Midterm Bright (Red) Spot: Iowa

On the occasion of the 2022 Midterm Elections, the Hawkeye State experienced the full effect of their own tsunami that’s been building over the years. Once a quintessential swing state, Iowa has swung totally red. Governor, both Senators, all four Reps, state AG (close race)—all Republican. It was the final flip of House 3, in a very close race, that did it (call it a 2000 vote margin out of over 300k votes). But it doesn’t stop there. The state senate stands at 32R, 18D. The state house is 60R, 40D. (Further down, you’ll see how that translates into practice.) And as a sort of cherry on top of the tsunami, Amendment 1 - Establish state constitutional right to bear arms - passed 65/35. Results here.

Kim Reynolds is “projected” to have been reelected as governor—she’s leading 58/40 (yes, I know that doesn’t make 100). Her Wikipedia page is relentlessly hostile towards Reynolds, but makes for interesting reading, for those able to read between the lines. In particular, the section on her handling of the Covid Hoax makes for entertaining—pearl clutching, if you swing Left—reading:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Reynolds disregarded public health guidance and scientific recommendations regarding mask mandates.

In April 2020, Iowa health officials advised Reynolds to enforce face coverings and not ease restrictions. In response, she took the stance that it was better to reopen the economy and encourage people to be responsible and wear masks.

Reynolds did not implement a requirement to wear masks in public places until after the November 2020 election, …

Reynolds said that the effectiveness of face masks in halting the virus's spread was not settled, although doctors and scientists …

… in July 2020, Reynolds said that Iowa localities' mask mandates were "not appropriate" and unlawful, and she sought to block them, making Iowa one of the only U.S. states lacking any enforceable local or state mask mandates.

In July 2020, Reynolds said she would invalidate some school districts' plans to limit in-person classes to one day a week for most students, with online learning on other days, overriding local school districts and requiring students to spend at least half of their schooling in classrooms. The state teachers' union, the Iowa State Education Association, criticized her move.

Despite the outcry from teachers, …, in late January 2021 Reynolds signed a bill, passed by the state legislature along party lines, that required school districts to provide full-time in-person classes upon parents' request.

In late January 2021, the state had the nation's third-highest positivity rate and third-lowest per capita vaccination rate.

A high positivity rate! That’s, uh, positive, right? That seems a strong suggestion of herd immunity. Interestingly, Iowa’s Covid death rate falls smack between those of Michigan and Illinois—two nearby states with draconian, and continuing, Covid regimes.

In September 2020, the Reynolds administration broke with the CDC's quarantine guidelines …

In October 2020, she appeared at an indoor fundraiser … for President Trump; attendees did not wear masks or socially distance at the events.

In November 2020, Reynolds issued a statewide mask mandate … When issuing the order, Reynolds said, "No one wants to do this. I don't want to do this" …

In February 2021, Reynolds rolled back mask requirements in indoor public places and restrictions on indoor dining. She did so without consulting with experts at the Iowa Department of Public Health.

In March 2021, Reynolds voiced her opposition to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, saying it would "provide bigger checks to states who chose aggressive shutdowns and mismanaged their state budgets."

In May 2021, Reynolds signed into law a bill that prohibited businesses and local governments from requiring customers to have proof of vaccination. She also signed into law a bill that prohibited school districts from requiring masks.

She sounds like a woman who knows her own mind, and isn’t fooled by “experts”, not suffering them gladly or at all.

Thus ends our feel good post for today.