Mediaboss Marketing

SARAH WATSONQuad City Times

With a backdrop of spotless cars that spanned the decades of the 20th century in Dahl Fords Old Car Home in Davenport, Mariannette Miller-Meeks told dozens of Republicans shed work to bring down rising prices and be a check on the Biden Administration if reelected.

It was June, and the average price of gasoline that day was $4.62 cents a gallon, nearing Iowas peak price before falling under $4 in late summer.

It (the cars) hearkens back to a day when America was an innovator, was great, was a world power and there was so much hope in our country, Miller-Meeks told Republicans at her June campaign event, which was headlined by potential 2024 presidential contender Nikki Haley. And as I reflect on the things that we see today in our nation, there seems to be a lot of hopelessness.

Miller-Meeks puts the blame squarely on the Biden administration for rising inflation, and the veteran often has criticized the president for the U.S. handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

People are also reading

She joined all Republican House members in voting against the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, called the American Rescue Plan Act, describing it as wasteful spending, and voted against the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, citing concerns that it was tied to a larger Democrat-backed social spending bill.

At the federal level, we need to monitor what were doing and spending, not increase taxes, and allow more energy development, Miller-Meeks said in a recent interview.

She supports a ramp-up of domestic oil and gas production through more land permits and leases and encourages more bio-fuel production as ways to address oil and gas prices.

Her opponent, Christina Bohannan, has contended Miller-Meeks hasnt done enough to combat price increases, pointing to her votes against Democrats Inflation Reduction Act, which would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. Some economists have predicted it will have a negligible impact on inflation.

Miller-Meeks also voted against the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that would funnel dollars to repair bridges, locks and dams, and other infrastructure in the district.

Miller-Meeks first came to Iowa for a residency in ophthalmology in 1988, and joined a private practice in Ottumwa. She ran for the 2nd District three times unsuccessfully, was the director of the state department of public health from late 2010 to early 2014, and served one term as a state senator.

The district

Miller-Meeks is seeking reelection in a newly drawn 1st Congressional District. She currently represents Iowas 2nd District in southeast Iowa. The new district covers 20 counties in southeast Iowa.

She won the seat in 2020, beating Democrat Rita Hart by six votes after a recount the narrowest margin of victory in a U.S. House election since 1984.

Miller-Meeks previously was the Republican nominee for the office three times in 2008, 2012, and 2014. She lost each election to then-incumbent representative Dave Loebsack, a Democrat.

She now faces an election challenge from state Rep. Christina Bohannan, a University of Iowa law professor and former environmental engineer.

Bohannan won election to the Statehouse in 2020, unseating 20-year Iowa City representative Vicki Lensing in the Democratic primary for the Iowa City seat.

Political forecasters have rated the race as competitive, and each candidate has attracted support from the national party. Most recently, one forecaster the Cook Political Report tightened its forecast of the race, changing its rating from likely Republican to leans Republican.

The new district drew Miller-Meeks home county, Wapello, into the 3rd Congressional District. She said she and her husband, Curt, kept their home in Ottumwa and she now has a second residence in LeClaire. The new district includes 16 of the 24 counties Miller-Meeks currently represents.

Abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court returned the decision of restricting or allowing abortions to the states this summer, spurring considerable and ongoing debate.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks has said she supports a federal ban on the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother.

A recent ad from Bohannan purports that Miller-Meeks wants to outlaw all abortions nationwide. No exceptions for rape, incest, or to save a womans life.

Miller-Meeks cosponsored the Life at Conception Act, a House proposal with 163 Republican co-sponsors that would guarantee a constitutional right to life of each born and pre-born human person from the moment of fertilization without explicit exceptions.

In an interview with a Quad-City Times reporter, Miller-Meeks said when asked about the Act: I think that you can recognize medically that life begins at conception, and still have exceptions... So, again, my long-held position in multiple public interviews has been Im pro-life with exceptions for life of the mother, rape, and incest.

The pandemic

Miller-Meeks called Operation Warp Speed, which cut red tape to speed up a COVID-19 vaccine a real shining moment for the United States.

She said, however, the U.S. had lessons to learn from the pandemic, including: amassing more sources of personal-protective equipment, or PPE; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention communicating pandemic risks more effectively; righting concerns that some state leaders prolonged lockdowns of schools and businesses longer than necessary.

Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

Go here to see the original:
Who is Mariannette Miller-Meeks? Meet the Republican ophthalmologist running to defend her seat in Congress - WCF Courier