Tibbetts case sparks rush to add candidate to Iowa ballot

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A group of Iowa conservatives is scrambling to add an attorney general candidate to the November ballot after a Mexican man was charged with slaying missing college student Mollie Tibbetts.

Dozens of people across the state are rushing to collect at least 1,500 signatures in at least 10 Iowa counties in an effort to get attorney Patrick Anderson, of Des Moines, onto the ballot to challenge incumbent Tom Miller, a Democrat currently running unopposed. Petition organizers must turn in the signatures to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office by 5 p.m. Saturday to get Anderson on the ballot as a non-party candidate.

George Anderson, an organizer of the effort and Patrick Anderson’s son, says Iowa needs an attorney general who will crack down on people living in the country illegally.