Iowa
Nikki Haley gets impromptu endorsement from former Iowa Republican Party head Marlys Popma
NEWTON, Iowa — Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign got a surprise endorsement Friday from a former Republican Party of Iowa executive director.
Haley was taking questions from Iowans at a town hall in Newton when Marlys Popma stood up to speak.
“I was an undecided voter when I walked in here today, and I am no longer an undecided voter,” she said, drawing applause from the crowd. “And I just want to tell Nikki that I wholeheartedly support you.”
Popma is a former executive director for the Republican Party of Iowa and a former president of Iowa Right to Life. She’s worked for multiple presidential campaigns, including for John McCain in 2008 and Ted Cruz in 2016.
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Popma, 67, of Kellogg, continued with her remarks, telling the crowd to create “a Nikki Haley explosion” that starts in Jasper County.
“I want to tell the people in this room, this all happens in Iowa,” she said. “Don’t look at the polls. Don’t look at what the media is telling you. Look at what you’ve heard today. And be bold and don’t be afraid to support the person you want to support because you think that somebody else is going to win. Because that’s how we lose.”
“Thank you,” Haley told Popma after she finished speaking. “God bless you. I appreciate that.”
Popma’s endorsement of Haley came a few hours before the Family Leader’s Thanksgiving Forum, the final multi-candidate event of the year run by the influential conservative Christian group. The group’s leader, Bob Vander Plaats, has yet to endorse a candidate.
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Haley has declined to push for a national abortion ban, instead saying Republican presidential candidates need to “be honest” with the American people that there isn’t support in Congress for such a proposal.
Instead, Haley said she wants to “stop demonizing” women over the issue and push to “save as many babies as we can and support as many moms as we can.”
Popma said she’s satisfied with Haley’s position on abortion. She said she met with Haley privately before the town hall and asked if Haley would sign a law banning abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy if Congress sent it to her.
Popma said Haley told her, “I’m going to do whatever I can to save as many babies as I can.”
“She has a softer approach to the issue, but is as pro-life as any of us would want her to be,” she said.
Haley praised Popma in a statement following the event.
“Marlys has spent a lifetime using the power of her voice to fight for the unborn and rally Iowans to the cause,” Haley said in the statement. “It’s an honor to have her endorsement and support.”
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.
The Miami Hurricanes are back in action for the final time this season as they look to prove that they were one of the best teams in the league this season as they face the Iowa State Cyclones in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando.
What is better for the Canes is that most of their starting player from this previous season will be participating instead of opting out.
That means the No. 1 offense in the country will be on full display with Heisman finalist and the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Winner Cam Ward taking the field with All-American Xavier Restrepo and the rest of the electric offense for the Hurricanes.
This will be the final game of a great, yet disappointing season for the Hurricanes but the morale is high as year three of the Mario Cristobal Era comes to a close.
Who: Miami vs. Iowa State
When: 3:30 p.m. on ABC
Where: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Series: First contest between the two teams.
Last time out, Miami: Miami came up short of reaching the ACC Championship Game after failing to stop the electric offense of the Syracuse Orange and losing 42-38 in the final game of the regular season.
Last time out, Iowa State: The Cyclones got blown out in the Big 12 Championship game against winners Arizona State 45-19 as they struggled to find offense all game long.
