Becky Greenwald has worked on winning political campaigns before and Tuesday she got to experience a win as a candidate.

Greenwald emerged from a four-person primary to take the top spot in the 4th District Democratic congressional primary. With more than 70 percent of the vote in, Greenwald had 51 percent of the vote.

The closest to her was Kurt Meyer, who invested $100,000 of his own money in his campaign. Meyer called in the last half hour to congratulate Greenwald and concede.

"I am thrilled," she said with a joyous tone in her voice. "I didn't expect this. I am very happy. I had great supporters."

Greenwald has ties to Sen. Tom Harkin and his wife Ruth and worked on their campaigns in the past. She has been involved in presidential campaigns, and now she has a new title -- victorious primary candidate.

"It is surreal," she said. "It is a lot more fun. I am enjoying it."

The 4th District seat currently held by Republican Tom Latham is a targeted race for Democrats, and Greenwald plans to transition into general election mode. She is cooking steaks for retiring union workers Wednesday in Marshalltown.

"We are going to hit the ground running," Greenwald said.

Labels: 2008_primary