Louisiana Senator John Kennedy spoke to 1300 Christian conservatives in Iowa this weekend, predicting the war in Iran would be over by spring.
“I believe that war will be concluded within the next six months,” Kennedy said. “I think that you will see the price of oil come down and inflation come down with it, but there’s no sense bubble-wrapping it. That is the genesis of the inflation that we have right now.”
Kennedy was the keynote speaker at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s fall fundraiser on Saturday night. He cited the mid-2022 inflation rate of 9% when Joe Biden was president and touted the One Big Beautiful Bill President Trump signed in his first year back in the White House. Kennedy also urged the crowd to “please, please, please” help fellow Republican Ashley Hinson win her race for the U.S. Senate. Kennedy called her “whip smart” and “charming.”
“If you don’t like Ashley, you’re probably going to hell,” Kennedy said and the crowd laughed. “But she is tough as a pine nut…if you get between Ashley and what is best for the people of Iowa she will devour you like a light snack.”
Kennedy was on a three-state tour this weekend for GOP candidates, including fellow Republican Senators in Nebraska and Kansas who are seeking re-election. “If you told me six months ago I was going to be having to spend my time in those three states, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Kennedy told reporters in D.C. before making the trip. “Those oughta be fat guy layups for us. Now we’re going to win there, but the races are close.”
Governor Kim Reynolds, who is not seeking reelection, urged the crowd in Des Moines to “lean in” and work to ensure Republicans retain control of the executive and legislative branches of state government. “We didn’t build all of this to hand it back to the people who fought us every step of the way,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds told the crowd the “very, very best retirement gift” for her would be Republican victories up and down the ticket. “Let’s see some energy. Let’s see some fire. Get on your feet. Get up. Come on,” Reynolds said, as the crowd applauded and stood. “Let’s show the media that the Republicans in this room are showing up to win and we’re going to win in November and we’re going to once again exceed expectations.”
Three of the four Republicans running for Iowa’s U.S. House seats attended the event. First district Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks is seeking a fourth term in the U-S House in a race that election handicappers rate as among the closest in the country. She told the crowd not to get “demoralized” by the polls. “You are our superpower. You are why we win. Don’t forget that,” Miller-Meeks said. “…Go out there and fight for what we need in this state and in this country.”
Joe Mitchell is the Republican running in the second congressional district, which has recently popped up as one of the 50 or so competitive U.S House races. “You have the polls, you have the media, you have everything against us this time,” Mitchell said. “…They’re going to try to suppress us.”
Chris McGowan is the GOP candidate in the fourth congressional district, where there are 44% more Republicans than Democrats registered to vote. “The media’s going to try and tell us that we’re demoralized, that we’re battling headwinds. Well, I’ll tell you something, I got here about two hours ago and I’m parked in another zip code,” McGowan said, and the crowd laughed. “That tells me about the energy right now.”
The event’s main stage was in a packed hotel ballroom across the street from the Des Moines Airport, with an overflow crowd watching in another room. Iowa Democratic Party leadership did not offer a comment on Saturday’s gathering, but a spokesman for Rob Sand, the Democratic candidate for governor, said Iowans “do not want to double down on the failed policies of the past” and “are ready for change.” And a spokesperson for U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek’s campaign said Hinson just this past week opposed a War Powers Resolution and called it a vote “to continue the war in Iran that has sent fuel prices soaring.” Turek has called for a temporary suspension in the federal gas tax and a temporary pause in all exports of U-S produced diesel fuel.