The Democratic primary race to select a candidate to run for Iowa House District 27 is serving as a short tutorial on Iowa election law, specifically, candidates' residency requirements.

Unless their current status changes before Tuesday's primary election, two of the three men running to become the Democratic nominee -- Chuck Isenhart and Adam Mennig -- won't be able to vote for themselves because they don't live in the district. The third candidate, Francis Giunta, became eligible to vote when he bought a house in the district in January.

But as far as being candidates, none of the three has to be a district resident, and the winner has until 60 days before the Nov. 4 general election to make his home within the district.

A decision by Rep. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, to run for Iowa Senate made the seat available, opening the door in the heavily Democratic district for someone wanting to run for state office.

State law says a candidate for Iowa House must be a resident of the state for one year and a resident of the district for 60 days prior to the general election.

It is not as though the three aren't familiar with District 27.

Redistricting that occurred in 2002 meant the place Isenhart rents went from being three blocks inside the district to five blocks outside, he said, while Giunta went from being in the district to two blocks outside it. Mennig, who graduated this month from Clarke College, lives with his parents, two blocks outside the district.

Isenhart said that when he was exploring the possibility of running, he talked to 20-30 Democrats who live in the district to see if they thought he would be a good candidate. Of all those encouraging him, "not one" said his residency would make a difference in their support, Isenhart said.

"The issue is who can best represent the district based on their experience with and among the people who live in the area," Isenhart said.

He hoped to be living in the district by now so that he could vote in the primary, Isenhart said, but offers he made on two houses within the district fell through, so he continues to look.

Giunta, who moved into his new home in March, said he feels that he knows enough about the issues of importance to Dubuque residents, "And the two halves of the city are not all that much different."

As for concerns about residency, Giunta said, "Everybody is within the law."

"The voters have got other issues they ought to be weighing more importantly than that," Giunta said.

Mennig said all the candidates understood the residency requirements and had plans for addressing them long before they filed.

"It's not like we've campaigned outside the district," Mennig said. "We've all been campaigning within the district, talking to people about what's of concern to them."

Residency is not an issue for District 27 Republican candidate Lou Oswald, who has lived in his current house within the district for 10 years.

"I'm excited for anyone who would step up to the plate to serve the citizens of the 27th," he said.