Meet the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture and United States Senate candidates – Iowa State Daily
DES MOINES – The Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair, hosted by The Des Moines Register, hosted candidates for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture and United States Senator.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Mike Naig (R)
Naig, the incumbent secretary of agriculture, first took office in 2018. Prior, he served as the deputy secretary of agriculture and grew up on a Century Farm in Cylinder, Iowa. Naig addressed the crowd on August 17.
“We need to remind folks that every Iowan benefits from a strong agriculture. Strong agriculture leads to strong families and communities and a stronger Iowa because of it, so when we’re working hard on these things that matter so much, building markets and protecting our soil and water and ensuring that we’re looking at the next generation,” Naig said. “That’s not just for farm families; that’s for all Iowans.”
Naig later emphasized the importance of expanding markets, protecting our soil and improving our water quality. He also talked about expanding biofuels and making E15 gas nationwide.
“This is something that I care about deeply, and I promise that we’ll continue to deliver results, not just rhetoric,” Naig said. “We will partner with farmers and our agricultural communities, not punish them. I will stand with farmers; I’m on the side of our farmers, and remember when they’re doing well, Iowans are doing well, so let’s keep agriculture strong and let’s keep our state growing.”
Chris Jones (D)
Jones works at the University of Iowa as a research engineer and designed Iowa’s first water quality sensor system. Prior, Jones worked at the Des Moines Water Works for almost a decade, overseeing operations and spent four years as an environmental scientist for the Iowa Soybean Association. Chris Jones spoke on the soapbox on Saturday.
“My campaign is focused on clean water,” Jones said. I tell people they should view the campaign as a referendum on the condition of Iowa’s water. So if you think the condition of our water is adequate, if you think the progress towards cleaning it up is adequate, then I’m probably not your person.”
Jones believes the state has incrementally approached the water quality problem.
“We’ve tried to nibble at the edges of the corn soy system, and the CAFO system, to try to make water quality better by spending a million dollars here and a million dollars there and a million dollars over yonder on this band-aid conservation,” Jones said. “It has not worked.”
To address the problem, Jones called for a diversification of crops.
“We need farmers growing crops like oats, we need fruits and vegetable crops, we need pastures of cattle again,” Jones said. “Let’s try to diversify our farms. This is how you get better water”
Jones closed by calling for more local foods.
“We import 97% of our food in Iowa,” Jones said. “We hear the industry now; we hear the Farm Bureau over here saying we feed the world. While we don’t even feed Polk County.”
United States Senate
Throughout their soapbox speeches as candidates for the United States Senate, supporters of Ashley Hinson (R) and Josh Turek (D) displayed opposing signs: “Ashley Hinson sold out Iowa to China” and “Skipping the Iowa State Fair – Turek is in Nantucket.” Hinson addressed the crowd on August 17, and Turek spoke on August 14.
Ashley Hinson (R)
Hinson previously worked as a camera operator and editor for WOI-TV in Des Moines and served in the Iowa House of Representatives. Currently, Hinson serves Iowa’s second district in the United States House of Representatives.
“Before I tell you a little bit more about me and why I want to be your next United States Senator, I just want to take a moment to highlight a little bit about my opponent, Josh Turek,” Hinson said. “Tonight, he is actually fundraising in Nantucket with the billionaires and the millionaires.”
Hinson continued by stating that Tuerek is an ‘absentee legislator’.
“That’s why he’s fundraising with his boss, Chuck Schumer, tonight,” Hinson said. “But I can tell you this: he decided to skip 58% of the votes at the state capital this year, 261 votes. Today we are at the Iowa State Fair celebrating our veterans with the veterans parade; Josh Turek skipped that, and he also skipped the vote to fund the Department of Veterans Affairs here in Iowa.”
Hinson’s campaign emphasizes the importance of preparing Iowa for the next generation.
“It’s about our kids,” Hinson said. “I’m a mom with a minivan. I have two teenage boys, and I think nothing prepares you better for serving in Congress or the U.S. Senate than being a mom to teenagers, because you’re constantly negotiating with unreasonable people.”
Hinson helped pass the Stillbirth Prevention Act signed into law during former U.S. President Joe Biden’s term. She also helped with the no-tax-on-tips or overtime rule and reduced taxes on Social Security under U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term.
Hinson concluded by emphasizing the need to lower prescription drug prices and deliver better benefits to veterans.
“My priorities in the U.S. Senate will continue to be your priorities,” Hinson said. “Heartland values are American values, and that’s what I am going to fight for every single day. God bless Iowa, God bless the United States and I look forward to earning your vote in November to be Iowa’s next U.S. Senator.”
Josh Turek (D)
Turek, born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, currently serves in the Iowa House of Representatives and previously won two Paralympic gold medals with the United States Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team.
“I grew up in a working-class family in a working-class community,” Turek said. “In my family, we went to the Goodwill for clothes, we shared clothes, we went to the free summer lunch programs. So, in a deeply personal way, I understand what so many Iowans are going through right now.”
Turek shared with the crowd that his father’s exposure to Agent Orange while serving in the Vietnam War resulted in him being born with spina bifida.
“I had my first surgery at one day old,” Turek said. “I had 21 surgeries before the age of 12. So also in a deeply personal way I understand the importance of affordable and accessible healthcare.”
Turek involved himself in politics after working in healthcare by assessing and providing mobility devices to individuals with progressive conditions.
“Unfortunately, what we were finding was that since Iowa had privatized its Medicaid system, a 1000% increase in denial rate [occurred],” Turek said.
Turek continued by sharing statistics about the state of Iowa.
“Your gas prices are up $1.20 year after year,” Turek said. “The average Iowa family has already spent more than $516 on gas just since the war in Iran began. Your grocery bills are up 33% since Hinson got to Congress. Your health insurance is up 16% just this year.”
Turek then addressed the Republican nominee for Senate, Ashley Hinson.
“She voted for 110,000 Iowans to lose their healthcare in a state with a cancer and a healthcare crisis,” Turek said. “Six times she has voted to continue this war in Iran. Since she has gone to D.C., she is up to 10 times more wealthy just in six years.”
Turek closed by stating that if elected, he will fight for campaign finance reforms and ethics reforms.
“I’m going to fight for term limits,” Turek said. “I’m going to fight to ban members of Congress and their family from owning and trading stocks. I’m also going to fight for every single member of Congress to hold at least one annual town hall.”