Mon., Dec. 23
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA
11 a.m. on ESPN
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
2:30 p.m. on ESPN
Tues., Dec. 24
Hawai’i Bowl
South Florida vs. San Jose State
8 p.m. on ESPN
Thurs., Dec. 26
GameAbove Sports Bowl
Pittsburgh vs. Toledo
2 p.m. on ESPN
Rate Bowl
Rutgers vs. Kansas State
5:30 p.m. on ESPN
68 Ventures Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green
9 p.m. on ESPN
Fri., Dec. 27
Armed Forces Bowl
Navy vs. Oklahoma
12 p.m. on ESPN
Birmingham Bowl
Vanderbilt vs. Georgia Tech
3:30 p.m. on ESPN
Liberty Bowl
Arkansas vs. Texas Tech
7 p.m. on ESPN
Holiday Bowl
Syracuse vs. Washington State
8 p.m. on Fox
Las Vegas Bowl
Texas A&M vs. USC
10:30 p.m. on ESPN
Sat., Dec. 28
Fenway Bowl
North Carolina vs. UConn
11 a.m. on ESPN
Pinstripe Bowl
Nebraska vs. Boston College
12 p.m. on ABC
New Mexico Bowl
TCU vs. Louisiana
2:15 p.m. on ESPN
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Miami vs. Iowa State
3:30 p.m. on ABC
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Colorado State vs. Miami (OH)
4:30 p.m. on CW Network
Military Bowl
NC State vs. East Carolina
5:45 p.m. on ESPN
Alamo Bowl
Colorado vs. BYU
7:30 p.m. on ABC
Independence Bowl
Army vs. Louisiana Tech
9:15 p.m. on ESPN
Mon., Dec. 30
Music City Bowl
Missouri vs. Iowa
2:30 p.m. on ESPN
Tues., Dec. 31
ReliaQuest Bowl
Alabama vs. Michigan
12 p.m. on ESPN
Sun Bowl
Louisville vs. Washington
2 p.m. on CBS
Citrus Bowl
South Carolina vs. Illinois
3 p.m. on ABC
Texas Bowl
LSU vs. Baylor
3:30 p.m. on ESPN
Thurs., Jan. 2
Gator Bowl
Ole Miss vs. Duke
7:30 p.m. on ESPN
Fri., Jan. 3
First Responder Bowl
North Texas vs. Texas State
4 p.m. on ESPN
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech
7:30 p.m. on ESPN
–
Sat., Jan. 4
Bahamas Bowl
Buffalo vs. Liberty
11 a.m. on ESPN2
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It is not “taxpayer relief” to use previously paid taxes to pay help pay for budget shortfalls caused by a “tax cut.”
This month, the state Revenue Estimating Conference reported new estimates showing Iowa revenue will drop by $602 million (6.2%) compared with fiscal year 2024. Further, state revenue is expected to drop by a further $428 million (4.7%) in fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, 2025. Republicans attribute the fall in estimated revenue to the start of their 3.8% flat income tax rate next year. Republicans have promoted reducing the state income tax — which Sen. Jack Whitver derisively calls a “confiscation” — down to zero.
But Republicans have amassed a $2 billion budget surplus, $961 million in its reserve accounts, and $3.75 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Fund, which was supposed to be used to reduce taxes. All told, about $6.75 billion. One good question is: Why?
Republicans enacted a long-term commitment to reduced revenues due to the flax tax at an extremely volatile time during and after the COVID-19 epidemic. The federal government’s $5.2 trillion infusion into states and their economies was the largest fiscal stimulus package ever. One-time federal financial supports reduced state costs and artificially bolstered revenues. Recently, Pew Charitable Trusts observed: “The combination of temporary funds propping up budgets and the adoption of new recurring expenditures or tax cuts has left many states in a precarious position. Policymakers now must grapple with the possibility that their states’ finances are structurally imbalanced and vulnerable to deficits as one-time funds dry up but new commitments remain.”
Not wanting to “waste a good crisis,” as they say, Republicans rushed to enact a flat tax during an extremely uncertain economic time when the level of likely future tax revenues was cloudy at best.
As the COVID economic booster begins to fade, several states have experienced significant decreases in tax revenue as compared to their 15-year trend. Iowa was among states experiencing a negative difference in the fourth quarter of 2023 — mind you, before the flat income tax kicked in. Iowa experienced a 6% decrease in revenue from its historical trend, the fourth-highest difference among states that went negative, according to Pew.
Researchers explained: “State tax collections have been on a downward trajectory since their mid-2022 peak, reflecting, in large part, a decline from the unexpected highs of the pandemic revenue wave. … One question is whether states will be able to afford the budgetary commitments they made in the past three years — such as tax relief and pay raises for public employees — over the long term.”
Yet, Iowa Republicans want to enshrine their COVID-fueled tax cut into the Iowa Constitution. Last session, Republicans passed a constitutional amendment to require a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the state Legislature to pass a bill that would increase the individual or corporate income tax rate. They are expected to pass the legislation a second time this session, which would likely put it on the ballot for voters in November 2026. What a way to saddle future Iowans with a hasty tax cut enacted during a most abnormal period of artificially high revenue and reduced state expenses.
