Hart: Iowans and Americans cannot afford the extreme GOP agenda
Ahead of Trump and DeSantis visits Iowa Democrats Chair Rita Hart held a press conference to talk about the stream of Republican candidates that are beginning to enter the state ahead of the 2024 primary season.
Former Iowa state senator Rita Hart speaks at a campaign event for democratic candidates Liz Mathis and Christina Bohannan at the Sutliff Farm & Cider House in Lisbon, Iowa on Sept. 9, 2022. Hart represented the 49th District from 2013 to 2019. Hart lost to current U.S. House Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks by six votes in 2019. Speaking about Mathis, Hart said, “Nobody worked harder in the state legislature than Liz Mathis.”
March 9, 2023
Ahead of Iowa visits from former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart denounced their extreme agendas Thursday during a press conference.
DeSantis will visit Davenport on Friday with Gov. Kim Reynolds to talk about the “Florida model” of public education. He will visit Davenport and Des Moines on Friday morning. Trump is slated to visit Iowa for the first time since he officially announced his presidency in November 2022. Trump will be announcing his “America first” education policy at the Adler Theatre in Davenport on Monday evening.
Hart said among confirmed presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Trump who have visited the state and the many more that have not officially announced their candidacy, they all bring a common thread of ideas that she thinks are harmful to Iowans.
“These are candidates who it seems are tripping over themselves to prove who will support the most extreme abortion ban, the biggest cuts to Medicare and Social Security, give the biggest handouts to special interests, and will continue with their obsession and taking away the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans,” Hart said on Thursday.
DeSantis has not officially announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. However, he is favored for the race to be fierce competition against Trump, who has the support of almost 30 percent of Republican voters, according to several polls.
However, Hart said the ideologies and policies he is implementing in Florida would be detrimental to Iowans.
As a founding member of the U.S. House Freedom Caucus, DeSantis voiced his support for cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
“Iowans know that if that wrongheaded policy is brought to our state, it would be catastrophic for Iowa seniors,” Hart said. “Our Iowa seniors simply can’t afford that.”
Hart said no matter who wins the Republican 2024 presidential primary, the policies they will implement will affect hard-working Iowans.
“Look, I don’t know who’s going to come out of this GOP primary,” Hart said. “But the bottom line is that Iowans and Americans cannot afford the extreme agenda that these folks are peddling.”