Deidre DeJear. (DeJear campaign photo)
With Iowa’s Primary Election over, both major political parties shift to General Election mode, with a lot of attention on the race between Republican Kim Reynolds and Democrat Deidre DeJear for governor. Neither had opposition in the primary.
Reynolds, who’s been governor for five years, has been describing her platform as push back against President Biden. “When you take a look at what’s happening in this country today, it’s just so sad and unbelievable in 16 or 17 months how this economy has changed and what we’re facing,” Reynolds said on Tuesday.
Reynolds suggests the tax cuts she signed into law and the E-15 expansion plan she approved last month put Iowa in a position to withstand high inflation.
“We’ve got a good message, a good contrast to run against what’s happening at the federal level, the national level, with the Biden Administration,” Reynolds said.
DeJear said her focus is on state policy, not a national agenda.
“When we look at the data, the numbers, the rankings, when we look at the challenges that Iowans are facing, there are some fundamental flaws in how Governor Reynolds is leading,” DeJear said Wednesday, “and the decisions that she’s making.”
DeJear will soon be announcing a decision of her own as she chooses a lieutenant governor as a running mate. DeJear has been asking for advice from people she meets on the campaign trail as well as elected officials and her campaign team.
She said her pick will bring balance, “so that our ticket will be stronger and greater and that’s what I’m looking for right now. I don’t need a replica of me…I need someone who’s willing to do the work and I can’t wait to share with the entire state who that individual is going to be.”
DeJear indicated her decision will be announced “the latter part of next week.”
In Iowa, candidates for governor choose a running mate and their nominee for lieutenant governor is voted upon at their party’s state convention. Democrats will hold their state convention on Saturday, June 18. The Republican Party’s state convention is this Saturday.