in October.
The mailings are being coupled with telephone campaigns to turn political tides.
Phone-weary Iowan Gary King says, "We get calls every night. Generally pre-recorded calls, so it's irritating. But calls generally every night asking us to vote one way or another."
While the candidates continue trying to run up the balloting score most Iowans say they've already made up their minds and the late campaign surges won't influence how they'll vote.
As for all those ringing telephones, you can expect that to continue even if you're on the national Do Not Call list. Religious organizations, charitable groups and political campaigns are exempt from the calling restrictions.
