National Democrats have targeted an Eastern Iowa congressional district in their quest to regain control of the U.S. House in this fall’s elections.
The campaign arm of U.S. House Democrats announced Monday that Iowa City congressional candidate Christina Bohannan has been named to its “Red to Blue” program that works to help Democrats running against Republican incumbents flip control of competitive districts. The announcement was first reported by NBC News.
Bohannan is among House Democrats’ first slate of 17 candidates given the stamp of approval from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, sending a signal to donors and activists about whom they see as best positioned to win in critical districts.
Also named to the list is Lanon Baccam, a Democrat running for Congress in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, which is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, of Bondurant. He is serving in his first term and narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Cindy Axne in 2022 to win the seat that has flipped in two of the last three elections. Melissa Vine, a Des Moines nonprofit leader, also is running in that Democratic primary.
House Republicans control a razor-thin majority of the chamber, holding 219 seats to Democrats' 213. The Democrats’ “Red to Blue” program arms the party’s top-tier candidates with organizational and fundraising support and the national committee provides strategic guidance, staff resources, candidate training and more.
Bohannan, the University of Iowa law professor and former state representative, is making her second bid for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, which covers 20 counties in Southeast Iowa, including Johnson County. She is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, of Ottumwa.
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ottumwa, celebrates with her family on stage Nov. 8, 2022, at the Rhythm City Casino in Davenport after being reelected to represent Iowa in the 1st Congressional District. (Nikos Frazier/Quad-City Times)
Bohannan lost by nearly 7 percentage points, or more than 20,000 votes, to Miller-Meeks in 2022, who won re-election to a second term in November after winning her first election by the slimmest of margins — six votes over Democrat Rita Hart in 2020.
Bohannan and the DCCC say they plan to highlight Miller-Meeks’ record against abortion rights, including support of a nationwide abortion ban.
Miller-Meeks has said she supports a national 15-week ban on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. She also co-sponsored the Life At Conception Act, which would criminalize abortion but would not allow the woman having the procedure to be prosecuted. It has no exceptions for rape, incest or the woman’s life.
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“As a doctor, I believe that every life is precious and should be protected,” Miller-Meeks said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, earlier this month.
Speaking to reporters in August following a town hall in Iowa, where she fielded questions about women’s reproductive rights, she criticized Democrats, who she said voted for a bill that would legalize abortion up until birth.
Shortly before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, which provided a federally protected right to abortion, Democrats in Congress introduced a bill that would allow abortion after a fetus is viable outside the womb in cases where the patient’s life or health is at risk. Republicans claim that the bill would allow abortion on demand “up to the moment of birth.” Democrats counter that’s not what they support, and that such a scenario is exceedingly rare.
Bohannan told The Gazette she supports a return to Roe v. Wade.
“I believe that we need to put Roe v. Wade back into federal law where it was before the Supreme Court overruled it,” she said. “You know, Roe vs. Wade was the compromise. It was the balance. It recognized a right to abortion. And recognize that women need to have the freedom and the privacy to make some of the most difficult and personal decisions that anyone will ever have to make. But, it also did allow the state to regulate abortion as the pregnancy progresses and it is a balanced approach. It was the compromise. We need to return to that. I support Roe. No more, no less.”
Bohannan has also pledged to make passing a Farm Bill among her top priorities if elected to represent Iowa in Congress. She held a round table discussion last week in Walcott with a dozen farmers, rural landowners and a former state USDA official.
Lawmakers in Washington, failed to pass a Farm Bill before the end of the year. Instead, Congress extended the former bill for an additional year.
Bohannan’s announced raising more than $650,000 in the most-recent fundraising quarter, bringing her total contributions to $1.3 million since she launched her bid in August. Bohannan’s campaign said 81 percent of her contributors were from Iowans.
