Kaufmann re-elected in Iowa House District 73 race
Republican Bobby Kaufmann defeated Democratic challenger Jodi Clemens Tuesday for a spot in the Iowa House of Representatives.
Rep. Bobby Kaufmann poses for a portrait on Sept. 14, 2018 in Iowa City at the Adler Journalism Building.
November 6, 2018
Republican Bobby Kaufmann was re-elected to the state House on Tuesday night, with unofficial tallies showing he secured 55 percent of the vote.
Kaufmann defeated Democrat Jodi Clemens for the House District 73 seat, making him state representative for a fourth-consecutive term.
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“I am extremely grateful and humble to the voters for giving me such a resounding victory,” Kaufmann said. “I think my willingness to work with everybody, Republicans and Democrats, is what propelled me to such a strong victory.”
First elected in 2012, Kaufmann was re-elected in 2014, winning 67 percent of the vote, and ran uncontested for the 2016 term.
As the son of Jeff Kaufmann, the chair of the Iowa Republican Party, Bobby Kaufmann is known for his enthusiasm in politics, and he said in 2014 that his platform can be summed up in a single word — “results.”
“He’s a real go-getter, which may be part of seeing his dad and learning the process,” UI political-science Associate Professor Tim Hagle said. “A lot of people say that 2017 was one of the most conservative. Certainly he would have been a part of that.”
Hagle said Kaufmann may have relied on votes from Cedar County and the town of Wilton, due to opposition from many Johnson County citizens in 2016. He introduced the “Suck It Up, Buttercup” bill, which banned highway protests, after an anti-Trump blockade shut down I-80.
Although the controversial bill was never passed, in his last three terms, Kaufmann has worked to improve funding for small-town ambulances, advocation of private-property rights, and retiree benefits.
Kaufmann has served on the Government Oversight Committee, State Government Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee, among others.
He prominently advocates for education funding, a goal that coincides with his opponent Clemens’ platform, which calls for adequate funding of and access to public education.
In the 2018 legislative session, Kaufmann voted along with other Republican representatives to pass budget cuts to state services and programs, including the University of Iowa and Iowa State University.
As a small-business owner and community volunteer in District 73, Clemens’ platform advocates for intense campaign-finance reform, transitioning the Iowa Medicaid program from for-profit management to state control, and developing additional mental-health-care resources for children, among other items.
“I set out to prove that politics could be civil and we can run positive campaigns and you can do it without big money or special interests and I think we have accomplished that,” Clemens said. “Won or lost tonight, we are really proud of that.”
For the 2019 session, Kaufmann said in a previous interview with The Daily Iowan, the two issues he most wants to focus on is expansion of Iowa cannabis laws and the broken Medicaid system.
“I think there’s several issues to work on,” Kaufmann said. “I’ve been a strong proponent for stronger animal cruelty laws, grossly extending cannabis laws, fixing medicaid, education. These are top priorities.”
