CEDAR RAPIDS - Political observers are fond of saying "you can't beat somebody with nobody," but the 2010 governor's race could be an exception, according to Sen. Paul McKinley thinks.

Things are so bad, the Iowa Senate Republican leader said, that whoever the GOP runs against freshman Democrat Gov. Chet Culver may be less important than being able to capture the frustration and anger voters feel toward state government.

"Let me put it this way," the Chariton Republican said, "when the centerpiece of the session for the governor is to pass an $890 million bonding, 30-year borrowing bill to spend more money when 71 percent of Iowans say they are opposed to bonding, you have a real disconnect. That characterizes it about as well as anything. Yes, I think he's in some trouble."

However, the GOP has to get its act together, McKinley said during a stop in Cedar Rapids. The race is evolving and he speculates the Republican nominee may not be among the several names mentioned as possible Culver challengers: businessman Bob Vander Plaats, Rep. Christopher Rants, both of Sioux City, Rep. Rod Roberts of Carroll, Ames businessman Bruce Rastetter, Iowa Auditor David Vaudt, Secretary of Ag Bill Northey and U.S. Rep. Steve King.

There are rumblings of discord between social conservatives and more traditional, fiscal conservative, small government Republicans. That doesn't worry McKinley, who said "Republicans are truly a big tent party and often times it's an unruly bunch in the big tent. That will get sorted out."

He pointed to a recent poll commissioned by former GOP candidate for governor Doug Gross that found support for a candidate who embraces the idea of limited government, personal responsibility and self-reliance. That's what most Iowans, not just Republicans, want, he said.

"So there may be party squabbles, but I absolutely believe the social conservatives and the fiscal conservatives can agree on 80 percent of the issues and come around to the common cause," he said.

Whoever the candidate is in 2010, he or she has to capture the anger and angst Iowa feels toward their state government, McKinley said.

"People are really, really upset for a variety of reasons," he said. Their frustration has been fed by House Speaker Pat Murphy using state troopers to clear the House chamber during a public hearing on a plan that would have ended federal deductibility, the Iowa Supreme Court decision striking down the state ban on same-sex marriages and the April 15 Tax Day "tea parties," including one on the Capitol grounds that drew more than 4,000 people.

"They frustrated. They're angry. They feel disenfranchised," McKinley said. "We need to re-establish the principle that Iowans run government and not the other way around.

"Whoever can capture that, who can say, 'Here is what we need to do to get this state stabilized and moving forward' I think will be able to attract support," McKinley said. "It's not just the anger, but the angst. Where are we? What are we going to do?"

At this point, however, it's natural for Republicans to keep looking for a gubernatorial candidate, McKinley said.

"It's a floating thing," he said. Someone will emerge. Republicans will field a good candidate."