David Pautsch, a Republican from Davenport, has joined Iowa’s 1st Congressional District primary race against incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa.
Pautsch said one of the big reasons he has chosen to challenge Rep. Miller-Meeks is because of his two sons who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. Pautsch said his sons know what sacrifice is, as his oldest son suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and his second son died while overseas.
“I have a comfortable life, and this makes it a little bit more chaotic, but I’m willing to pay the price because my boys did … They were real patriots, they know the meaning of sacrifice,” Pautsch said. “In continuation of this theme in our family, I’ll help too.”
Pautsch said although he is 69 years old, the least he can do is throw his hat in the ring against Miller-Meeks because he believes the United States is going down the tubes, and he would like to save it from doing so.
“There are too many wonderful places, too many wonderful people in this country to have the tail wagging the dog all the time and breeding such chaotic states because of a lack of common sense and morality,” Pautsch said.
Pautsch said he has been disappointed with Miller-Meeks because he said she can’t figure out whether she is a Republican or Democrat. He said Iowa’s 1st Congressional District needs a strong Republican voice.
Pautsch disagreed with Miller-Meeks’ decision to change her vote in a second round of votes for U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, for the Speaker of the House after voting for him in Jordan’s first round of votes.
“When it came time for voting for the Speaker of the House, we had a good, Conservative Republican, Jim Jordan. She [Miller-Meeks] voted for him, and then she decided not to vote for him because she got death threats,” Pautsch said. “Death threats are nothing to play around with, but it’s not what governs a politician that has strong principles, you do what’s right.”
On Oct. 18, Miller-Meeks released a statement regarding her reversal of support for Jordan after it was clear he would not have enough votes to become speaker.
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Miller-Meeks claimed in her statement she was receiving death threats after she waged her support for the House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman, U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas.
“One thing I cannot stomach, or support is a bully,” Miller-Meeks said in a news release. “I did stand for bullies before I voted for Chairwoman Granger and when I voted for Speaker Designees Jordan, and I will not bend to bullies now.”
Pautsch said he recognizes some things Miller-Meeks is working on, such as her work with reducing medical costs, but he said what she supports is a small comparison to what the U.S. needs.
Pautsch said one of the main focuses of his campaign is the southern border. Another focus is establishing a strong economy which, he says, starts by having a strict budget that the U.S. lives by.
He would like to see a budget that is not constantly changing and exceptions are being taken.
“The reason we have inflation is because we have too much money chasing too few goods … It’s really simple, we can’t just be constantly printing money and more money,” Pautsch said. “You have to make sure you have some restraints.”
Pautsch would like to see religion involved in political conversations because he believes it is the way the U.S. was started. He said the founders wanted God to help and bless the government.
“The only thing our founders wanted to do was keep the government out of religion. They didn’t want a state religion, but they definitely wanted God to help us with government, he said.
