“As a lifelong farmer and teacher, Rita Hart understands the challenges facing southeast Iowans because she has lived them. Representing a swing district in the Iowa State Senate, Rita has proven that she is an independent-minded problem solver who will never stop advocating for rural communities. With deep roots in her community and a record of getting things done, Rita is the right candidate to win here in November. I look forward to serving with her in November as she carries on Dave Loebsack’s legacy and continues to give Iowans a voice in Washington.” – DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Brooke Goren, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 2, 2020
Subject: The Case Against Mariannette Miller-Meeks
As soon as Democratic Congressman Dave Loebsack announced his retirement last year, national Republicans started talking a big game about their chances of flipping Iowa’s Second Congressional District. But after two high-profile and embarrassing recruitment failures and an exceptionally nasty primary battle, Washington Republicans are stuck betting on a candidate who has let them down three times before and alienated prominent conservatives along the way – Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Over the course of her numerous unsuccessful pursuits of higher office, Miller-Meeks has built a reputation for putting politics ahead of hardworking people. She has a history of supporting disastrous policies that would hurt Iowans, like repealing the Affordable Care Act and privatizing Social Security. With a record that unpopular, it’s no wonder Miller-Meeks struggled to shake off her weak primary opponent – a former Congressman from Illinois who moved across the river and trailed her badly in both fundraising and endorsements.
Meanwhile, as a lifelong Iowan, farmer, and teacher, Rita Hart is a proven fighter for her community and has been called the “perfect” candidate to keep this open seat in Democratic hands.
What’s more, she understands firsthand the challenges rural Iowans face because she’s lived them. Growing up on a farm outside of Charles City, Iowa, Rita was one of nine children in a “divided household” – her mom a Republican and dad a Democrat. After graduating from North Iowa Area Community College and the University of Northern Iowa, Rita spent more than two decades teaching in southeast Iowa schools and farming with her husband Paul in Wheatland, Iowa. In 2012, she was elected to the Iowa Senate, where she fought to improve the local economy, support workforce development, and help attract good paying jobs to improve Iowans’ quality of life.
With support from dozens of local leaders and retiring Congressman Dave Loebsack, as well as her proven ability to raise the resources needed for a competitive race, Rita has built the strong grassroots campaign needed to win in November.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
HEADLINE: Rita Hart prioritizing rural economic development – and all that it means [Cedar Rapids Gazette, 5/16/19]
HEADLINE: Hart says voices in rural Iowa matter, should be heard more [Newton Daily News, 8/26/19]
“Rita Hart is the ‘perfect’ fit to represent Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, according to party leaders and those who know her well. Hart, a farmer, retired teacher and former state senator, knows small towns and big cities. She’s just as comfortable working on the farm as she is shaping policy proposals.” [Iowa Starting Line, 6/7/19]
“Miller-Meeks has previously received the party’s nomination for this seat three times and lost each one.” [Marion County Tribune, 5/17/20]
“Republicans were given an opportunity with the congressman’s retirement, but they’re struggling to make the most of it.” [Inside Elections, 11/26/20]
“Democrats believe they scored one of their top recruits of the cycle so far to take his place: former state Sen. Rita Hart… Loebsack’s success here, and the fact that former President Barack Obama carried the district twice, gives Democrats hope they can win this seat, especially with Hart.” [Roll Call, 8/16/19]
Mariannette Miller-Meeks: A Perennial Candidate Who Puts Politics Before Iowans
A PERENNIAL CANDIDATE LOOKING TO CLIMB THE LADDER
This isn’t Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ first rodeo, though we won’t claim her previous three went well. After running three failed campaigns against Congressman Dave Loebsack, this marks Miller-Meeks’ fourth try in the 2nd Congressional District. Over the years, Miller-Meeks has spent about a million dollars of her own money unsuccessfully trying to buy her way into Congress.
To make things worse, Miller-Meeks has a history of shirking her responsibility to Iowans while chasing higher office. In 2014, she resigned as the director of Iowa’s Department of Public Health to mount a third unsuccessful bid for Congress. Last year, she stepped down from her position on the Human Resources Committee to make time for her latest campaign. While Miller-Meeks has attempted to run on her health care background for years, Iowans won’t forget that when she was in a position to solve the state’s serious health care problems, she put her political aspirations ahead of the job she was elected to do. And while the Iowa legislature is in session for just a few months each year, Miller-Meeks decided to skip voting on aid to first responders and rural fire departments in order to jet off to Washington D.C. to play politics.
