Elizabeth Meyer

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst told constituents Monday in Clinton County it was “vitally important” insurance companies provide coverage for Americans with pre-existing health conditions. The discussion spun off of concerns from a woman at the Clinton Middle School town hall forum, who decried the high costs of health insurance in the United States. “It is…

Iowa Rep. Steve King carried on a lengthy conversation Friday about illegal immigration at the nation’s southern border, warning his constituents about the dangers of young men coming into the country. Citing data King said he received three years ago, he told the crowd at the Franklin County Courthouse, “81% of those that were interdicted…

A new cog in the fundraising machine for Sen. Joni Ernst launched its voter outreach campaign this week with a digital advertising blitz and door-to-door canvassing. The Iowa Values Super PAC said in a press release Thursday it “invested six-figures in a digital advertising campaign that will touch swing voters in all 99 counties.” Ernst,…

A fourth Democrat told Starting Line Wednesday he is considering a run against Sen. Joni Ernst, in a field still taking shape to defeat the incumbent Republican. Retired Navy Admiral Michael Franken, originally of Sioux Center, a town deep in conservative Northwest Iowa, said he has talked with state and national party leaders about a…

The Twitter-verse has not taken kindly to Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s rallying cry that socialists soon will take over Iowa and the United States if they’re not stopped by Republican voters. Fear of the “radical left” was a central theme of her 2020 campaign kick-off earlier this month, with Ernst telling the Roast and Ride…

Newman Abuissa has never run for a political position before, other than lobbying fellow Democrats to serve as a convention delegate during the 2004 presidential election. But a lack of political chops is part of the appeal of his unconventional candidacy to represent Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, Abuissa said. “I am a grassroots candidate,” Abuissa,…

Sen. Joni Ernst’s voting record on Medicaid expansion and protecting insurance coverage for Iowans with preexisting health conditions was the subject of the launch of a new grassroots organization in the state working to amplify examples of everyday hardships. Emily Holley, executive director of Iowa Voices, introduced the new initiative Thursday at the Iowa Statehouse…

Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer was back in her home district this Monday to introduce a new piece of legislation centered on helping health care providers cover the costs of serving Medicare recipients. At St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Finkenauer laid out the pieces of the “Keeping Physicians Serving Patients Act of 2019,” a bipartisan bill…