Campaign Almanac: GOP candidate’s ad has Iowans saying, ‘Give ’em the Bird’

Brenna Bird, the Republican candidate for Iowa attorney general, released her first campaign ad Wednesday, showing clips of Iowans saying, “Give ’em the Bird.”

The ad describes Bird as “the tough as nails prosecutor criminals and liberals fear most.”

It also says Bird will “protect Iowa from Biden’s extreme agenda” and “fight Biden’s immigration disaster.” The ad notes she will stand with law enforcement, a position she touts on the campaign trail.

Bird, the Guthrie County attorney since 2018, has made her opposition to President Joe Biden's administration a central point of her campaign. She’s criticized actions like federal environmental regulations, saying she will challenge some executive actions in court.

Bird is running to unseat incumbent Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller, who is seeking his 11th term to the office and is the longest serving attorney general in the U.S.

Miller’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but in a previous interview he said Bird's campaign was too focused on partisan politics.

“Throughout her campaign, (Bird) has focused on ideology and politics,” Miller said in August. “We believe in real reform, real accomplishments.”

GRASSLEY FARM COALITION: Incumbent U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s campaign HAS announced the formation and leadership team of the Farmers for Grassley Coalition.

The group is chaired by Bill Horan, chairman of the board for Western Iowa Energy and former president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

The coalition’s three co-chairs are Mike Naig, Iowa secretary of agriculture; Craig Hill, former president of the Iowa Farm Bureau; and Bill Northey, former Iowa secretary of agriculture and former undersecretary of farm production and conservation at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“He’s the only farmer in this race,” Naig said of Grassley on a press call Wednesday. “Chuck has tirelessly taken on Big Oil, he’s taken on the four big packers, he’s fought for fairness for Iowa’s farmers.”

Naig, who is also up for re-election this year, criticized Democratic Senate candidate Mike Franken for a recent ad attacking Grassley’s record on agriculture, saying Franken does not understand Iowa agriculture.

Franken said in the ad that Grassley’s leadership has hurt small family farmers and benefited large agriculture corporations.

"Fact: Iowa has lost half its farms since Sen. Grassley has been in office,“ Franken's campaign spokesperson C.J. Petersen said in a statement. ”Grassley has also taken more than $1.5 million from corporate ag interests, which is why he continually votes with large multinational corporations instead of Iowa family farmers.“