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DES MOINES | Democrats hope to take control of the Iowa House in Novembers election.

They say theyre offering an agenda aimed at improving economic security for middle-class families, revitalizing rural Iowa and growing the economy to expand opportunities for workers who are aided in upgrading their skills.

Rep. Mark Smith, D-Marshalltown, whose 47-member caucus currently is the House minority party, said a strong candidate-recruiting effort has made him optimistic heading into the Nov. 4 balloting that Democrats will be able to seize power in a chamber led by a 53-Republican majority the past two years.

We think that all too often the House (under GOP control) is focused on special interests and on personal ideology agendas rather than what the needs are of regular Iowans, said Smith, who was joined at a Statehouse news conference by Rep. Marti Anderson of Des Moines.

He said the choice for Iowa voters is between House Democrats with common-sense mainstream ideas to move the state forward versus tea party Republicans with fairly right-wing agendas to do things like restrict birth control and restrict workers rights.

Smith said Democrats want to freeze in-state undergraduate tuition at state universities for another year, expand preschool opportunities to more children, raise the states minimum wage, guarantee equal pay for women, improve the environment and protect the states vulnerable populations.

I think the best legislation that we have done through the years has been when we try to work together and come up with good, pragmatic solutions to the problems that regular Iowans are facing, Smith said.

Democrats in the House would listen to Iowans, work together to get things accomplished and keep D.C. politics out of our state Capitol.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, was unimpressed with the Democratic to-do list.

These tired ideas only lead to job losses, less take home pay for hardworking taxpayers and less stability for Iowa families, he said.

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Iowa Democrats aiming for House control