Campaign Almanac: Republican legislators in Iowa’s 2nd District endorse Rep. Ashley Hinson

A roundup of campaign news items of interest from Monday:

HINSON ENDORSEMENTS: All Republican state legislators in Eastern Iowa’s new 2nd Congressional District have endorsed Ashley Hinson for Congress, Hinson’s campaign said.

Hinson is a Republican first-term congresswoman representing Eastern Iowa’s 1st District. Through the redistricting process, she resides and will run in the new 2nd District.

“I served shoulder to shoulder with Ashley in the Iowa House, and I’m so incredibly proud of the work she is doing to bring Iowans’ stories to Washington,” Iowa Rep. Jane Bloomingdale, a Republican from Northwood who represents an area of the new 2nd District, said in a news release from the Hinson campaign.

CONSERVATION GROUP ENDORSES: The League of Conservation Voters’ political arm endorsed two Eastern Iowa Democratic candidates for Congress: Christina Bohannan and Liz Mathis.

Bohannan, an attorney, law professor and state legislator from Iowa City, is running in the new 1st District.

Mathis, a nonprofit leader, state legislator and former TV journalist from Hiawatha, is running in the new 2nd District.

“Iowans are experiencing more and more climate-driven disasters — from more frequent heavy precipitation and floods to droughts and extreme heat — and we need leaders in Congress like Liz Mathis and Christina Bohannan who will fight to protect all communities from the impacts of the climate crisis and prioritize growing Iowa’s clean energy economy,” Tiernan Sittenfeld, of the League of Conservation Voters, said in a news release.

The League’s political arm advocates for candidates who support policies designed to protect the environment and support clean energy.

2ND DISTRICT SHIFT: A national campaign forecaster shifted its projection for Eastern Iowa’s new 2nd Congressional District in the direction of the Democrats, although the race still remains projected to go Republican.

The Cook Political Report shifted the 2nd District race from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican.”

The race is likely to see Republican Ashley Hinson, a former state legislator and TV journalist from Marion who is in her first term representing the 1st District, against Democrat Liz Mathis, a nonprofit leader, state legislator and former TV journalist from Hiawatha.

PAT GRASSLEY GETS OPPONENT: Jon Bartling, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Democrat from Denver, announced his campaign for the Iowa House in District 57, which includes Republican House Speaker Pat Grassley.

Bartling served overseas as a heavy equipment operator in the war in Iraq, according to a news release. He has worked the past 15 years in manufacturing, and serves on the Denver planning and zoning commission.

“As a manager in manufacturing, I’ve seen firsthand how workers and working families have struggled during the last few years,” Bartling said in a news release. “I’m committed to fighting for them and making sure they’re getting paid what they deserve and have access to quality and affordable health care.”

Gazette Des Moines Bureau