It is a sure thing Republicans will hoard Iowa’s surpluses and use it to cover predicted revenue gaps before the November 2026 vote on the constitutional amendment to mask from the voting public the true and lasting impacts of their opportunistic push for a flat tax.
In fact, Republicans and Gov. Kim Reynolds passed Senate File 2442 this year, which, among other things, changed the law regarding how the Taxpayer Relief Fund could be used. Tucked away in the second-to-last division of a 35-page bill is a section that provides that, if the actual net revenue is less than budgeted expenses “there is transferred from the taxpayer relief fund to the general fund of the state an amount equal to fifty percent of the difference or the remaining balance of the taxpayer relief fund, whichever is lower.” That is a preemptive coverup of the probable result of the Republican flat tax as conceded by Republicans, themselves.
Iowa Republicans are not using the Taxpayer Relief Fund as it was originally intended. It is not “taxpayer relief” to use previously paid taxes to pay help pay for budget shortfalls caused by a “tax cut.” Most would call that a shell game. It is like giving yourself a “raise” by moving a dollar from one pocket to another. Why not just give those “confiscated” funds back to Iowans directly via refunds? Ah, but that would spoil the game, wouldn’t it?
Unmet needs and underfunded state accounts exist now. That will get worse.
Governor Reynolds states Republicans have a “commitment to shrinking the size and scope of government.” However, should not elected officials be committed first to ensuring that our government is the “right size,” before deciding it should be shrunk? That is, the right size to fully accomplish basic functions that individuals cannot meet themselves —no matter how much of their own money they have in their pockets — such as prevention and mitigation of natural disasters, ensuring safe bridges and roads, making sure promised pensions are not underfunded, cleaning up Iowa’s fouled waters, and helping public schools at least meet their costs of operation.
Tom Walton is an Iowa lawyer.
Iowa 95, Utah 88: A Balanced Comeback
Nine months ago, Utah ended Iowa’s 2023-24 season in the second round of the NIT. Saturday night, Iowa faced off with Utah again at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and came away with a very solid 95-88 win over the Utes. The Hawkeyes used a dominant second half and a balanced scoring effort from the starting lineup to earn the victory.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
1. The Big Finish
Finishing strong hasn’t always been a strength for this particular Iowa team. The Hawkeyes couldn’t make enough shots (or get enough stops) in their neutral-site loss to Utah State last month and ran out of steam after playing very well against Iowa State for 35 minutes a few weeks ago.
Saturday, Iowa trailed 40-36 at halftime and was down 11 early in the second half after conceding a 9-2 run to the Utes out of the break. The Hawkeyes caught fire after that, rattling off 25 points in the next seven minutes of game action to tie the score at 63-all.
Down the stretch, it was the Hawkeyes who were making shots and getting stops. Iowa outscored Utah 20-13 after the game was tied at 75 with 6:59 to play. Iowa scored 59 points in the second half (to 48 from Utah), led by 16 points from Payton Sandfort, who shot 5-of-8 from the floor and was perfect at the free throw line (6-of-6).
Notably, Iowa scored 59 points in the second half despite shooting just 4-of-6 from 3-point range. After attempting 14 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes (and making five of them), Iowa adjusted on offense in the second half, attacking the rim more and getting higher-percentage shots — and more trips to the free throw line, where the Hawkeyes went 17-of-24 after the break.
“We were moving the ball and driving the ball [in the second half],” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said after the win. “We settled too much in the first half. Payton said it [and] he was right, we hit a couple early and started settling.”
“[Then] they don’t have to play defense, they don’t get tired, they come down and they carve you up, they run good stuff. So we kept the ball moving the ball side to side, driving the ball, intelligent screening, back-cuts, that was the difference in the game.”
The sellout crowd at the Pentagon had a noticeable (and unsurprising) Hawkeye flavor, which helped fuel Iowa’s second half comeback. That, as well as the veteran core of this Iowa roster that’s had plenty of experience in these situations — both good and bad — at this point.
“Veteran guys,” said McCaffery on how Iowa was able to turn the game around in the second half. “We’ve got good players, we’ve got good ball-handlers, guys who’ve been through it, [the] crowd was great. I think [it was] a combination of all those things.”
