Ben Lange

Ben Lange

Republican Party

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Personal website

Ben Lange was a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 1st Congressional District of Iowa. Lange defeated Rod Blum in the Republican primary on June 5, 2012. He lost to incumbent Bruce Braley in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Biography

Lange was born in Waterloo, Iowa, and raised in Quasqueton, Iowa. He graduated from Southwestern University with a bachelor's degree in 2001 and earned a law degree from Hamline University in 2005.

Career

Lange operates a small law practice in Independence, Iowa.

Elections

2014

See also: Iowa's 1st Congressional District elections, 2014

Despite speculation that he would run, Lange announced in June 2013 that he would not run for the 2014 Republican nomination for Iowa's 1st Congressional District.

2012

See also: Iowa's 1st Congressional District elections, 2012

Lange ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Iowa's 1st District. Rod Blum was defeated by Lange in the Republican primary. Lange was defeated by incumbent Bruce Braley (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

U.S. House, Iowa District 1 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bruce Braley Incumbent	56.9%	222,422
	Republican	Ben Lange	41.6%	162,465
	Independent	Gregory Hughes	1.2%	4,772
	Independent	George Todd Krail II	0.2%	931
Total Votes				390,590
Source: Iowa Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

U.S. House, Iowa, District 1 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ben Lange	53.4%	13,217
Rod Blum	46.6%	11,551
Total Votes		24,768

Race background

Ben Lange was previously defeated by Bruce Braley in 2010 general election. Lange lost by approximately 2% of the vote.

On August 1, 2012, Lange filed an ethics complaint against Bruce Braley, on the ground that he had used government resources to aid his campaign by inviting voters to "Deficit Workshops." John Davis, Bradley's Chief of Staff, described the claim as "without merit."

Issues

In August, 2012 Lange launched the first campaign ad which focused on the national debt. Lange stated that he ran for office to "Restore the Generational Compact." This proposal includes,

• "A balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution that requires Congress to limit projected expenses to projected revenue, with reasonable exceptions."

• "Restructuring federal entitlement programs that are fiscally unsustainable for the benefit of future generations."

• "Replacing Obamacare with a patient-centered model that addresses rising health care costs by reducing market distortions and providing greater transparency, competition, and choice for patients."

Lange also circulated a 10 page pamphlet that concisely articulated his elections goals, it is titled "A Compact with Iowans: My Promise and Plan."

Media

The following is a political ad launched by Ben Lange's campaign, it targets incumbent Bruce Braley.

Ben Lange, "Ad: Braley's Broken Promises"

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Lange is married to his wife Kelly and is a father to three girls – Addison, Emelia and Charlotte.

External links

Suggest a link

• Campaign website
• Facebook page
• Twitter page
• Tumblr page
• YouTube account

Footnotes

[show]

Iowa's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Joni Ernst (R)

Chuck Grassley (R)

Representatives

District 1

Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R)

District 2

Ashley Hinson (R)

District 3

Zach Nunn (R)

District 4

Randy Feenstra (R)

Republican Party (6)