CEDAR RAPIDS — Marathoner Nate Boulton is off to a fast start hoping to get ahead of the pack of Democrats running for their party’s gubernatorial nomination.

About 100 people turned out to see the first-term Des Moines state senator in Cedar Rapids on Saturday evening, many meeting him for the first time.

His reputation preceded him, however.

Sen. Liz Mathis, D-Robins, told the crowd she didn’t know what to expect when Boulton arrived in the Iowa Senate after an election that saw Democrats lose six seats and their majority.

“We knew he was smart,” she said. Mathis reminded the crowd that when the GOP majority introduced legislation stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights, it was Boulton who led the unsuccessful fight to stop it.

“As the session went on, when we had questions we turned to the freshman,” she said. “Time and time, Nate stepped up to the plate and he swung and hit.”

Boulton, a 37-year-old lawyer, seems to have scored with his Cedar Rapids audience as well as the crowds that have come out to see him on his first three days of a six-day, 16-county tour.

“I’m impressed with his concern for workers,” said Carol Duggan of Cedar Rapids. She also led the fight against changes in the workers’ compensation law the Republican-controlled Legislature passed and Gov. Terry Branstad signed into law.

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Although the primary for governor is 13 months away, Duggan thinks Democrats are coming together to organize “and voice their opposition to the things going on.”

Boulton agrees that Iowa Democrats are “absolutely ready to turn the page and do the next thing.”

“To me, that’s been the real story of what we’ve been able to do so far in the campaign,” Boulton said.

“We saw a lot of people stepping up, going to the Capitol, going to forums. And we wanted to make sure that we saw an opportunity to take that frustration, that resistance, and turn it into a positive vision for our party and our state.”

In addition to Mathis, Boulton has been endorsed by 13 other legislators, including Reps. Art Staed of Cedar Rapids and Amy Nielsen of North Liberty, and Sen. Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City.

Other Democrats in the race for governor or said to be considering it are former Iowa Democratic Party Chair Andy McGuire, former Department of Natural Resources Director Rich Leopold, former Des Moines school board President Jon Neiderbach, Rep. Todd Prichard of Charles City, former aide to Gov. Tom Vilsack John Norris and Davenport Alderman Mike Matson.

For more on the Boulton campaign, visit www.boultonforiowa.com.

l Comments: (319) 398-8375; james.lynch@thegazette.com