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DES MOINES, Iowa — The nation’s longest-serving Attorney General Tom Miller has two Iowans, in particular, to thank for a state panel approving his signatures submitted to run for re-election. Miller’s campaign narrowly collected the number of necessary signatures from registered Iowa voters to appear on the ballot, following a review by the State Objection Panel.

Miller is no newcomer to politics. Voters first elected him to the office in 1978 and he has served in that position ever since, except for a four year period when he didn’t run for re-election and eventually lost in a primary campaign for governor.

Miller needed at least 77 signatures in at least 18 of the state’s 99 counties to meet the minimum state requirements. The state panel heard objections regarding signatures that his campaign collected in four counties, primarily involving voters who didn’t properly date, list their current address or several who signed the petitions more than once. Here’s a breakdown:

• Blackhawk County: Miller campaign submitted 77 signatures but the panel found only 75 were valid. That left Miller two short of the necessary 77 signatures.
• Mills County: The panel found that only 66 of the 86 signatures were valid. He fell 11 short.
• Warren County: The panel found that 73 of the 80 signatures were valid. That left Miller’s campaign four short.
• Story County: The panel found that 78 of the 85 signatures were valid. Miller had one signature to spare.

Attorney Brenna Bird, a Republican from Dexter, has filed to run against Miller.