The first task when it comes to political advertising is to define yourself before opponents get a chance to do so. That means putting out a positive spot touting your bona fides and maybe a couple of key issues you hope to emphasize on the campaign trail. Christina Bohannan introduced herself to Iowa’s 1st district in 2022 with this campaign launch video.
Bohannan stepped up to the plate to run in a district lost by SIX VOTES in 2020, but she lost by quite a bit in 2022. Now, she’s back to finish what she started. She is hoping that election returns are quite a bit different this time around with a Presidential electorate. She’s looking to defeat Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and get to Congress. Question is, can Bohannan win this district in 2024?
Like reading election-themed articles? I am continuing series of them each Sunday morning! Make sure to follow #SaveTheMajority and the group Save the Majority so you don’t miss important races down the ballot!
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is part of what I am calling the #MAGADozen. These Republicans in GOP-leaning swing districts are full-throated MAGA supporters and can be beaten. Christina Bohannan is one of the challengers I am fundraising for.
Christina Bohannan for Iowa-1
Campaign Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | DONATE | Volunteer
What’s the Big Idea?
Election results by county for IA-01 in 2022.
THIS RACE IS LIKELY REPUBLICAN, with an R+3 PVI
This district was numbered the 2nd district from 2003-2023, and it was once held by liberal Republican Rep. Jim Leach for over 30 years. The 2006 blue wave was a bridge too far for Leach, as he was upset by the unremarkable Rep. Dave Loebsack, a Democrats who held this district from 2007-2021. Future Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks held Loebsack to a close result in both 2010 and 2014.
Then, the bottom fell out in the district when Trump started running for office. He won the district 49-44 against Clinton in 2016, and Loebsack knew it was only a matter of time before he retired or was defeated. Loebsack retired in 2020, and the race to succeed him was the closest one in a very long time. Don’t tell me voting doesn’t matter when SIX VOTES separated the candidates in that race. It took a long time to decide the winner of that race. Instead of becoming a perennial candidate, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks now resides in Congress.
In 2020, Donald Trump won this district by a more comfortable 50.5% to 47.6% over Joe Biden. In 2022, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks defeated Christina Bohannan by a 53.3% to 46.6% margin, or roughly 21,000 votes. This is a seat that is trending away from us, and it is a difficult race no matter who is our nominee. Presidential turnout will help, but Biden will have to do a LOT better here for Bohannan to win this district. Advantage to Miller-Meeks for sure.
Here’s where this race will be won in the 1st district.
Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we lose.
- Clinton and Des Moines Counties: These two counties were comfortably carried by Trump, and they are likely to be carried by Miller-Meeks as well. Bohannan needs to get as close to 50-50 as possible in these counties, or she will have a very rough night in the election returns.
- Farm Country: The rest of the district is more rural, and it went sharply to the right during Trump’s two elections. Bohannan does have to win some voters back from these areas to win; she will likely be blown out in these counties. The margins are critical, and every vote helps!
Who is Christina BohannAn?
Bohannan is a law professor at the University of Iowa and a former member of the Iowa state legislature.
Bohannan has a slim resume, with only a short stint in elected office . What I do know about Bohannan is that she was an environmental engineer in Florida before moving to Iowa. She became a law professor at the University of Iowa in 2000. She decided to run for the state legislature in 2020, and defeated a Democratic incumbent in the primary. She left the legislature to run for this seat in 2022.
- Protecting Abortion Rights. Iowa has one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation. Bohannan would be a vote to codify Roe v. Wade, as well as a vote against a national abortion ban and a contraception ban. Emily’s List and Reproductive Freedom for All have endorsed her campaign.
- Climate Crisis. Bohannan is a huge proponent of wind energy, which is a field that is booming in Iowa. Not only would this help struggling farmers, but it will help us be independent with clean energy. The League of Conservation Voters has endorsed her, as well as 314 Action.
- Education Advocate. As a law professor, she is likely seeing students that are not ready for college even though they are attending school. She would push for more investment in K-12 education and prioritize vocational training for 21st-century manufacturing jobs.
- Health Care Helper. Bohannan is making an issue over rural hospital closures, as well as the cost of prescription drugs. She thinks that quality, affordable health care is a right for all. This issue is personal to her, as insurance dropped her dad after developing emphysema.
- Rural Focus. Bohannan has to win over some rural voters in order to win this district. She hopes that better access to broadband and a farm bill that works for farmers are the ticket to winning them over. Rural infrastructure being replaced has also been mentioned by the campaign.
- Defending Democracy. Bohannan mentions ‘strong protections for voting rights’ on her campaign website. It is likely she would vote for the John Lewis VRA and other measures to strengthen our election laws.
- Labor Leader. Bohannan has a 96% score from the state AFL-CIO, which indicates a strong record on labor issues that came before her. She would likely be a vote for the PRO Act, which would make it easier to organize a union.
- Human Rights. Bohannan says on her campaign website that she has worked in the state legislature to “pass legislation to crack down on human trafficking and to address the often overlooked problem of elder abuse.” She would bring a voice to these issues in Congress too.
Who is Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks?
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is your standard conservative Republican. That might play well in a district Donald Trump has carried twice, however.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks enlisted in the Army at 18, trained, then served, as a nurse and physician for 24 years. She opened a private practice back in Iowa and rose to be the director of the Iowa Department of Public Health. She eventually became a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Iowa. She won a state senate seat in 2018. She jumped up to Congress in 2020 when Rep. Dave Loebsack decided to retire.