Miller-Meeks has shown that she will say anything just to get elected. In a desperate attempt to finally win an election in 2018, she told voters she was pro-choice while running for State Senate. Once the issue became a problem for her primary campaign against Bobby Schilling this year, Miller-Meeks reversed course, claiming that she had misspoken.
WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTH CARE, MILLER-MEEKS PUTS POLITICS OVER PATIENTS
If there is one through-line to Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ career, it’s putting politics ahead of the needs of hardworking Iowans. Nowhere is that more apparent than on the issue of health care.
After Washington Republicans pushed an unproven drug to treat coronavirus cases earlier this year, Miller-Meeks abandoned her Hippocratic Oath and did the same. The drug she irresponsibly touted was later found to be connected to increased mortality rates among coronavirus patients and has led to shortages of the drug in Iowa for those who rely on it for other diseases. Miller-Meeks’ reckless promotion of dangerous medical mistruths became a pattern when she promoted “herd immunity,” despite the fact that it “would overwhelm hospitals and put the elderly and people with preexisting conditions at risk.”
In 2014, the Iowa State Senate rejected Miller-Meeks’ nomination to the Hawk-I Board, an entity responsible for advising the state on health care coverage for the uninsured children of working families. The only Branstad appointee to be rejected at the time, Miller-Meeks came under fire for putting politics ahead of Iowans during her time as head of the Department of Public Health.
As the coronavirus pandemic leaves millions of Americans uninsured, voters are watching with disgust as Washington Republicans continue working to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and its protections for pre-existing conditions – and Miller-Meeks is on the record supporting their efforts.
Rita Hart, on the other hand, has repeatedly said that taking a bipartisan approach to lowering health care costs will be her number one priority in Congress, and that she will work with anyone to get it done. After growing up on a farm with a chronically ill mother, Rita also knows firsthand how important strengthening Iowa’s health care system is – especially in rural communities. In the State Senate, Rita worked to improve our health care system, voting to create a new health insurance tax credit for Iowa small businesses fighting back against the state’s disastrous Medicaid privatization experiment.
A RECORD OF STANDING AGAINST WORKING IOWANS
In the state legislature, Miller-Meeks voted to cut employment benefits for individuals who lost their jobs because their employer went out of business. If the legislation she voted for had become law, it could have cut benefits for the roughly 200,000 Iowans who have filed for unemployment had their employer gone out of business. The last thing Iowans need in the midst of this pandemic is a cut to their safety net.
Miller-Meeks has also come out in support of privatizing Social Security – a policy that would disproportionately hurt working Iowans.
Rita Hart, on the other hand, has a record of putting hardworking Iowans first. After spending decades as a teacher in southeast Iowa, Rita put economic development at the heart of her work in the State Senate, voting to enhance job training programs and to raise the minimum wage for Iowa workers. As an advocate for working families in Congress, she will work to strengthen and preserve Medicare and Social Security – not put it on the chopping block.
PATH TO VICTORY
Iowa’s Second Congressional District has a long history of supporting Democrats up and down the ballot. While President Trump won here by a slim margin in 2016, President Obama carried the district in 2008 and won it by a resounding 13 points in 2012. Retiring Congressman Dave Loebsack won re-election to this seat five times, comfortably increasing his margin of victory over the last several cycles.
With her record of working with both parties to deliver results for hard working Iowans and commitment to listening to their concerns, Rita Hart shares Loebsack’s common-sense brand. That’s why Loebsack quickly endorsed Rita’s campaign, calling her “a problem solver who will fight day in and day out to bring people together and get the job done.”
Meanwhile, Rita is no stranger to tough races. Elected to the Iowa Senate in 2012, she represented a swing district that included Clinton County and northern Scott County. She was re-elected in 2014, despite a GOP landslide across the state. As the running mate to 2018 gubernatorial candidate Fed Hubbell, Rita’s popularity in the community helped Hubbell carry the 2nd Congressional District by nearly four points.
Given the choice between a lifelong rural Iowan running to cut through division in Washington and a perennial candidate with a record of putting politics ahead of people, our money is on Rita Hart to keep on bringing Iowans’ priorities to Congress.
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