~by Lora Koch, special to The Scranton Journal
Facing some stiff political competition in the US Senate race against incumbent Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Joni Ernst, it would take a unique approach for Independent candidate Rick Stewart to get noticed. “A bike is the easiest way to get close to people. I have no interest in spending $10 million in negative TV ads. I will not do it,” Stewart said.
Instead, Rick Stewart is running his Senate race via bicycle to all of Iowa’s 99 counties. His cycling journey began on June 2 and he hopes to complete visits to every county by mid-October. With his stop at the newspaper office in Bayard in September, he had completed about 72 of 99 counties.
An Iowa boy, Stewart was born in Postville and raised in Maquoketa. He graduated from Coe College and then received his masters of business administration from the University of Chicago. Stewart returned to Iowa and after a successful career as an entrepreneur and business owner in the Cedar Rapids area, he retired and developed a strong interest in politics.
Stewart wanted to help solve the problems facing our country, just like he solved problems while running his own business. “You have to jump in and be solutions-oriented and not care about reelection.” He believes the current political system has too much focus on “power while in office and then making money after you are out of office…so we all lose when ‘they’ win.”
A lifelong bicyclist, Rick purchased his first bike when he was a boy so he could have a paper route. His love of biking has stayed with him, and he has since completed his 20th RAGBRAI.
It was his experiences meeting people while biking that gave him the idea to campaign across the state on his bicycle. “Bikes are very non-threatening. It’s easy to get in contact with people, to bike up to them versus pulling up to them in a car or even walking up to them.”
He planned his route to the 99 counties by mapping out all of Iowa’s 300 newspapers and creating a travel plan that would allow him to stop at each one. “The best part of my trip is talking with newspaper people. I really like one-on-one interaction versus big groups.”
Stewart has also appreciated Iowa’s “rolling hills, courteous drivers and friendly people. It’s just a nice place to bicycle.”
Just as political campaigns have their challenges, so does bicycling across the state. “Cold rain and headwinds are killers. Bad weather is discouraging to a cyclist,” shared Stewart.
Whatever the circumstances, Rick Stewart does not seem like someone easily discouraged, stating, “We have an obligation to pay attention to other human beings.” Which is something Stewart does every day as he pedals his bike, and his Senate candidacy, across our state.
