Campaign Almanac: Iowa sheriffs endorse Ron DeSantis in GOP presidential race

A slate of Iowa sheriffs are endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, according to a news release from the super PAC supporting his campaign.

Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington, Jackson County Sheriff Brent Kilburg, Delaware County Sheriff John LeClere, Hardin County Sheriff Dave McDaniel and Tama County Sheriff Dennis Kucera were listed among the 26 Iowa sheriffs who have endorsed DeSantis in his bid for the White House, according to Never Back Down, the super PAC backing DeSantis.

The list includes sheriffs who have previously endorsed DeSantis, as well as new ones.

“No one in the presidential race has stood up for law enforcement more than Governor DeSantis,” McDaniel said in a statement. “His track record of backing the blue in Florida, protecting local resources, and curbing illegal immigration is resonating.”

The list of endorsements includes:

Haley to appear in new Iowa ad attacking Biden

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Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley will be featured in a new campaign ad in Iowa and New Hampshire sponsored by SFA Fund, Inc., the super PAC backing Haley’s bid for the White House.

The 30-second ad features a clip of the former South Carolina governor and former United Nations ambassador blaming President Joe Biden and Democrats for “chaos” at the U.S.-Mexico border and instability in the Middle East.

“Democrats have shown us a lot of chaos. Chaos on the border, and now we're seeing chaos across the world,” Haley says in the clip. “But you don’t defeat Democrat chaos with Republican chaos. We've gotta leave the baggage and the negativity. That's not the way you win.”

The ad also includes a clip of Haley telling Fox News Channel’s Jesse Watters “Joe Biden’s campaign is attacking me because they know I’ll stomp all over him.”

SFA Fund has blanketed the Iowa airwaves with ads that highlight Haley’s stance on China and argue she is the most electable Republican to beat Biden.

Electability has become a key factor in Haley’s campaign, with recent national polling showing her with a 2 to 6 percentage point lead over Biden in a potential 2024 matchup.

Bohannan outraised Miller-Meeks in third quarter

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Iowa City Democrat and former state lawmaker Christina Bohannan outraised Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa during the latest federal reporting period from July through September.

Bohannan's campaign reported raising more than $663,400 of which about $645,000 came from individual donors. Five political action committees donated a total of $12,000, and Bohannan gave $6,600 to her campaign.

Miller-Meeks' campaign reported raising about $467,300. About $225,400 of that came from individuals and $145,750 came from PACs or other political committees.

Bohannan launched her second bid for Congress, setting up a rematch against Miller-Meeks, in mid-August.

Iowa’s 20-county 1st Congressional District includes the cities of Davenport, Iowa City, Burlington and Indianola.

Bohannan lost by nearly 7 percentage points, or more than 20,000 votes, to Miller-Meeks, who won re-election to a second term in November 2022 after winning her first election by the slimmest of margins — six votes over Democrat Rita Hart in 2020 after months of recounts.

Her campaign ended the reporting period with about $636,600 cash on hand to Miller-Meeks’ nearly $1.4 million.

Unions endorse Cedar Rapids school board incumbents

School employee unions representing teachers, school nurses, school counselors, paraeducators, secretaries, custodians and maintenance in the Cedar Rapids Community School District made their recommendation for the school board candidates they say will best meet the needs of Cedar Rapids’ students and employees.

The unions are recommending support for incumbents Cindy Garlock, Jen Neumann, David Tominsky and Dexter Merschbrock in the upcoming election.

“Each candidate showed a deep understanding of the challenges the (district) faces and has proved their dedication to finding solutions that will benefit students, families and all Cedar Rapids Community School District employees,” said Chris Rolwes, executive board member of the Cedar Rapids Education Association. “Their collective experiences in education and community engagement make them the ideal choices to guide our district in the future.”