According to most-recent Federal Election Commission filings, Miller-Meeks raised more than $1.8 million this election cycle and had nearly $1.4 million cash on hand as of the end of September. She had not yet announced her campaign donations for the final fundraising quarter of 2023.
www.thegazette.com
The campaign arm of U.S. House Democrats announced Monday that Iowa City congressional candidate Christina Bohannan has been named to its “Red to Blue” program that works to help Democrats running against Republican incumbents flip control of competitive districts. The announcement was first reported by NBC News.
Bohannan is among House Democrats’ first slate of 17 candidates given the stamp of approval from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, sending a signal to donors and activists about whom they see as best positioned to win in critical districts.
Also named to the list is Lanon Baccam, a Democrat running for Congress in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, which is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, of Bondurant. He is serving in his first term and narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Cindy Axne in 2022 to win the seat that has flipped in two of the last three elections. Melissa Vine, a Des Moines nonprofit leader, also is running in that Democratic primary.
House Republicans control a razor-thin majority of the chamber, holding 219 seats to Democrats' 213. The Democrats’ “Red to Blue” program arms the party’s top-tier candidates with organizational and fundraising support and the national committee provides strategic guidance, staff resources, candidate training and more.
Bohannan, the University of Iowa law professor and former state representative, is making her second bid for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, which covers 20 counties in Southeast Iowa, including Johnson County. She is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, of Ottumwa.
Bohannan lost by nearly 7 percentage points, or more than 20,000 votes, to Miller-Meeks in 2022, who won re-election to a second term in November after winning her first election by the slimmest of margins — six votes over Democrat Rita Hart in 2020.
Bohannan and the DCCC say they plan to highlight Miller-Meeks’ record against abortion rights, including support of a nationwide abortion ban.
Miller-Meeks has said she supports a national 15-week ban on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. She also co-sponsored the Life At Conception Act, which would criminalize abortion but would not allow the woman having the procedure to be prosecuted. It has no exceptions for rape, incest or the woman’s life.
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“As a doctor, I believe that every life is precious and should be protected,” Miller-Meeks said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, earlier this month.
Speaking to reporters in August following a town hall in Iowa, where she fielded questions about women’s reproductive rights, she criticized Democrats, who she said voted for a bill that would legalize abortion up until birth.
Shortly before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, which provided a federally protected right to abortion, Democrats in Congress introduced a bill that would allow abortion after a fetus is viable outside the womb in cases where the patient’s life or health is at risk. Republicans claim that the bill would allow abortion on demand “up to the moment of birth.” Democrats counter that’s not what they support, and that such a scenario is exceedingly rare.
Bohannan told The Gazette she supports a return to Roe v. Wade.
“I believe that we need to put Roe v. Wade back into federal law where it was before the Supreme Court overruled it,” she said. “You know, Roe vs. Wade was the compromise. It was the balance. It recognized a right to abortion. And recognize that women need to have the freedom and the privacy to make some of the most difficult and personal decisions that anyone will ever have to make. But, it also did allow the state to regulate abortion as the pregnancy progresses and it is a balanced approach. It was the compromise. We need to return to that. I support Roe. No more, no less.”
Bohannan has also pledged to make passing a Farm Bill among her top priorities if elected to represent Iowa in Congress. She held a round table discussion last week in Walcott with a dozen farmers, rural landowners and a former state USDA official.
Lawmakers in Washington, failed to pass a Farm Bill before the end of the year. Instead, Congress extended the former bill for an additional year.
Bohannan’s announced raising more than $650,000 in the most-recent fundraising quarter, bringing her total contributions to $1.3 million since she launched her bid in August. Bohannan’s campaign said 81 percent of her contributors were from Iowans.
According to most-recent Federal Election Commission filings, Miller-Meeks raised more than $1.8 million this election cycle and had nearly $1.4 million cash on hand as of the end of September. She had not yet announced her campaign donations for the final fundraising quarter of 2023.
Democrats target Eastern Iowa race in quest to regain U.S. House
The campaign arm of U.S. House Democrats announced Monday that Iowa City congressional candidate Christina Bohannan has been named to its “Red to Blue” program that works to help Democrats running against Republican incumbents flip control of competitive districts.
www.thegazette.com
