U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn was joined by House Speaker Mike Johnson for a “get out the vote” rally in West Des Moines Oct. 18, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
House Speaker Mike Johnson joined U.S. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn on the campaign trail in Iowa Friday, saying he believed both Iowa Republicans can win reelection in competitive races.
Johnson joined Nunn in West Des Moines and Miller-Meeks in Indianola for “get out to vote” rallies, encouraging Iowa voters to show up and cast their ballots for the candidates. Early voting started Wednesday in Iowa.
Though Iowa candidates have not seen much campaign trail support from national surrogates, the two Republicans face more challenging races than first predicted. Nunn faces Democrat Lanon Baccam in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District and Miller-Meeks faces Democrat Christina Bohannan in the 1st District — both races rated as “toss-ups” by Cook Political Report.
At the West Des Moines rally, Johnson called Nunn’s race “one of the tightest” in the country alongside Miller-Meeks, saying that it was “imperative” to keep Iowa’s GOP representatives in Congress. Though Johnson emphasized the importance of Iowans participating in the election — pointing to Miller-Meeks’ 2020 win by a margin of six votes — he also said he felt confident that Republicans will win control of both the White House and Congress in 2024.
“But these races are very close,” Johnson said. “I mean, when I tell you every vote counts — in Iowa, we mean every vote counts. You gotta get everybody, all your friends, all your family, everybody at church, get everybody involved, because there’s no reason to sit at home.”
Fundraising and spending in both races have grown in recent months, with the Democratic challengers outraising Nunn and Baccam in the past two Federal Elections Commission quarterly reports. For the quarter ending Sept. 30, Bohannan raised more than $1.8 million to Miller-Meeks’ $1 million, and Baccam raised $1.7 million to Nunn’s $1.1 million.
Spending on campaign advertising by campaigns and organizations like super PACs has also gone up in both areas, reaching more than $5 million in outside group spending in Iowa’s 1st District and $9 million in the 3rd District this cycle according to OpenSecrets.
Speaking with reporters after the Indianola rally, Johnson said he was not concerned about Democratic candidates raising more than Republicans in the most recent report.
“Democrats have been on an irrational sugar high since Joe Biden was kicked off the platform and they put in someone else,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to us. But the comforting thing to us is, at the end of the day, it is not about the quantity of cash, it’s about the quality of the candidate. Democrats always outraise Republicans, but we always win.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson and U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks spoke to reporters following an event in Indianola Oct. 18, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Miller-Meeks said she was confident Iowa Republicans are in strong financial positions in the final stretch before the election.
“We all have the resources we need to win our races, and (we have) the message that is resonating with people when it comes to high prices, when it comes to the border, when it comes to crime,” Miller-Meeks said. “Our policies are resonating with people, which is why you now see Democrats pretending like they’re Republicans.”
Johnson said he felt “bullish” about the upcoming election, saying he believes former President Donald Trump will win the 2024 presidential election against Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as believing Republicans will have control of both chambers of Congress. The West Des Moines crowd cheered as Johnson took a video he said he would send to Trump showing the support the GOP candidate has in the state.
He said that he has spoken extensively with Trump about their ambitious plans for a first 100-day agenda, which includes reversing many policies implemented during the Biden administration on issues like border security.
“This team has broken everything, and we need the kind of leaders like Zach at the table who can think that through, reason it through, and build the coalition necessary to get the job done,” Johnson said. “That’s the kind of leader that he is, and that’s why we need him so, so badly.”
The stops in Iowa are part of a larger campaign push by Johnson, titled the “American Revival Tour,” supporting Republican candidates in swing districts in the weeks leading up to Nov. 5. The speaker also stopped in Nebraska to support U.S. Rep. Don Bacon Friday, and plans to hold events supporting GOP House candidates in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania in the coming days.
Johnson is not the only surrogate working with Iowa candidates — U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar joined Lanon Baccam for a Des Moines event on Friday to discuss prescription drug prices and the importance of the Inflation Reduction Act.
During the rally with Johnson, Nunn characterized himself as a moderate who can work across the aisle, but said he was committed to advancing Republican policies on issues like border security. He said he believed Iowa voters are happy with the current federal delegation’s track record in Congress, and called for voters to continue supporting them in office.
“Let’s never forget, four years ago, this state was 75% blue,” Nunn said. “But because of hard work by so many of you in this room, we are 100% red, and we are not going to give it up.”