(Radio Iowa) – State and federal candidates who want to be included on the June Primary ballots for Republicans and for Democrats face a 5 p.m. deadline today (Friday) to deliver their nomination petitions to the Secretary of State’s office in Des Moines. Christina Bohannan, a Democrat who’s running in Iowa’s first congressional district, has submitted over a thousand more signatures on her nominating petitions than were required.
“We collected these at grocery stores, at soup suppers, at pancake breakfasts and we’ve been talking to people where they are and so it’s really exciting to have this level of support and, in a lot of ways, it’s really the beginning of the campaign,” Bohannan says. “…What I can tell you is these signatures represent people who have really bought into this campaign.”
Bohannan ran against Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks in 2022 and lost by less than seven points, so this race is destined to be a rematch in the 2024 General Election. Miller-Meeks submitted her nominating petitions on February 26th, the first day in the filing period. Beyond the candidates running for seats in the U-S House of Representatives, candidates for seats in the state legislature must submit their nominating petitions by 5 p.m. today (Friday) as well. House Speaker Pat Grassley says most of the Republicans currently serving in the Iowa House are seeking reelection.
“As we look across the state, there are other opportunities that we continue to have,” Grassley says. “If you look at the last election results (from 2022), there are seats with just a little more time and resources, we could have had an even larger majority.” Republicans hold 64 of the 100 seats in the Iowa House. House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst says Democrats have a good chance of gaining seats because the G-O-P agenda is lacking. “There’s not a bill in there to defend reproductive freedom. There’s not a bill in there to make child care really, boldly different across this state,” Konfrst says. ” There’s not a bill to really address affordable housing.”
In the state senate, Republicans hold a 34-seat super majority. Senate G-O-P Leader Jack Whitver says Republican candidates have been recruited in four senate districts currently held by Democrats, but areas where Governor Kim Reynolds and Donald Trump have done well in the past. “It’s hard to believe when we’re sitting here with 34 that we have a chance in four seats, but depending on how the election goes, those are seats we’re watching very, very closely,” Whitver says.
Senate Democratic Leader Pam Jochum says Democrats can do well in the 2024 election because Republicans are ignoring what’s most important to Iowans. “They’ve asked us to fully fund education,” Jochum says. “They’ve asked us to stop stripping away local control from school boards and cities and counties.”
Jochum has developed a plan she says will help Democrats make progress over the next three elections and regain a majority of state senate seats in the 2030 election. Jochum is not seeking reelection this year after serving in the legislature since 1993.
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