With five weeks left in campaign, top Iowa candidates rally with supporters

DES MOINES — It was a busy weekend for campaign gatherings in Iowa. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds held her 4th annual fall fundraiser and there were two fundraisers for Democrats.

Governor Reynolds rallied with a crowd at the state fairgrounds Saturday, touting policy moves she and the Republican-led legislature have made to cut taxes, get rid of some gun regulations and pass new abortion restrictions.

“The Iowa Democratic Party has lost sight of hardworking Iowans and if elected all the good things we’ve done over the last four years…that would all be undone,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds also promised that if she’s reelected, she’ll try to block Biden Administration policies. Reynolds cited the lawsuit that she’s already joined, challenging President Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debt. Reynolds said it’s unfair to shift those expenses to other taxpayers.

“Even if they make more than you, you paid for your college, you decided not to go, you worked while you were going, but this governor that’s pushing back — we’re taking Biden to court and, boy, I’d like my own attorney general to help me do it!” Reynolds said, a shout out to the Republican challenging the Democrat seeking reelection as attorney general.

The Iowa Democratic Party held a fundraiser Sunday afternoon, with candidates drawing cheers for defending abortion rights and supporting unions. Deidre DeJear, the Democrat challenging Reynolds, urged the crowd to focus on finding “common ground” with potential voters.

“We’ve got so much good that exists in our party, folks. Let’s lift up this good so we can get Democrats elected up and down the ballot in this year,” DeJear said. “There’s no question about whether or not we can. I know we can.”

DeJear argued Iowans agree about more than they disagree about and she accused Republicans of trying stoke divisions. “The other side’s attack on us is to pit us against one another,” DeJear said, “to magnify our differences.”

Mike Franken, the Democrat running for the U.S. Senate, described the 2022 election in stark terms. “All of us are here, I think, with this overarching thing that bugs us,” Franken said, “and that is: we need to save democracy.”

Franken held a fundraiser of his own Saturday afternoon in West Des Moines. He told the crowd these are “serious times” for the country. “But together, we’re all going to be part of a solution,” Franken said. “We’re going to do that by putting country over party…We’re going to be doing that by beating Chuck Grassley.”

Grassley spoke briefly a few hours later at the governor’s fundraiser, but did not mention Franken. In a written statement, a spokeswoman for Grassley said the senator will work”to put the economy back on the right track,” while Franken would be “in lock-step” with President Biden.