January 13, 2021 | Letter No. 22
The U.S. House will vote to formally charge President Donald Trump with inciting violence against the country today. If you’ve been following, it’s hardly surprising to hear IA-02’s new U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks doesn’t support the proposed articles of impeachment.
While rejecting a Republican-led challenge to President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, she has backed Trump’s non-reality based claims of widespread voter fraud. During a press call last Wednesday, she compared the takeover of the Capitol to the summer’s Black Lives Matter protests.
The fact is in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, Trump outperformed Miller-Meeks in the district. He carried 209,858 votes in the district to her 196,964 — a difference of 12,894 votes. Trump carried all but Johnson and Scott counties. Meanwhile, in the Congressional race, Clinton and Jefferson counties were in play for Democrats in a way they just weren’t in the presidential race.
It’s worth noting that down-ticket races do not tend to gather the votes a presidential or U.S. Senate race might. However, Democrat Rita Hart did outperform Biden in the district by 3,521 votes. Not tremendous, but given how split the district was in November — it came down to six votes — maybe it’s no surprise that Miller-Meeks would back Trump.
Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann has heralded the popularity of Trump in the district. While it was once-upon-a-time easy pickings for Democrats, Laura Belin of Bleeding Heartland has shown southeastern Iowa’s move towards favoring Republicans:
But for now, Democrats should harbor no illusions about where we stand. Iowa voters lean about 6 points more Republican than U.S. voters, and every Congressional district as currently configured is an uphill battle for a Democratic candidate. - “Lessons of 2020: Every Iowa Congressional district favors Republicans” (12/12/2020)
Iowa’s 2nd rewarded Trump, putting him ahead by 16,421 votes. While it may not have been enough to overcome Biden’s large lead, it may have been sufficient to signal for politicians which the wind is blowing.
Thankfully your friendly neighborhood reporter,
Zachary Oren Smith
Take Five
🦠 COVID Numbers – On Tuesday, Johnson County reported a 12.1% 14-day positivity rate. While not nearly as high as we saw in mid-November, spread remains high. Stay home.
🗳️ Iowa City District B *Open* – Susan Mims let slip Saturday that she won’t be running for reelection. I’ll have something more coming Saturday, but here’s what you need to know.
🏒 Coralville to get the biscuit (And other hockey slang I’m not sure how to use – Deacon Sports and Entertainment will own and operate a AA ECHL Member Club in Coralville. The season will begin in October. Over the course of a typical 72-game season, the league draws an average of 4,445 fans per game according to the ECHL website. Kicker: The operator is working with KCRG on a public input campaign to decide on a name and mascot. If you are reading this, plz send me what you think it should be.
📉 The most fund-erful time of the year – It’s budget season. I’ll be looking at the big choices soon enough. But here’s an overview of the proposed budget. While the recommended tax rate will go down, tax valuation increased causing a tax increase. For a house valued at $100,000, the owner can expect an increase of $15 under this proposed budget.
🎒 Gov. backs school choice amid pandemic – Gov. Kim Reynolds told the Iowa Legislature to pass a bill requiring 100% in-person classes for students, greater access to public money in the form of vouchers to fund private school slots, and mandating open enrollment in every school district.
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Zachary Oren Smith writes about government, growth and development for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach him at zsmith@press-citizen.com, at 319 -339-7354 or on Twitter via @Zacharyos.