U.S. House candidate visits Mt. Pleasant

MT. PLEASANT — With the 2024 general election around the corner in November, candidates for various offices like David Pautsch make their rounds across the state drumming up voter support.

Pautsch made a stop at the Mt. Pleasant Noon Rotary meeting last week as part of his run against incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks to represent Iowa’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House.

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Davenport native Pautsch enters this race for the U.S. House with little political experience. His resume includes a military background serving in the U.S. Army from 1972-1976. He is also a father to six children, two of whom served in the military. One of his sons was killed in action in Iraq in 2009.

Patsch’s other professional experiences include graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Tech in 1980 then working as a marketing consultant. He is most well known for founding the Annual Quad Cities Prayer Breakfast in 1995. He also works with religious organizations such as Thy Kingdom Come Ministries and RiverCity Church in the Quad Cities.

Pautsch expressed numerous conservative opinions on immigration, family, and politics in general as he told the Noon Rotarians about his intentions running for office.

“Here's the deal, I look at our country and go, ‘This place is messed up,’” Pautsch said. “We’re at a crucial time where we’re in such a crisis situation, unless we do something, or somehow take care of things quickly, we could end up with a financial crisis like you can’t believe. It could make the Depression of the late 20s look like a tea party.”

Pautsch listed specific concerns such as “the invasion at our border,” and “all the terrorist groups” as part of his reasoning for running for office.

“I may be naive, but I’m not naive enough to think I can single-handedly do something,” Pautsch said. “Here’s what I believe: a politician named Edmund Burke, a British politician and philosopher in the late 1700s, said ‘No man has made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.’ So, I’ve committed to doing a little.”

Pautsch stated that his game plan begins with families, calling them the building blocks of society. He mentioned God multiple times throughout his brief comments to Noon Rotary.

“My thought here is that if we're willing to acknowledge that we've got problems that are overhead, the Lord is there to help,” he said. “He says bless as a nation whose God is the Lord. All we can do is ask for help.”

Aside from presenting a platform based on conservative ideas and faith, Pautsch also spoke against current political officeholders. He stated that he took an oath in 1972, when he joined the military, to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.

“Our biggest enemies today is not China,” he said. “It's not Russia. It's domestic. It's right here in our own borders and in our own states.”

Additionally, Pautsch spoke out against current political officeholders such as President Joe Biden, calling his decisions “lawless,” and Miller-Meeks claiming she votes like a communist.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com