2. Drew Thelwell’s Spark
One player who provided a notable spark in Iowa’s comeback effort was senior guard Drew Thelwell, making his third consecutive start. Thelwell didn’t make a basket in the second half — didn’t even attempt one, in fact — but he scored seven points on 7-of-8 shooting at the free throw line.
Thelwell drew five fouls (more than anyone else on the Iowa roster in the second half), although a few of those came late when the Utes were attempting to extend the game. Still, Thelwell’s ability to attack the defense and the energy he brought were key factors in Iowa’s comeback win.
“[His energy] is infectious,” McCaffery said after the game. “Everyone else goes with him, Brock [Harding]’s kind of that way as well. The energy in the building was phenomenal. Drew was right in the middle of that. His defense, drawing six fouls, those are stats that are critical to a team’s ability to win. You do that by driving the ball and drawing fouls and that’s what he did.”
McCaffery also expanded on what he was looking for when he was pursuing Thelwell out of the transfer portal earlier this year and what he’s brought to this Iowa team. “I was looking for a veteran point guard, who could run a team, who could play off the ball and score, guard his man,” he explained.
“I noticed immediately that this kid could play defense, and wants to play defense and wants to play at both ends, that he understands how to engineer a victory,” McCaffery said. “Drew Thelwell is a winner, that’s what I was looking for and that’s what we got.”
The man that Thelwell displaced in the starting lineup — Ladji Dembele — also had some key plays to spark Iowa’s comeback bid. After scoring zero points and grabbing just one rebound in the first half, Dembele had five points, three rebounds, and a steal after intermission. His two baskets came during Iowa’s surge after falling behind by 11 and helped cut a 7-point deficit to just two.
More importantly, he helped keep Iowa afloat in the second half, with Owen Freeman bolted to the bench with foul trouble (Freeman picked up three fouls in the second half and played under five minutes total after halftime). Dembele played 14:10 in the second half and he finished with a +13 plus-minus rating in those minutes, the highest of any Iowa player in the second half.
McCaffery praised the effort from Dembele and fellow sub Pryce Sandfort. “They’re just rock solid, both of them. All they care about is winning. Pryce, defensively, was tremendous. Ladji, boy was he great. [He] had his two big hoops. But then defensively, on the glass, [he had a] big time offensive rebound late, [a] couple in-traffic rebounds, just his awareness defensively was great.”
3. Balance Carries The Day
Recent years have seen multiple standout individual players that served as the focal points for their respective Iowa teams — Luka Garza, followed by Keegan Murray, and then Kris Murray. Those players were superstars at the college level, racking up All-Big Ten honors, winning Big Ten Player of the Year awards, and vying (or winning, in Garza’s case) for national honors as well.
There isn’t a player quite like that on this Iowa roster — but at its best, this is a team that has a lot of depth and scoring balance, with multiple players that can score and pass and put pressure on a defense. Saturday night saw them at something pretty close to their best, especially in the furious second half comeback effort.
All five Iowa starters finished in double figures in scoring, led by Payton Sandfort with 24 points and a game-high 8 rebounds. Freeman finished second on the team with 16 points, despite missing 75% of the second half with foul trouble. “Owen was really on his way to a big-time game, I felt bad when he got in foul trouble like that,” McCaffery said after the game. Freeman finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds.
Josh Dix and Drew Thelwell each added 15 points, with 10 of Dix’s points coming in the second half. Dix did his damage inside the arc in this game, going 7-of-9 on two-point shots and attempting just one three.
Finally, Brock Harding finished with 12 points, all in the second half. After going 0-for-5 in the first half, Harding went 4-of-8 in the second half, including 2-of-2 from deep. His first three gave Iowa its first lead of the second half at 68-67 and his second triple pushed Iowa’s lead to 88-80 with three minutes to play.
When Iowa is moving the ball well, setting screens, and attacking the rim like the offense was in the second half, this becomes a very difficult team to defend because there’s no one player that defenses can key on and try to slow down. Maintaining that focus and that aggressive mindset on the offensive end was key to Iowa’s win on Saturday — maintaining those same things over the next two-and-a-half months will be key to Iowa’s success in the Big Ten.
NEXT: Iowa finishes off non-conference play with a home game against New Hampshire on December 30 (6 PM CT, BTN).
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