This is not going to be much of a diary but wanted to alert Kossacks about this.
Iowa does not elect judges and they are appointed. But there are retention elections which are mostly quiet and boring. This cycle, however, conservative groups are taking aim at judges who supported gay marriage.
More on this from Brennan center for justice :
http://www.brennancenter.org/...
In 2010, however, big changes appear likely for Iowa’s normally sedate retention elections. Three justices up for retention in Iowa angered social conservatives last year when they voted to strike down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Interest groups on the right — including the National Organization for Marriage — have targeted these justices, and are leading a campaign to oust them from the bench. A bipartisan, nonprofit group called Iowans for Fair and Impartial Courts has formed to defend the justices, and with a Des Moines Register poll showing tight races in the retention contests, they promise to be the most expensive retention elections in state history.