She is seen as a “moderate” in Congress, and she does have some positive votes in her favor. She’s actually decent on the Climate Crisis for example, leading the Conservative Climate Caucus.
- Forced Birth Maniac. Miller-Meeks is against abortion rights, except in the usual exceptions for health of the mother, rape, and incest. Her rhetoric does not match her record, as she is a reliable GOP vote on legislation. She voted against the Right to Contraception Act, and she celebrated Dobbs with this statement. She also voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021.
- Immigration Hardliner. Miller-Meeks voted against the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021, and has signed on to court cases and legislation seeking to extend Title 42. She also crafted a bill to allow states to use unfulfilled contracts to build the border wall.
- 2nd Amendment Zealot. Miller-Meeks voted against every gun safety bill that came up for a vote when Speaker Pelosi was in charge of the House. She voted against the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, and the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022. It is likely she has at least an “A” rating from the gun extremist group NRA.
- Infrastructure Liar. Despite claiming that infrastructure was a “top priority” upon being elected in 2020, she has consistently voted against bills that focus on the issue. She voted with the GOP and against the American Rescue Plan of 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Against Elections Reform. Miller-Meeks may have voted to certify Joe Biden’s election in 2020, but she doesn’t support reforms to the election system to prevent it from happening again. She voted against the Electoral Count Reform, as well as the John Lewis VRA and the For the People Act. I suspect she’d support “election integrity” laws and similar efforts to suppress the vote.
- Repealing the ACA. In her previous Congressional runs in 2010 and 2014, she explicitly took a position against the ACA, better known as Obamacare. She has not had a chance to vote for or against the ACA while in Congress because a vote on the issue hasn’t come up.
- Dismantling Education. Miller-Meeks has been horrible on the issue of education. In the state legislature, she voted for what would become the school voucher program that is decimating Iowa’s schools and the budget. She voted to threaten the jobs of 145k teachers and wants to cut $35M from public schools on top of the pandemic programs expiring.
- Speaker Debacle. Miller-Meeks not only supported Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson like every other GOP member of Congress, she supported Gym Jordan on some Speaker votes as well, though she received death threats after withdrawing her vote for him. This calls into question any of her “moderate” credentials as all of her “moderate” stances mean nothing in the hands of the extremists running the House.
How Can You Help?
Christina Bohannan is a proven fundraiser and that has attracted the attention of national Democratic groups looking to expand the Congressional map. For instance, she has been elevated early on in the Red to Blue program, which shines a spotlight on promising candidates in swing districts.
Christina Bohannan raised an excellent $820k for the Q1 reporting period. This was one of the highest totals amassed by a challenger in the first three months of the year. Meanwhile, Rep. Marrianette Miller-Meeks only managed to raise $360k during the same period. Their cash-on-hand totals are nearly similar now as well, with Bohannan having $1.64M and Miller-Meeks having $1.77M. This race could get very expensive, which is why a donation to Bohannan would be valuable!
In terms of volunteering, there are plenty of events being sponsored by the Bohannan campaign - though there is no link to them on her campaign website. You are best off inquiring at your local Democratic Party headquarters on how best to help Bohannan out. It could range from canvassing to text banking to data entry to so much more, so make sure to help flip two seats in Iowa blue today!
In terms of social media, Christina Bohannan has yet to catch on like many challengers have. Her follower counts are low, especially for a repeat candidate. She has 4.7k followers on Twitter and 2,2k followers on Facebook. The content between the two is very similar, but I can actually embed her Twitter posts (while the Facebook ones fail to embed for some reason).
Here, she is touring a local jail and learning what exactly law enforcement needs to be successful in Iowa.
Help spread the word today by following Christina Bohannan and boosting her campaign in the critical realm of social media.
I’m not going to mince words about this race. Christina Bohannan is a distinct underdog in a district that voted for Trump twice and is likely to vote for him once again in 2024. Miller-Meeks has now been elected twice to this district and could be entrenched in it.
In spite of voting for many moderate candidates in the past, Iowa has many white evangelical voters, which are more likely to pull the lever for GOP candidates. A realignment of rural and undereducated voters to the GOP makes the math even more difficult. It is depressing to see what is a wonderful state that Obama won twice go down this dark path.
Rep. Marrianette Miller-Meeks has the simpler task of winning over all the voters who will vote for Trump. It should be enough to secure her the victory, especially since she is not a MAGA Republican on every issue. Even with these advantages, Daily Kos Elections rates her as the 21st most likely Republican seat to flip. Stranger things have happened, especially after a weak 56%-44% showing in the GOP primary from the right! Maybe those who voted against her will skip the race on the ballot.
All it takes is a small change in coalitions, or Miller-Meeks having to rush to defend Trump’s crimes, and Bohannan can win this district. The question remains whether or not she can take advantage of any vulnerability that presents itself in 2024.
Christina Bohannan for Iowa-1
Campaign Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | DONATE | Volunteer
Here is the Defeat the MAGA Dozen Fund on ActBlue! These 14 incumbent members of the GOP are MAGA Republicans residing in swing districts. The challengers are all strong and can win in these tougher districts. Please donate and then share a link to this site on your social media! #MAGADozen