CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Linn County Auditor Joel Miller is exploring a run for Iowa Secretary of State.
He made the announcement in a blogpost over the weekend.
Miller is a Democrat who has clashed with current Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate, notably over absentee ballots.
He says he created an exploratory committee to recruit another auditor or run for the office himself in 2022.
Miller also said he doesn't know if anyone other than a Republican can another statewide office in Iowa. "Is there another Tom Miller, Michael Fitzgerald, or Rob Sand out there?," said Miller, referring to the Democratic attorney general, state treasurer and state auditor, respectively.
Pate is a former state senator and mayor of Cedar Rapids.
As Secretary of State, Pate blocked Miller and three other county auditors from mailing absentee ballot request forms to voters with some of their information already filled in. A judge determined the pre-filled forms were invalid.
(Image from Linn County Auditor Joel Miller's Twitter page)