Deidre DeJear visits Washington

Iowa Gubernatorial candidate Deidre DeJear, the Democrat on the ballot for November, met with a crowd of about 40 people at Mills Seed Co. in Washington Thursday afternoon.

DeJear said her “Reynolds Report Card” tour of the state was important.

“I’m of the mindset that we need to meet people where they are, all over the state,” she said. “We’ve got to go to every county and connect with folks because over the last 26 months or so we’ve been cooped up, lonely, not connected with each other. And in order for us to remind ourselves of what we’re capable of, it takes meeting people physically.”

If elected, DeJear would be the first Democrat to lead the state in 16 years. It’s an uphill fight: Reynolds has the incumbency advantage, a $5 million war chest, and an 8-point lead according to a Des Moines Register poll in March.

DeJear said meetings like Thursday’s would be key to bridge that gap.

“By connecting the people, that’s how we shrink those margins, and we can’t do enough of that,” she said. “This is going to take a village, and if there’s folks out there that feel like they’re unsettled and we could make a better state, this is the election cycle where we can make it happen.”

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn, who spoke at the event, said it was important to campaign even in consistently right-leaning areas like Washington County.

“Deidre DeJear wants to be governor and she wants to be governor for all Iowans,” he said. “Democrats up and down the ticket are going to put people before policy. That’s why we’re here, it’s important for us to hear the stories of rural Iowans.”

It’s a theme of the campaign. DeJear said she would strive to find middle ground as governor.

“We need a governor that’s willing to put people first, not a headline, not politics and not our political future,” she said. “What I intend to do is serve each and every one of you, and the ones that aren’t in the room. I know there’s folks on the other side that you all aren’t quite fond of, but guess what, I’m going to be their governor too.

“Just as we expect her to see us, y’all should expect me to see them too, because the solutions that we’re talking about are not going to be resolved on my back and my back alone, it’s going to take all of us.”

DeJear pointed to some Republican legislators’ recent pushback on controversial private education funding and commitment to nonpartisan redistricting as reasons she was optimistic about compromise.

“We know we’ve got Republicans on the other side that have good sense,” she said. “There’s some life on the other side that still holds true to our values, we can work with that … We’ve learned that we are strong when we are aligned by each other side-by-side, even when it’s hard.”

The candidate’s so-called report card on the Reynolds administration reflects the most common talking points of Gov. Reynold’s critics in the last several years. DeJear’s main talking points were education funding, government transparency, and difficulty filling jobs around the state.

“I’m here to tell you that you’re not asking too much,” she said. “These are basic requests, reasonable requests that you have been asking of your government, that you have asked of your leadership. The reason I’m showing you this report card is because our current governor has had some time … she’s had her turn, she’s had her opportunity.”

DeJear pitched her attention to voters as a way to ensure rural economic development, saying Reynolds was too focused on big business interests.

“I want to ensure that there are pathways for their communities to thrive … I want Washington County to stay open,” she said. “Not only do I want them to stay open, I want them creating jobs, and people being able to only work one job to make ends meet. I want to improve housing, increase broadband speed. You all are working incredibly hard doing the work that you do, and I just want to be a partner. It’s not a handout, it’s assistance and putting taxpayer dollars to use.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com