Campaign Almanac: National Democratic campaign spotlights Iowa legislative candidates

National Democrats looking to flip seats in Republican-controlled state legislatures have set their sights on seven Iowa races.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of the party that works on state legislative races, announced it is helping focus support on seven Democrats running for Iowa House and Senate seats.

The group this week named the seven Democrats running as “spotlight candidates,” seeking to draw attention and fundraising to their campaigns as part of a $10 million investment and “Summer of the States” campaign launched “to build Democratic power and counter MAGA control of state legislatures.”

The Iowa Democratic candidates being spotlighted are:

Republicans maintain a strong grip on the decision-making levers in Iowa state government, controlling the governor’s office and agenda-setting majorities in both chambers of the Legislature. Republicans currently hold a supermajority of 34 seats in the Iowa Senate to Democrats’ 16. In the Iowa House, the GOP hold 64 seats to Democrats' 36.

Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams, in a statement, said the campaign seeks to build the infrastructure needed for Democrats to counter efforts by allies of former President and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to solidify power and enact a “MAGA agenda.”

“We are raising the alarm to ensure Democrats and their allies invest in this important level of the ballot,” Williams said.

Democrats hope that issues like abortion and education policies will help the minority party flip Statehouse seats in November.

DLCC board member and Iowa House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst said in a statement the candidates highlighted by the party could help restore some balance in the Legislature.

“Iowans are tired of politics and want lawmakers to listen and do what’s best for them,” Konfrst said. “They’ve watched the Governor and GOP lawmakers here in Iowa focus on division and partisanship while ignoring the struggles they face everyday in real life.”

Delhi Republican running for Congress as independent

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A retired insurance executive who missed the filing deadline to appear on the primary ballot earlier this month announced she is running as an independent to challenge Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson in the November general election.

Jody Puffett, of Delhi, said she is running unaffiliated with a political party for Northeast Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. The district includes Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Waterloo and Grinnell.

Hinson, a former state lawmaker and former KCRG-TV news anchor, is running for a third term. She faces Democratic challenger and small-business owner Sarah Corkery, of Cedar Falls, in November.

While Puffett has filed her initial paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, she has yet to secure the minimum 1,726 signatures from eligible voters in the district required to appear on the ballot. Puffett said volunteers have been working to collect signatures since she announced her candidacy two weeks ago, but could not provide a count as of Wednesday afternoon.

A lifelong registered Republican, Puffett said she’s running because she has grown increasingly frustrated with Hinson’s voting record. She cited Hinson’s support in April of a $95 billion foreign aid package that included assistance for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and other global hot spots. Puffett lamented that the package did not include money to bolster U.S. border security.

“It compelled me to act — our spending is out of control and frankly our communities have significant needs that aren’t being met here in the U.S. and in Iowa,” Puffett said, including supporting mental health services and foster care and taking care of Iowa veterans.

“We should be addressing those needs before any more taxpayer dollars are given to other countries,” she said. “ … Across the board, and on both sides of the aisle, folks have had it with the polarized political establishment that no longer represents the values of everyday Americans and that is failing to accomplish anything. They want another option on the ballot.”

Puffett retired from Transamerica in Cedar Rapids in 2020 and serves as chief financial and risk officer for two private equity backed startup insurance companies.

She said she has changed her voter registration from Republican to no-party, and is running a grassroots campaign.

Puffett faces a steep climb challenging a well-funded incumbent who is a regular fixture on Fox News and has the backing of national Republicans. The “minivan-driving mom” flipped a blue seat red in 2020 by campaigning on kitchen-table issues and pledging to be a taxpayer advocate in Congress. Hinson won re-election in 2022 by 8 percentage points against Democratic former state lawmaker Liz Mathis of Hiawatha.

The independent, non-partisan Cook Political Report rates Iowa’s 2nd District as “solid Republican,” meaning the race is not considered competitive and is not likely to become closely contested.

“Ashley is a common-sense, conservative Republican who is fighting the Biden agenda of open borders and big spending every single day while still delivering for Iowans,” Hinson campaign manager Addie Lavis said in a statement.