Today we finally learned that BVP will not be running for Harkin's U.S. Senate:
After weeks of buzz that he’d be the firecracker to reconfigure the U.S. Senate race in Iowa, religious conservative Bob Vander Plaats has decided not to run, citing a focus on his message of national spiritual revival...BVP will instead focus on finishing his book titled "If 7:14":
His decision — sure to disappoint both the far right and far left — has been awaited for months as Republicans try mightily to find a candidate with the best chances of taking away a powerful seat that has been in Democratic hands for nearly 30 years...
Even Vander Plaats seemed a bit surprised by his decision, noting he “came very, very close” to going for his fourth attempt at elected office.
A clear-eyed examination of the race, he said, showed he likely would’ve been victorious in replacing his polar opposite, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a liberal Democrat who retires in less than a year. “Polling shows I’m ahead three to one in the current (GOP) field,” said Vander Plaats, who added that he had “a great campaign team in the wings.”
(H)is priority is his new book, “If 7:14.” It’s based on a Bible passage that says if people pray and turn from their wicked ways, God will hear and heal their land.
Vander Plaats said he has been booked for speaking engagements across the country, including at the Billy Graham Evangelical Association in North Carolina a few weeks ago, the New Canaan Society in Florida, a conference in Texas next week with pastors from large churches, and the National Council of Religious Broadcasters the following week.