Republicans running for governor lay out conservative credentials

The five candidates vying for the Republican Party nomination for governor each went before conservative activists in the Des Moines area Friday night to ask for their support in the upcoming primary election.

The fundraiser for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, an influential evangelical political group, was the first event of the campaign season where all five candidates were present in person.

More than 1,000 people attended the fundraiser at an event center in Clive where Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also looked to unify support for Republicans in the upcoming midterms.

Feenstra and rivals appeal to conservative activists

The candidates took turns answering questions from Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann, who prompted them to share their views on key conservative issues: abortion, eminent domain, school choice and religious freedom.

All five candidates oppose abortion rights. Adam Steen, former director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, said as governor he would push for restrictions beyond the state’s current law — which bans most abortions at about six weeks of pregnancy.

“We have to be pro-life. We have to be life at conception. It’s fundamental,” Steen said. “And I’ll say this right now — with those abortion pills that are being sent into the state of Iowa right now, we have to stop those first and foremost. Get those out of there and ensure that life is protected at conception.”

The Iowa House passed a bill Friday that includes a measure requiring medial providers to only dispense abortion-inducing drugs directly to the patient in a health care setting. It is not clear whether the bill has enough support to pass in the state Senate.

Also on Friday, a panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling temporarily blocking the mailing of the abortion pill mifepristone, requiring that it be distributed only in person in medical settings. The ruling is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Lucius Pham/Iowa Public Radio

Businessman Zach Lahn of Belle Plaine said the conservative movement should look beyond abortion. For instance, Lahn said, conservatives should advocate to reverse declines in life expectancy.

“We have to make sure that we are fighting for healthy food, for less medication, for our children, for clean water, for cancer,” said Lahn, who was endorsed by MAHA Action, an advocacy group related to the Make America Healthy Again movement.

Reynolds vetoed a measure that would have put some limits on eminent domain, but the candidates all said they oppose the use of eminent domain for private-sector projects.

Fourth District Rep. Randy Feenstra said he would protect landowners’ property rights.

“The property belongs to the American farmer, the Iowa farmer, belongs to each of us and not anything else,” Feenstra said. “And if somebody wants to run a pipeline, or whatever it might be, then it’s negotiated between the private property owner and the business. And if the private property owner says, ‘no,’ that’s it.”

Former state Rep. Brad Sherman agreed.

“A private company who’s not a common carrier for a product that’s not a public utility should never, ever get to use eminent domain,” Sherman said. “It’s just that simple.”

The GOP candidates for governor are supporters of school choice measures passed in recent years. That includes Iowa’s education savings accounts (ESAs) program, which this year gave around $8,000 in public funding per student to help families pay for tuition at private schools.

Steen called the ESA law “one of the greatest pieces of legislation” passed under Republican control in the Legislature. Current state Rep. Eddie Andrews, R-Johnston, said he would like to see the state expand school choice.

“It didn’t just start with ESAs. I led the push for just regular district-to-district school choice. Then we added public charter school choice,” Andrews said. “I understood that parents need to be in charge of their kids’ education.”

If no candidate wins at least 35% of the primary vote on June 2, the nomination will be decided at a party convention.

Lucius Pham

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Reynolds says election will affect GOP achievements

Reynolds told activists at the fundraiser she plans to be on the campaign trail supporting the person chosen as the GOP nominee for governor. She said the results of the election in November will have implications for landmark conservative policies put in place under her leadership.

Reynolds listed what she considers some of Republicans’ greatest accomplishments in the Statehouse in her time as governor, including cuts to income tax rates, a broad state government reorganization and one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the United States.

“I would put our record up against anyone,” Reynolds said. “It’s what’s driven more Iowa voters to register as Republicans. In 2018, Republicans held just a 10,800 voter registration advantage. Today, we have an advantage of over 198,000.”

But Republicans should not take their advantage among active registered voters for granted, Reynolds said. Democrats, she said, are united, well-funded and motivated to win back the governor’s office.

“We have the record. We have the numbers,” Reynolds said. “So the only way that we see a Rob Sand win is if we don’t show up. If we show up, we win.”