Iowa Republicans tout conservative wins at Gov. Kim Reynolds fundraiser

DES MOINES — Iowa Republicans celebrated the party’s dominance in the state and recent legislative victories and heard from activist Riley Gaines during Gov. Kim Reynolds’ annual harvest festival fundraiser Saturday.

Speaking to a few hundred people at the Elwell Family Food Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Reynolds lauded the “red wave” Iowa saw in 2022, when Republicans swept the congressional districts, won all but one statewide office and expanded their majorities in the state House and Senate.

The result, Reynolds said, is that “Iowa remains a place of freedom, prosperity, and what I am most proud of, common sense.” She touted recent conservative policy victories passed by Iowa’s Republicans, like a massive school choice program, lowering taxes, and passing a strict abortion ban. That abortion law is currently blocked while a lawsuit is argued.

“We ran on empowering parents, economic freedom, protecting life, a limited but responsive government, keeping our communities safe, and most importantly, respecting those we serve,” Reynolds said. “And I am so proud to say that we delivered on those promises.”

Reynolds also pointed to recent rankings that have placed Iowa among the top of lists for economic indicators like cost of living, best place to raise a family, and best place to retire.

Des Moines was recently ranked sixth best place to raise a family by U.S. News and World Report, and a recent Bankrate study placed Iowa as the top place to live for retirees.

Reynolds and Republicans last year eliminated taxes on retirement income.

Riley Gaines recounts tie with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas

Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky NCAA swimmer who has launched a career as a media figure and activist after campaigning against the participation of transgender women in women’s sports, shared the story of tying for fifth place with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

Thomas, who first competed on the men's team at the University of Pennsylvania, sparked controversy in 2021 by competing in the women’s division, under the NCAA rules, after undergoing a gender transition.

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Gaines frequently called Thomas a man and used Thomas’ pre-transition name.

Gaines and Thomas tied for fifth place in the 200 meter freestyle during the 2022 NCAA championship. Gaines said when the event ended, event officials gave the fifth-place trophy to Thomas without providing a solid reasoning.

“They looked at me and said, ‘Riley, I'm sorry, but we've been advised that when photos are being taken it's crucial Lia is holding the trophy,’” she said. “...That’s when I was no longer waiting for someone else.”

Going beyond the participation of transgender women in sports, Gaines denied that transgender women are women and said cisgender women — women who were born female — should stop referring to themselves as "biological women."

“When you say biological woman, you’re subconsciously admitting there’s an unbiological alternative, and there’s not,” she said. “There’s just man and woman.”

Gender dysphoria is a recognized diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association. According to the association, the treatment for gender dysphoria may include affirming the patient's gender through social transitioning and sometimes cross-sex hormones and surgeries.

Attempts to force a transgender person to align with their gender assigned at birth — sometimes referred to as conversion therapy — is not advisable, according to the association.

Reynolds signed a bill into law in 2022 that bans transgender women and girls from competing on sports teams in high school or college in Iowa. This year, Reynolds and Republicans passed a law that prohibits gender-affirming puberty blockers, hormones and surgeries for minors.

On National Coming Out Day earlier this week, the liberal advocacy organization Progress Iowa criticized Reynolds for passing legislation they said is harmful to LGBTQ Iowans.

“Gov. Reynolds and other elected officials across the state need to protect the most vulnerable — but instead choose to take away basic rights like gender-affirming health care which saves lives,” the group’s Executive Director Matt Sinovic said.

House delegation: End chaos in Washington

Iowa’s Republican U.S. House members called the party’s inability to elect a speaker “embarrassing” and said it was delaying important work like providing aid to Israel and funding border security.

The House is currently without a speaker after a faction of far-right Republicans joined Democrats to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California from the position earlier this month. Until a new speaker is elected, the House is unable to pass legislation.

Republican Reps. Ashley Hinson and Zach Nunn said they support Jim Jordan for speaker, the hard-right House Freedom Caucus co-founder who won a majority of the caucus in a closed-door vote on Friday. He does not appear to have the 217 Republican votes necessary to win the gavel.

“Thank goodness we’re back to some Iowa common sense,” Hinson said on Saturday. “D.C. is a really messy place right now.”

Nunn leveled an attack at the far-right Republicans who broke with the party to remove McCarthy from the speaker position

“It also only takes four bad actors,” he said, referring to the party’s slim majority in the House. “Four people who are more interested in getting their names on a Sunday morning talk show than doing the hard work of showing up and passing operational budgets, just like each family business does in this room.”