In the 4th Congressional District, The Des Moines Register chose to endorse Becky Greenwald, for what it’s worth.

I have no idea how this one’s going to turn out, but I suspect that Greenwald, with her Iowa Democratic Party connections, and Kevin Miskell, with strong connections of his own through the Iowa Farmers Union and the help of former John Edwards staffer and Howard Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi, are the candidates to beat.

The primary had been more or less off the radar until recently; things have gotten a bit testy in the run-up to June 3.

Most notably perhaps, The Register published an article about candidate Kurt Meyer’s second home in Edina, Minnesota, and wrote that he has not filed Iowa income taxes in a decade and had no Iowa driver’s license until December 31 of last year.

In the article, Miskell enters into the fray:

Meyer said Thursday that he has an extension and will file Iowa income taxes this year.

“This isn’t a matter of choosing a place to move to for political expediency, this is coming home,” Meyer said of the house his family built and moved to four years ago.

One of Meyer’s Democratic challengers, Kevin Miskell of Stanhope, alleges that Meyer, for years, used his St. Ansgar home as a secondary residence and that he lived primarily in the Minneapolis area. Meyer denied the accusation, saying he spends most of his time in Iowa.

Miskell said Meyer is misleading voters and that the truth should come out now. Republican incumbent Tom Latham could use the information against Democrats in November’s general election, Miskell said.

“It amazes me that people think they can cover things up,” said Miskell, who unsuccessfully ran against former Sen. Stewart Iverson, a Republican, in 2002.

Meyer said his family chose to maintain a Minnesota home largely for his son, Ethan, who was born in Colombia and adopted at age 5. Learning challenges would make a transition to another school more difficult, Meyer said.

Meyer said he has never attempted to hide his living arrangements.

It’s also going to be very interesting to see how William J. Meyers performs tomorrow. He’s the most atypical candidate in the primary race. He lacks the powerhouse connections of some of his rivals and has made a strong appeal to voters that he is a regular guy just like them, down to the way his campaign website looks and how he authors his e-mails. As an example, on the front page of his site: “I’m not some rich special interest terrorist who’s out on a vanity run. I’m just an average guy, an average Iowan, and an average American.”

Meyers has been contentious in the primary, too, largely with various county chairs whom he feels have slighted him. In one blog entry at Bleeding Heartland, he criticizes Greenwald, the Vilsacks, and The Register for the Vilsacks’ “D.L.C. tactics” and the paper’s support of Greenwald, the Dallas County chair whom Meyers says has failed to give all the candidates fair access: “Being denied access to a county with a large population is sure to cost me an enormous amount of votes.”

While Kurt Meyer, too, lacks some of the inside connections enjoyed by Greenwald and Miskell, he does have at least one thing going for his campaign’s vitality, and that is personal wealth. He’s donated $100,000 to his coffers.

Which puts a different spin on things. According to that same link (Open Secrets), Miskell has raised very little in comparison to Meyer, and to a lesser degree, Greenwald. There’s no info there about Meyers’ fundraising.

One final thought. Meyers told me in our interview, “Actually, more people are aligning with us regarding our own alignment with the remaining two presidential candidates.” I brought this up at an Ames Drinking Liberally meeting a while ago and there was some disagreement, but I think it’s relevant given the rift in the party the presidential election has created. So, for what it’s worth, Greenwald and Meyer supported Clinton in the primary, Meyers supported Obama, and Miskell worked for Edwards before gravitating toward Obama after Edwards dropped out.

For less analytical silliness and more on the candidates’ views, check out our interviews with the candidates: Becky Greenwald, Kurt Meyer, William J. Meyers, and Kevin Miskell.

And, of course, 2006 candidate Selden Spencer for good measure.