Tracy Ehlert faces challenger Barclay Woerner in Iowa House District 79 race

A Democratic incumbent said she is focused on boosting the state’s workforce by investing more in child care and public schools, while a Republican challenger said he’s focused on further cutting taxes.

Linn County Republicans this summer nominated Barclay Woerner as the party’s candidate to run for Iowa House District 79 in the Nov. 5 election.

The district covers the northwest area of Cedar Rapids and is represented by Democrat Tracy Ehlert. Ehlert, an early childhood educator and business owner, is running for re-election to a fourth term.

Tracy Ehlert

Ehlert told The Gazette she is running to boost wages and benefits for working Iowans, support good-paying jobs, and expand access to affordable health care in the state, particularly for Iowans battling cancer.

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Ehlert, 46, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and spent the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions receiving treatment.

She said she also is running to increase state investment in public K-12 and postsecondary education, “while making sure we’re focusing on our youngest learners and supporting early childhood education as well.”

“While I want to be a good steward of tax dollars, there are some areas that need more of an investment,” Ehlert wrote in a candidate questionnaire from The Gazette.

“Families are spending equivalents of college tuition to pay for child care and that is for those that can actually find a slot for their child,” Ehlert said. “There are still many families without care. We must continue to address child care deserts and that will take more funding.”

Additionally, class sizes are too large, and Iowa schools are grappling with shortages of bus drivers and para-educators due to low pay, Ehlert wrote. Tuition costs for college are also rising, impacting students in Iowa who want to stay after graduation.

“When schools are funded adequately, they can better invest in the children they serve,” she said, adding lawmakers need to be cautious when setting curriculum standards, and use “science-based and not agenda driven” curriculum.

Iowa also lacks a comprehensive children's mental health system, which was never fully funded despite initial creation efforts. The current system faces issues like limited providers, facilities and lengthy waitlists, impacting children and families, Ehlert said.

“Iowa children and their families deserve a better system,” she wrote.

Ehlert said she opposes abortion restrictions and that women should be allowed to make their own health care decisions. She was also hesitant to support an outright ban on using hand-held mobile devices while driving without seeing the exact legislation.

Barclay Woerner

Woerner unsuccessfully ran for Cedar Rapids school board in 2021 and 2023. He was endorsed by Moms for Liberty-Linn County, a conservative political organization that advocates against school curricula that reference LGBTQ+ rights and racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States.

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The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights watchdog, last year identified the nationwide nonprofit as an “extremist” coalition of “far-right antigovernment parents” known for “intimidating and harassing teachers and school officials.” The conservative school activist group contends the label is false and libelous.

Woerner, 53, told The Gazette in August he’s running to lower taxes, support Iowa law enforcement and give parents a bigger voice in education. He said he supports a proposal by Republican lawmakers to further cut Iowan’s income taxes and reduce property taxes.

Woerner said his family and many others in the state continue to struggle with high grocery and gas prices and larger property tax payments, and are looking for relief.

“I am committed to decreasing the tax burdens on Iowa families and finding solutions to the increasing property taxes that we face. Iowans deserve to keep their hard-earned money to take care of their families and invest in their communities,” he wrote in an op-ed published by The Gazette.

Woerner did not return a candidate questionnaire from The Gazette.

A nonpartisan state panel earlier this month issued projections predicting a $200 million shortfall in state revenue primarily driven by reductions in state income tax rates. As of May, there was $2.4 billion unspent in the state’s general fund for the current budget year. The state also has another $3.7 billion in its Taxpayer Relief Fund, which was created to cover any potential shortfalls as the result of state tax reductions.

Critics argue accelerated cuts will further strain underfunded public schools schools and public services.

Woerner said he’s also running to give parents of special needs students a voice amid ongoing changes to the state’s area education agencies. Woerner, whose son has difficulty reading, said he supports the changes.

“Competition is good,” he said, adding the AEA change provides greater transparency and accountability over how services are provided for students with disabilities, in addition to boosting teacher pay.

Woerner, in his op-ed, said he is committed to ensuring “every student receives the opportunities they need to have a bright future,” whether they go to trade school, community college, a four-year university or enter the workforce after high school.

District voter breakdown

Iowa House District 79 has a total of 21,532 registered voters, 6,057 of which are inactive. Of the active voters, 6,309 are registered as Democrats and 3,946 are registered as Republicans. There also are 108 active voters registered as Libertarian, 5,087 registered as no party, and 25 listed as other parties, according to Oct. 1 data from the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com