U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley is running for Iowa’s wide open U.S. Senate seat in 2014. And he clearly demonstrated on day one that he knows what Iowa looks like on a map, and he’s for it. Feel the Brucementum.

His Facebook announcement (647 people like this, at this hour!) set off new speculating. Now that our First District Democratic congressman is in the race, will any other Dems be foolhardy enough to challenge him? I mean, 647 likes, so I doubt it.

And when will the Republican congressional duo of King and Latham sort out which one is going to run? There are signs.

Latham changed the name of his campaign committee!

King says he won’t be bullied out of running!

Polls show, however, that the two Republicans should actually be melded into a single, super candidate, one that dispenses both red hot righteous tea and cool, calming country club old fashioneds. I’ll just take the whole bottle, if you don’t mind.

Great political minds are weighing the implications. As for me, I’m wondering about the purple.

Braley’s new Senate logo is purple. Very purple.

I had my investigative team scour the Sherwin Williams website to figure out exactly which purple we’re dealing with here. At first, it looked like it might be “Gutsy Grape.” But, upon further, intense review, it looks like we’re somewhere between “Passionate Purple” and “Vigorous Violet.”

I feared, for a time, that it could be “Impulsive Purple.” Not what we’d want in a senator.

Braley’s use of UNI Panther purple and gold made perfect sense when his district was centered in the Cedar Valley, home to Northern Iowa. But now, is purple the smartest choice for a statewide run? Good old red, white and blue is tried and true, and tested. Chet Culver ran bold with gold and green, and ended up turning the governor’s office red again.

Perhaps Braley’s purple is panning partisanship. No red states or blue states, only vigorously violet states, like Iowa.

Perchance, the campaign was thinking of purple’s pscyological potential:

Need to be creative? Want help getting those brain synapses firing? Try utilizing the color purple. Purple utilizes both red and blue to provide a nice balance between stimulation and serenity that is supposed to encourage creativity. Light purple is said to result in a peaceful surrounding, thus relieving tension. These could be great colors for a home or business office.

Looking at Braley’s logo, I’m thinking I can write that novel.

Or, possibly, it’s purple’s powerful pedigree:

Its warm mix of calming blue and intense red creates a vibrant tone that has a strong meaning in society on many levels.

It is often associated with royalty, so has an air of power, indulgence and authority about it. In religion, it’s a symbolic color that has different meanings across multiple faiths, while on the other side of the spectrum, it also represents sexuality.

But what other powers does this alluring vixen of the color world have?

 …

 The great Leonardo da Vinci once wrote that meditation and prayer is ten times more powerful when done to the warm flicker of a lavender or purple-colored light in the background.

da Vinci? Maybe this purple is some sort of code.

Or, Braley just likes purple. Anyone else suddenly craving grape Kool-Aid?