MIKE GLOVER AP Political Writer DES MOINES, Iowa
M o n t a n a G ov. B r i a n Schweitzer, whose feisty speech in Denver was one of the rhetorical highlights of the D e m o c r a t i c N a t i o n a l Convention, will be the headline speaker at U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin's annual steak fry near Indianola. Harkin's annual event, scheduled for Sept. 14, is one of the largest political gatherings of the year, drawing thousands of people to fields just south of Des Moines. Past speakers have included President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. The event traditionally draws presidential candidates in droves during precinct caucus cycles. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama got his highest-profile introduction to Democratic activists in Iowa when he was picked to headline the event in 2006. Harkin's deci sion to inv i t e S chwe i t z e r wa s announced by spokesman Matt Paul. "He's led the great Democratic inroads in the West and he's a great national leader," Paul said. Not only does Harkin use the event to raise money, throwing the annual steak fry helps keep his campaign organization highly tuned. T h e s e l e c t i o n o f Schweitzer as the headline speaker is both a nod to his rhetorical s k i l l s and an acknowledgment of the growing Democratic focus on the mountain West in this year's presidential campaign. Though Republican John McCain is from Arizona, Democrats are putting a heavy emphasis on s tat e s l ike New Mexi c o , Neva d a , C o l o r a d o and Montana, where Obama has stumped. Schweitzer won election in 2004, the first Democratic governor of Montana in 20 years. With his featured bolo tie and western twang, his slashing assault on McCain d u r i n g t h e Demo c r a t i c Convention drew some of the loudest cheers of the convention. "After eight years of a White House waiting hand and foot on big oil, John McCain offers more of the same," he said. "At a time of skyrocketing fuels costs, when American families are struggling to keep their gas tanks full, John McCain voted 25 times against renewable and alternative energy." Schweitzer grew up on a family cattle ranch and began a career of irrigation development around the world, before returning to Montana in 1986 to build a ranching and irrigation business. After ousting a sitting Republican senator in 1984 and defeating a string of three Republ ican congressmen, Harkin has been given a much easier chore this year. His Republican opponent i s Christopher Reed, a Marion businessman making his first bid for public office. Fe d e r a l E l e c t i o n Commission records showed that as of the end of June, Harkin had raised $8.1 million, while Reed had raised just over $11,000. There is a serious competition for the state's seven electoral votes in the presidential contest. Obama, who built an enormous political organization leading up to his win in the state's leadoff precinct caucuses, has rebuilt that organization and has dozens of campaign offices in the state. McCain finished fourth in the precinct caucuses and has a much more lean political organization, though both candidates vow to compete in the state. Harkin's steak fry traditionally serves to energize Democratic activists heading into the final push before the
