DAVENPORT - Bruce Braley says if he's elected he'll make it his mission to expand stem cell research.

Braley is running against republican Mike Whalen in Iowa's First Congressional District race.  He held a round table discussion in Davenport Monday to tell voters about the benefits of embryonic stem cell research.

"What we need to focus on is science, not myth," he said.  "Not fiction, and the advancement that can be made for things like juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer."

Representative Diana DeGette of Colorado joined Braley for the discussion.  She co-authored the stem cell research bill vetoed by President Bush.