Iowa's November 2 vote November on whether to retain three Iowa Supreme Court justices who were part of the unanimous ruling legalizing same-sex marriages in Iowa has national implications, National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown said in helping to kick off the statewide Judge Bus Tour urging a "no" vote on retention.

"The whole country is looking at you," Brown said. "What kind of country are we? Are we a country in which seven judges can take the entire constitutional and common-law history of marriage and throw it aside and the people will not have a say, or are we a country where the people of Iowa are going to stand up and say, 'Enough is enough.' We just say 'no' to activist judges."

Trailing in the polls and with time running out before Election Day, Governor Chet Culver on Thursday came out gunning for rival Terry Branstad in their second debate, repeatedly stating that Branstad raised taxes on multiple occasions during his previous tenure as governor and broke promises to Iowans when it came to job-creation and other policy initiatives.

"Terry Branstad has broken his promises to Iowans since he was governor back in 1983," Culver said. "Branstad has been a serial promise-maker and a habitual promise-breaker when it comes to jobs."

Branstad has promised to add 200,000 jobs to the state over the next five years if he is elected. Culver argued this was an empty promise, much like earlier job-creation promises that weren't fulfilled during Branstad's tenure as governor. Meanwhile, Branstad claimed the 200,000 figure to be an "ambitious goal" that could be accomplished.

For his part, Republican Branstad criticized Democrat Culver multiple times on spending and his handling of the state budget, noting the one-year anniversary of Culver's decision to cut the state budget 10 percent to account for a budget shortfall. Branstad said the cuts were the result of Culver signing a too-large budget in the midst of a recession.

Iowa Democrats are targeting those who don't normally vote in midterm elections along with first-time voters who supported Barack Obama in 2008 in the push for early voting, which began Thursday in Iowa and lasts for 40 days.

"Tomorrow is Election Day in Iowa," Iowa Democratic Party Chair Sue Dvorsky declared Wednesday. "Iowans will be able to vote early; they'll be able to vote by mail; they'll be able to vote early in person at their auditor's offices. We have been preparing for Election Day tomorrow since last year, and we are very excited to get ready to kick it off."

As of Friday, Iowa Democrats had requested more than twice as many absentee ballots as Republicans - 40,632 compared with 16,286 - according to the Iowa secretary of state's office. There have been a total of 69,376 requests for absentee ballots.

A pair of governors -- one current and one former -- will headline Iowa's major-party fundraisers in the months before the November election.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will headline the Iowa GOP's Ronald Reagan Dinner on September 17; Palin was last in the state in December, for a book signing in Sioux City.

Tickets for the event are $100 each or $1,000 for a table of eight. The Iowa GOP is also offering Iowans the opportunity to volunteer at any of its 10 statewide "Victory Centers" in exchange for a ticket to the "Salute to Freedom" dinner.

A month after Palin's appearance, the Iowa Democratic Party will host Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell as the keynote speaker for the October 16 Jefferson Jackson Dinner.