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Democrats vying to unseat Miller-Meeks pitch health care fixes, tougher water rules
Democrats outline contrasts with GOP incumbent on health care, shutdown and safety-net programs during Kalona forum
Oct. 6, 2025 11:36 am, Updated: Oct. 6, 2025 12:21 pm
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KALONA — Three Democrats seeking to challenge U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District used a Sunday Hall of Fame event in Kalona to draw sharp contrasts with the Republican incumbent on the federal shutdown, health care and safety-net programs — while also fielding questions on Israel and Gaza, education and Iowa water quality.
The Iowa Democratic Party event at Kalona Historical Village doubled as a candidate forum for Christina Bohannan of Iowa City, Taylor Wettach of Muscatine and Travis Terrell of Tiffin.
The forum came as Congress entered the fifth day of a federal government shutdown. The Senate remained at impasse over whether to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits, and the Trump administration warned of potential federal layoffs while directing a budget official to identify positions for elimination.
Shutdown and ACA subsidies
As Congress remained gridlocked over federal funding, the Democratic candidates blamed Republican leaders. They argued the standoff was jeopardizing health coverage for tens of thousands of Iowans, framing it as a fight over whether the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid would be preserved or gutted.
Bohannan called the standoff “not ordinary times,” accusing Miller-Meeks and GOP leaders of voting to reduce health coverage for tens of thousands of Iowans and vowing to reverse recent federal spending cuts and preserve ACA subsidies.
Wettach labeled the package of Medicaid reductions “an abomination” and said his first act would be to “repeal those cuts.” Terrell linked the fight to broader economic insecurity for working families.
In an interview with The Gazette, Bohannan said: “We should never go into a shutdown lightly. But this is unprecedented — to take health care away from 100,000 Iowans and increase the cost by this much for hundreds of thousands more.”
She blamed dysfunction in Washington and said the only long-term fix is electing leaders “not beholden to special interests,” and said Republicans are refusing to negotiate.
Miller-Meeks, in a Friday call with reporters, blamed Democrats for the shutdown, saying they were “holding the government hostage” by insisting on $1.5 trillion in new spending and a permanent extension of enhanced ACA tax credits. She has requested to forgo her pay during the shutdown and cosponsored a bill to ensure troops continue to be paid.
She urged passage of a short, seven-week funding extension and argued Democrats’ proposal would repeal safeguards against unauthorized immigrants accessing federally-funded health care — a claim Democrats dispute, noting federal law already bars such coverage and that extending ACA subsidies would protect more than 110,000 Iowans from premium hikes.
Speaking with The Gazette, Terrell said he “would not budge” on reopening the government “until health care premiums are not being raised,” adding that Republicans have spent years sabotaging the ACA rather than improving it.
“The Affordable Care Act was never enough, but it was supposed to be a building block,” he said. “Instead of building on it, they try to knock it down.”
Miller-Meeks has indicated she opposes extending the pandemic-era ACA subsidy expansion, calling it a “bailout for insurance companies” and a “handout to the rich.” She distinguishes the ACA’s original subsidies (up to 400 percent of poverty) from temporary expansions Democrats extended through 2025, which she argues “mask the ACA’s rising costs.”
Instead, she said Congress should pursue market-based reforms, including expanded association health plans — a type of group medical insurance for employers that allows smaller companies to access the health insurance savings associated with large group medical coverage — and increase the use and availability of health savings accounts, particularly for lower- and middle-income people.
Miller-Meeks told reporters Friday that her focus is on lowering health care costs through reforms that encourage competition and transparency.
“We need lower costs in health care. As a doctor, I know that. I’m working hard to lower costs in health care, to lower prescription drug costs,” Miller-Meeks said.
Health care: From market fixes to ‘Medicare for All’
Pressed for their health care visions, the Democrats converged on expanding coverage and lowering costs but differed on their approach.
Bohannan invoked her family’s struggle after her father lost insurance due to a preexisting condition. She called for reversing Medicaid and ACA cuts; expanding Medicare to include dental, vision and hearing; capping the price of insulin for all Americans, not just seniors; and broadening Medicare’s drug-price negotiations.
Wettach backed immediate repeal of Medicaid cuts, tougher antitrust enforcement against pharmaceutical and hospital consolidation, a stronger Federal Trade Commission and faster entry and approval for generic drugs.
“We need public health care in our country,” he said. “Why can't we afford that in the most powerful, most rich country in the world? If other countries can afford that, we should be able to provide public health care for everyone as part of the human rights we should be guaranteed to every American.”
