Voters want truth, authenticity

MARENGO — Voters want the truth, says Sarah Corkery, the Democratic candidate for Iowa’s District 2 Congressional seat.

“My number one value is authenticity and truth. And when I’ve been going around 22 counties and when I tell people the truth, they can tell, and they are relieved to have someone talk straight with them.”

Corkery, of Cedar Falls, is challenging Republican Ashley Hinson and Jody Puffett, no party affiliation, in the Nov. 5 General Election.

Corkery grew up in Dunkerton and Hudson and attended Wartburg College, she said. She’s lived in Cedar Falls since then.

“Out of college I went to my first job at an advertising agency,” said Corkery. She was there for 17 years and later worked for Veridian Credit Union.

Today Corkery is self-employed. She and her husband, Chris, own the marketing firm Corkery and Corkery.

“I’ve never run for public office before,” said Corkery. She filed for office specifically because she didn’t get results from incumbent Ashley Hinson, she said.

“I had breast cancer twice, and I asked Ashley Hinson to sign a bill for breast cancer,” said Corkery.

Introduced into the House of Representatives in January 2023, the bill expedites payment of Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and eligibility for Medicare coverage for people with metastatic breast cancer — breast cancer that has spread to other sites in the body.

The bill eliminates the five-month waiting period for SSDI benefits and the subsequent 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage for individuals with metastatic breast cancer.

The projected life span for someone with metastatic breast cancer is only three years, said Corkery, so the wait times are much too long.

Hinson was the hold out on the bill, said Corkery. So Corkery decided to run against her.

The day Corkery filed papers to run for office, Hinson gave her support to the bill, Corkery said.

“My number one issue is making sure women have access to healthcare, including abortion,” said Corkery. “I’m against our State’s six-week ban.”

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decided, in the case of Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, that abortion is not a right established by the U.S. Constitution. The decision overturned the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision which declared that the Constitution protects a right to abortion.

“I would like to see it go back to a federal issue,” said Corkery. She supports Vice President Kamala Harris’ plan to codify Roe v. Wade so states can not restrict abortion.

On education, Corkery is in favor of full funding of public education. “Under Project 2025, it says they would like to get rid of the Department of Education,” said Corkery.

Project 2025 is a political playbook created by the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups, but Corkery says it’s Republican policy.

“They are denying it’s their playbook, but I believe it’s their playbook,” Corkery said.

Corkery wants to make sure public schools receive more federal funding. As the mother of a child with a disability, she wants to make sure the Americans with Disabilities Act is not overturned.

Democrats have been accused of wanting an open border, said Corkery. “That is false.”

Democrats and Republicans have worked hard on a bipartisan border policy, but Trump republicans blocked the bill, Corkery said. “They didn’t want to hand Biden a win before the election.”

Outside the U.S., Corkery supports sending aid to Ukraine “because we have a dictator from Russian trying to take over …. We stand with our friends,” she said.

In the Middle East, Corkery wants to see an end to hostilities. “We need a ceasefire,” Corkery said. “And we need aid to get to women and children.

“And, long-term, we need a two-state solution.”

Voters are tired of lies and a lack of production in Washington, D.C., said Corkery.

“Its time to put people in who are ready to get to work, and that’s me.”

(“On the Ballot” is a Hometown Current series profiling candidates in Benton, Iowa and Poweshiek Counties. Articles will run as candidates are interviewed. Candidates who do not respond to requests for interviews will not be included in the series.)