Fred Hubbell, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, hammered down his pitch on stripping away privatized Medicaid in a campaign stop in Iowa City, just two days before Election Day.

“Everywhere we go we hear that ‘Medicaid privatization is failing our friends and our family members,’ ” Hubbell said to a crowd of more than 100. He stopped in Big Grove Brewery, located in Johnson County where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1.

Throughout his campaign, Hubbell has campaigned largely on the idea of moving away from a privatized Medicaid system.

Hubbell’s Republican opponent and incumbent, Kim Reynolds, supports her predecessor Terry Branstad’s 2016 decision to delegate state-managed insurance programs to private managed-care organizations.

“For many Iowans, as you heard before, Medicaid privatization and a lack of progress on mental health are both life and death issues,” Hubbell said.

Reynolds signed a mental-health legislation in the spring that would establish crisis centers and expand mental-health services by opening up access centers across the state, but Hubbell says that there is still not enough funding invested into mental health.

Hubbell said Reynolds is promising more of the same policies she’s enacted in her short term as governor, including collective bargaining rights and moving towards more privatized insurance programs.

“What are Gov. Reynolds’ promises? No change, more of the same, no new ideas, and no long-term vision for Iowa,” Hubbell said.

Zach Wahls, Democratic candidate for Iowa Senate District 37, said that among the issues Hubbell covered in his short speech, education is one of the most important in Johnson County.

“If you’re worried about tuition, if you’re worried about student debt, then you should go out and vote on Tuesday,” Wahls said.

Wahls said it’s important Hubbell campaigns in Iowa City this close to Election Day, because Johnson County needs to deliver a large margin of Democratic voters to boost statewide results.

Hubbell told reporters that he’s been traveling all over the state to make sure voters know what his priorities are, even to a Democratic-stronghold of Johnson County.

“It’s a statewide election, not a local election,” Hubbell told reporters. “We’re trying to get as many voters all across the state as we can. We may win Johnson County, but we want to get as many people in Johnson County voting for us as possible.”

Rita Hart, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, said she wants to work to put selflessness into state government and to move away from party politics.

“This election is about walking into the state capitol and creating a standard that says ‘Iowans have had enough of divisive politics,’ ” Hart said. “Now is the time to come together and get things done together.”

Hart told a story about her nephew, Tucker, who also appears in some Hubbell-Hart campaign advertisements. She said the privatized Medicaid system failed him after he was shot in the neck at 19 years old.

Hart said that Tucker is now a 43-year-old quadriplegic who lives in a nursing home.

“The rug was pulled out underneath him when Branstad and Reynolds rushed into this privatized Medicaid system,” Hart said.  

Hart said while her nephew’s story is one of optimism and hope, he also serves a reminder that we are all one accident away from needing Medicaid services.