Speaking with The Gazette, Wettach said Republicans’ claim that the tax credits are a “bailout for insurance companies” is a distraction. “They’re trying to hide the fact that they’re repealing health care funding,” he said. “We need leaders who will speak truth to power.”
Terrell advocated “Medicare for All,” citing his own decision at 17 to forgo surgery he couldn’t afford after shattering his heel, leaving him with a limp.
“The only answer to the health care crisis in this country is to join every other major country and guarantee universal health care for everyone,” he said.
Social Security and Medicare
On Social Security and Medicare, the Democrats pledged no benefit cuts.
Wettach said the U.S. can fund Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security “if we tax fairly,” pointing to higher top-end corporate and individual rates in peer democracies.
Bohannan called Social Security disability a “lifeline” for her family and accused Miller-Meeks of supporting a higher retirement age and privatization, positions Bohannan vowed to resist.
Bohannan added that the issue is not about affordability but priorities.
“The Trump administration just spent $20 billion sending money to bail out Argentina,” she said. “That will pay almost to give vision coverage under Medicare for 10 years. … So this isn't a matter of not having the money. This is a matter of misusing the money.”
Terrell urged lifting the payroll tax cap so high earners pay on all income and warned against raising the retirement age.
Israel and Gaza
Terrell condemned the campaign in Gaza as a “genocide,” said he would withhold U.S. military aid to Israel if attacks on civilians continue, and called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal.”
Wettach urged U.S. leadership for a balanced agreement that protects civilians on both sides and sustained humanitarian support, criticizing Washington for “doing nothing to stop” the violence.
Bohannan called the war “sickening,” faulted both Hamas and Netanyahu for prolonging it, and said she’s “slightly optimistic” a negotiated deal could unlock immediate humanitarian aid — adding that President Donald Trump “might be the only world leader to make something happen here” if he pushes a “real deal” both sides can accept.
Education, trades and keeping young families in Iowa
Asked how to boost the building trades, all three touted unions and apprenticeships.
Bohannan pointed to union endorsements, backing apprenticeships and skills training alongside college.
Wettach called for restoring and expanding U.S. Department of Education funding, stronger pipeline support for trades and “public money for public education.”
Terrell urged refunding Job Corps, passing the PRO Act to ease organizing, and exploring tuition-free public college, financed by “a fraction of a percent tax on Wall Street.”
To retain young families, Wettach and Terrell said Iowa must safeguard LGBTQ+ rights and women’s health care, expand public-school support and make immigrants feel welcome. Bohannan quoted a columnist’s lament that Iowa risks becoming “a place where young professionals come to visit their parents,” urging a return to “Iowa nice” and leadership that “shows people what it is to be Iowan again.”
Water quality
Water quality drew visible agreement that Iowa’s status quo is failing.
Bohannan cited nitrate spikes, “do-not-drink” and “no-swim” advisories and called for fully funding farmer conservation programs and Iowa’s natural-resources trust, saying “resources don’t match demand.”
Wettach said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to remove segments of five Iowa rivers from the impaired waters list — after some of the rivers experienced spikes in nitrate levels this summer — and EPA cuts obscure the problem, arguing for stronger federal standards and resources so farmers can adopt sustainable practices without bearing all the cost.
Terrell urged policymakers and regulators to “believe in the science” and put conservation dollars in farmers’ hands rather than “billion-dollar ag companies.” He also called for deploying more water quality sensors, tightening nitrate limits and “punishing” bad actors while supporting producers who adopt bioreactors, cover crops and other conservation practices.
Closing pitches
Bohannan emphasized her narrow loss to Miller-Meeks in 2024 as evidence of bipartisan support. In a district carried by Donald Trump by more than eight percentage points, she came within less than 800 votes of unseating Miller-Meeks and carried Scott and Jefferson counties, both of which backed Trump — a performance she called a strong signal of crossover appeal she attributed to showing up in small towns and “meeting people where they are.”
Wettach said his campaign is focused “like a laser” on reaching rural and younger voters who feel unseen by either party.
Terrell framed his campaign as a working-class movement for universal health care and civil rights, powered by volunteers.
“The working class deserves better than we’ve had,” he said.
Bohannan closed the Kalona forum warning that the country “is in a moment of intense division” and political violence, and must be rebuilt through listening, not shouting. Wettach promised to “stare Trump straight in the eye and not blink.” Terrell said Democrats need “candidates not afraid to call what’s happening in Palestine genocide” and to fight for guaranteed health care for all.
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
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