Rod Blum and Abby Finkenauer battle to represent Iowa’s 1st District

Rod Blum, a two-year Republican incumbent is on the ballot against Abby Finkenauer, who would be one of the youngest representatives if elected.

U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, R-Iowa, (left) will face off against Democratic challenger Abby Finkenauer (right) to represent Iowa’s 1st congressional district.

October 23, 2018

Rod Blum (R) – Incumbent

Age: 63

Hometown: Dubuque

Education: Loras College, B.A., University of Dubuque, M.B.A.

Stances:

Education: Blum does not support federal involvement in education. He voted for a 2015 bill that replaced the President George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind policy.

Health Care: Blum opposed an initial version of the American Health Care Act, which aimed to replace the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. He then voted for a revised version of the AHCA later in 2017. He said the goal of a health-care reform bill must be to make health care more affordable, which he said the AHCA did not. Blum supports a market-driven approach to drive costs health care down.

Jobs/Economy: Having supported the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December of 2017, Blum hopes to continue cutting taxes and regulations for families and small businesses.

Environment/Agriculture: Blum supports expanding markets for Iowa’s agricultural products through free trade agreements.

Immigration: Blum supports strengthened border security through a wall or other means and has said that it must be the first step in the process of immigration reform.

Abby Finkenauer (D)

Age: 29

Hometown: Dubuque

Education: Drake University

Stances:

Education: Finkenauer supports investing more in trade and technical schools while working to bring down student-loan debt by allowing borrowers to refinance at current rates.

Health Care: A supporter of improving the Affordable Care Act, Finkenauer supports universal health care with a public option.

Jobs/Economy: Finkenauer supports increased funding opportunities and reduced regulations for small businesses. She also eyes infrastructure investment as a way to create more jobs and support business.

Environment/Agriculture: Finkenauer seeks to invest in renewable-energy sources to create jobs and protect the environment. She also hopes to strengthen family farms through crop-insurance programs, expanding access to capital for farmers, and ensuring farm subsidies go to family farms instead of large corporate entities.

Immigration: Finkenauer supports the renewal of DACA and creating a pathway to citizenship for immigrants. She securing the border and mandating E-Verify for employers. She does not support abolishing ICE.