ICYMI: ‘Partisan and Hateful’ – Iowans Sound Off Over GOP Chair’s Latest Column on Political Violence

Iowans have been calling out Jeff Kaufmann for his recent column that claims political violence is a one-sided issue

DES MOINES – Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann is receiving backlash from Iowans following the publishing of two newspaper columns he and Democratic Chair Rita Hart wrote for the Iowa Newspaper Association about violent political rhetoric.

Keep in mind – Republican President Donald Trump accused Democratic lawmakers this week of participating in seditious behavior that’s “punishable by death” and reposted a message that said “hang them, George Washington would!” 

Instead of taking an opportunity to write about how political parties can tone down political rhetoric to prevent violence, Kaufmann claimed political violence isn’t symmetrical and pointed fingers at Democrats.

Take a look at what folks had to say about Kaufmann’s column: 

Letters to the Editor: 

• Maquoketoa Sentinel Press and the DeWitt Observer: GOP fans flames of discord once again

“Rather than use his ink to encourage both sides to calm down, Kaufmann cherry-picked information to continue to fan flames.”

• West Branch Times: Right-wing terror more common over long-term

“Jeff Kaufmann’s Nov. 13th guest opinion grossly misrepresented the September 2025 Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report.”

• Indianola Independent Advocate: Claims of left-wing political violence inaccurate, to say the least

“Jeff Kaufmann, writing as the chair of the Iowa Republican Party, recently declared political violence to be rising on the “left” and accused Democrats as not having its house in order. That’s incredibly amazing. And inaccurate to say the least.”

• The Gazette: Both party chairs blast political violence, but only one has solutions

“The other author came across as partisan and hateful of the other political party. This author told us what we should do to tone down the rhetoric while the words and thoughts in the column violated the very same message.”

A handful of the 800+ Facebook Comments on Jeff Kaufmann’s column from the Iowa State Daily: 

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