Iowa Campaign Almanac: Deidre DeJear endorsement, Abby Finkenauer campaign staffs up, Joni Ernst endorses Brenda Bird

DEJEAR ENDORSEMENT: The Collective PAC, which works to increase Black Americans’ engagement in politics, endorsed Deidre DeJear’s campaign for governor.

DeJear, a Black woman and businesswoman from Des Moines, is a Democrat running in Iowa’s 2022 race for governor. She ran for Iowa secretary of state in 2018, becoming the state’s first Black candidate from a major party in a statewide race. She would be the state’s first Black governor.

“Deidre DeJear is dedicated to building Iowa into a thriving and progressive state that represents all lifestyles; while building economic development and educational opportunities,” Collective PAC founders Quentin James and Stefanie Brown James said in a joint statement. “She is eagerly anticipating the fight for this election season, and we are excited to have partnered with an advocate who believes in tirelessly working and advocating for the underprivileged.”

Republican incumbent Gov. Kim Reynolds has not yet announced her re-election plans, but is widely expected to run for another four-year term.

The only other Democratic candidate running is Des Moines attorney Kim West.

FINKENAUER STAFFS UP: Abby Finkenauer’s campaign for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat has added four top-level staff members, the campaign announced. The campaign added Amanda Sands as campaign manager, Megan Simpson as senior advisor, John Coady as senior finance advisor, and Charlotte Robertson as digital director.

“We are excited to add members to our leadership team in this campaign to retire Sen. (Chuck) Grassley and bring a real voice for working Iowans to the United States Senate,” Finkenauer said in a news release. “This team is built to win tough races, and that’s what we’re going to do in November.”

Sands recently managed congressional campaigns in New York and California. Simpson, a Dubuque native, managed Steve Bullock’s U.S. Senate campaign in Montana and was his Iowa state director on his 2019 presidential campaign.

FINKENAUER ENDORSEMENT: The League of Conservation Voters included Abby Finkenauer, a Democratic candidate in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race, as one of its first endorsements in the midterm election.

The national organization, which works to support what it considers pro-environment candidates, endorsed Finkenauer and five other Democratic challengers for Senate, in North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Missouri and Vermont.

“We know these leaders will deliver on transformational climate action, clean energy, jobs, democracy, and justice for all communities,” Tiernan Sittenfeld, the organization’s senior vice president of government affairs, said in a news release. “It is more important than ever that we have a Congress that prioritizes the health and well-being of communities over polluter profits and fights to protect our democracy.”

ERNST ENDORSES BIRD: Brenna Bird’s campaign for Iowa attorney general was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a fellow Republican.

Bird, who was then-Gov. Terry Branstad’s legal counsel, is running to face Democratic incumbent Tom Miller. Bird also ran against Miller, unsuccessfully, in 2010.

“Iowans are hurting under a disastrous (Democratic President Joe) Biden agenda that’s being pushed not just in the halls of Congress and from the White House, but in courtrooms across our country,” Ernst said in a news release from the Bird campaign. “Iowans need an attorney general who will fight to protect and defend their fundamental rights and freedoms against the radical demands of the liberal left, and there is no one better for the task than my friend Brenna Bird.”

UNION ENDORSES MATHIS: The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 238 endorsed Liz Mathis, a Democratic candidate in Iowa’s new 2nd Congressional District.

Mathis is a state legislator, nonprofit leader and former TV journalist from Hiawatha. She is the favorite in a Democratic primary that includes Joseph Kerner of Colfax. The Democratic nominee likely will face Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson in this fall’s general election.

“Liz has fought for Iowa workers’ rights to join together and bargain for better pay and benefits during her ten years in the Iowa statehouse,” Jesse Case, secretary-treasurer for the union, said in a news release from the Mathis campaign. “Liz values fairness, especially at a time when many of Iowa’s working families are struggling to make ends meet. Her voting record and 99% lifetime rating with the Iowa Federation of Labor clearly demonstrate Liz’s dedication to hard-working Iowans and their right to workplace protections and fair wages.”

Gazette Des Moines Bureau