Four Republican gubernatorial candidates lay out priorities during Eldridge forum

ELDRIDGE — Republican Iowa gubernatorial candidate Adam Steen had a stark warning for Republicans during a forum Thursday in which four of the five candidates for the nomination participated in Eldridge.

Steen, the former head of the state's Department of Administrative Services, said if western Iowa congressman Randy Feenstra wins the GOP nomination, the party will have to work to “drag him across the finish line” in the general election against Rob Sand, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.

"There is a perceived front-runner right now that has a lot of money, and that person is not here," Steen said. "That person doesn't show up in a lot of places, and so if that perceived front-runner becomes the candidate, I believe we have a problem. We are going to have to rally together and drag him across finish line. I don't know if that's possible."

Steen said that's why it's “critically important” to bring in a candidate that can beat Sand, not just someone who has money or has served in Congress.

About a hundred people filled the Regional Innovation Center in Eldridge on Thursday night to hear from Steen, state lawmaker Eddie Andrews, of Johnston, and former state legislator Brad Sherman as they seek the nomination. Belle Plaine business owner Zach Lahn answered questions in a prerecorded video because he had a conflicting event.

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Feenstra was not available, organizers said, because of commitments in Congress.

There wasn’t much daylight between the candidates in their positions on conservative issues.

But each pitched a different set of experiences as key to governing and winning against Sand.

In a rapid-fire question round, all four candidates said they would support a constitutional carry law allowing law-abiding citizens to carry guns without permits or restrictions, would “defend the right to life,” would lower Iowans' taxes by reducing government spending, and oppose allowing private companies to seize land through eminent domain.

Andrews pitched himself as a candidate who could be a “strong conservative” who also could reach across the aisle to appeal to moderate voters in a general election. Andrews noted he has won election to a Democratic-leaning statehouse district in the suburbs of Des Moines since first running in 2020.

Lahn, a business owner from Belle Plaine, noted that he was endorsed by a Make America Healthy Again group, and said he was running to "see our culture restored" and "our heritage and our traditions upheld." Lahn cited out-migration of young people, agriculture consolidation, and out-of-state land ownership as problems he would like to solve.

Sherman, a former state representative, told the audience he was the only candidate to announce he would challenge Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds before she announced she wouldn’t be running for re-election. He said he's a candidate with backbone, and said educating people on their freedoms would be among his top priorities.

Steen framed the race as a "battle of good versus evil." Steen said he believes life begins at conception, and contrasted himself often against Sand, and warned that Sand would make Iowa "the next Virginia, Minnesota, New York, California, and we cannot let that happen."

Public health and rising cancer rates

Candidates were asked how they would hold companies and governments accountable for public health concerns. Most candidates lamented Iowa's rising cancer rates. The state has the second-highest rate of new cancer cases in the nation.

Lahn said big agriculture companies "are lying to us about the safety of their products" and said if companies want to sell products in Iowa, they need to hand over their research to the government.

"We will make sure that this is safe," Lahn said.

Steen, who noted his father and mother both died of non-genetic cancers, said the state must address toxins in the soil and water.

"They're getting put in there from all sorts of different areas," Steen said, adding that he would put together a "legitimate task force" to identify the problems and solve them.

Sherman said the state should conduct independent investigations of environmental issues, such as, in his opinion, cloud seeding, that are not done by business groups with a financial interest in the outcome of the research.

In the legislature, Andrews said he collaborated with a Democratic doctor colleague to push the governor for state funding toward a study at the University of Iowa. He is planning to push a $3 million addition to that for pediatric cancer, he said.

"We know that there's too many nitrates in the water," Andrews said. "Get everybody at the table, have a real policy discussion and find real solutions like real Iowans."

Vaccines and parental consent

All of the candidates said they supported policies that ensured parents are notified of and have control over vaccinations, drugs or other medical and mental health treatments for their children.

"The parent-child relationship is the primary relationship here," Lahn said. "The schools do not have any right to interfere with that relationship."

Andrews said he ran a bill to finalize a cap on minor consent for vaccines. He said parents need to be notified and in charge of vaccination decisions for minors.

For Steen, the question illustrated the battle of good versus evil.

"Parents should absolutely have all authority, all rights," Steen said. "We have abdicated our responsibility, the government has crept in."

Reducing taxes

Candidates were asked whether property, income or sales tax reform is the most effective way to reduce taxes while encouraging economic growth in Iowa.

As a business owner, Lahn said "property taxes are getting out of control" and said those would be a key area and to cap local government spending to give reform teeth.

Andrews said he would like to eliminate property taxes and phase them out.

"Go big or go home," Andrews said. "Yes, you can keep your services, you can keep your first responders and education. There's a way to do it. We can buy back what's called the 540 tax levy, effectively buying back the education portion that goes to property taxes right now."

Steen said in his role as director of administrative services, he helped with large state efficiency projects, such as the state-level Department of Government Efficiency. He said state government has a spending problem and should zero out budgets and have to prove why a program or budget is needed before its added back in. Steen said he found $500,000 of subscription services that weren't needed. He said local elected officials should do the same process.

Sherman said property tax is the main way to reduce taxes. He added that Iowa must grow its rural communities because if the population shrinks, then that cost for services is spread among fewer people.