Fourth Iowa Judge Becomes Target After Ruling in Favor of Marriage

A fourth Iowa judge will face the likes of a campaign that ousted three Iowa judges in retaliation for their 2009 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage.

The head of the Republican Party in Iowa, in an email to supporters reported on by The Des Moines Register, said, "Just as Iowans successfully showed in 2010, it is again time to put a check on this power and reign in an activist judge from his position of misused authority."

This time, party chairman A.J. Spiker is targeting Justice David Wiggins for "his arrogance and disregard for the law."

Last time around it was Family Leader CEO Bob Vander Plaats leading the charge along with big donations from the National Organization for Marriage. The three judges they targeted in 2010 -- Justices Marsha Ternus, Michael Streit, and David Baker -- had ruled in favor of marriage equality a year earlier. An average of 54% of voters opted against "retaining" the judges.

The trio was later honored with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for ruling on principle, not politics.

Spiker argues that the judges should have let Iowans vote on whether to allow same-sex couples to marry. And he wants Republicans to vote against retaining Wiggins on the bench when faced with the question come November.