4 Days, 4 Ways GOP Gov Candidates Are Wrong for Iowa: Putting Insiders Before Working Families
DES MOINES – In the final days leading up to Iowa’s June gubernatorial primary, the IDP is reminding Iowans of all the ways that Randy Feenstra, Adam Steen, Zach Lahn, Brad Sherman, and Eddie Andrews are wrong for Iowa. Today we’re looking at how the field supports corrupt policies that are out-of-touch with Iowans.
While working families struggle to make ends meet and face rising costs, the Republicans running for governor support Kim Reynolds blowing up the state budget to fund tax breaks for powerful insiders and haven’t spoken out about her secret taxpayer-funded state plane. In a blatantly self-serving move, Feenstra has even used taxpayer funds to bankroll his campaign ads, while Steen sold Iowa jobs out to China to make a quick buck.
The field supports policies that put powerful insiders before working families:
- Ballooning the budget deficit: Reynolds blew a nearly $1.4 billion hole in the state budget to fund tax breaks for powerful insiders and special interests, and her years of fiscally irresponsible policies have crushed Iowa’s economy. Iowa Republicans also forced working families to pay $500 more this year for health insurance due to Reynolds’ Medicaid mismanagement and health care budget shortfall.
- Secret taxpayer-funded state plane: Reynolds used a $4.7 million secret state-owned plane to attend multiple political events on the taxpayer’s dime, something not one GOP gubernatorial candidate has said was wrong. Steen was Reynolds’ right hand man as former Iowa Department of Administrative Services director, bragged about serving as a “C.O.O. type of role for the state,” and said “I support everything that Governor Reynolds is doing,” but has refused to say what he knew about the plane, when he knew it, and whether he signed off on it.
- Funding campaign with taxpayer dollars: Before the midterm caucuses, Feenstra spent $33,000 in taxpayer-funded resources on statewide radio ads to “make a good impression on activists” and shore up support for his campaign. Despite that, he still flopped and finished a distant third in straw polls. A taxpayer even asked Feenstra point-blank why he misused her money on campaign ads, but Feenstra shamelessly refused to give a straight answer about his shady and unethical behavior.
- Selling Iowa jobs out to China: Steen has claimed to value “putting Americans first,” and introduced himself to voters in campaign ads as a “business builder” who “helped companies grow and prosper right here in Iowa.” Despite that, Steen outsourced his own West Des Moines hunting equipment business to China to make a quick buck.
From Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Terra Hernandez:
“Randy Feenstra, Adam Steen, Zach Lahn, Brad Sherman, and Eddie Andrews are in full support of Kim Reynolds handing out tax breaks to powerful insiders and sticking working families with the bill. Feenstra even used taxpayer dollars to bankroll his campaign while Steen made a quick buck selling Iowa jobs out to China. Iowans deserve accountability from their leaders, and we’re long overdue for a governor who will put working families — not powerful insiders — first.”
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