Iowa went from purple to crimson.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa on Friday signed into law a controversial bill passed earlier this week by the Republican-led state legislature that would drastically limit abortion.
The bill, which would ban most abortions after six weeks of gestation, has over the past decade been dominated by the Iowa Republican Party, which has transformed from a key election battleground to a Republican-dominated all-red state. This is the latest example of matching. The governor’s office, both chambers of the state capitol, and the entire Iowa legislative delegation.
Mr. Reynolds said this year that as Republicans work to turn once-battleground states into forts, they will ban or severely limit gender reassignment treatments for minors and allow families to use taxpayer money to pay for private school tuition. and signed a law to relax child labor regulations in the state. of conservatism.
New Iowa abortion ban faces legal battle
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has led the state’s Republicans to a number of conservative legislative victories as the state turned red. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Evenhack)
In a statement this spring, the governor said, “Americans are also taking note of what states across the country look to Iowa as a beacon of freedom and opportunity,” promoting what he describes as a “historic” legislature. bottom.
It wasn’t long ago that Democrats were competitive in the state, holding the governor’s office for 10 straight years and one of the two seats in the U.S. Senate for 30 straight years. But Democrats haven’t won a gubernatorial election since 2006 or a Senate election since 2008.
Who’s in and who’s on the sidelines — a guide to the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race
In the White House race, former President Barack Obama led Iowa by nearly 10 points in 2008 and trailed it by 6 points in 2012, but four years later, former President Donald Trump won the White House. With the win, they defeated Hawkeye State by nine points. Trump had an 8-point lead over Iowa in his 2020 re-election loss.
Last November, the only remaining Democrat on the state legislative delegation was defeated.
Former President Donald Trump greets supporters before addressing a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, November 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Neighborgal)
“There’s been a noticeable shift in the political make-up of the state,” Jeff Link, a veteran Democratic consultant based in Iowa, told Fox News.
“The biggest change is in the Mississippi River counties that have traditionally been home to the Democratic Party,” Link said. ‘ and put the spotlight on it.
David Kochel, a longtime Republican consultant and veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns in Iowa and around the country, also said, “White labor from the former Democratic coalition, including many workers and blue-collar workers. “Movement of voters in the lower classes.” “
“As the Democratic Party became more progressive, white working-class voters migrated to the Republican Party,” added Kochel, former Iowa Republican Party Secretary General.
Kochel put the spotlight on Howard County in northeastern Iowa, noting that it “had the most fluctuations from Obama and Trump than any other county in the country.”
“We exchanged some votes. Some of the suburban moderate voters might have leaned a little to the left, but they were replaced by a much larger number of white working-class voters. I was a voter,” he added.
Iowa Democrat Jennifer Confast speaks to demonstrators gathered in the Iowa Capitol rotunda against a new ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy introduced by Republican lawmakers during Tuesday’s special legislative session. gave a speech. (AP Photo/Hannah Fingerhat)
Democrats hope the new abortion law will help improve their chances in next year’s Iowa legislative and legislative elections.
But Link said the Iowa Democratic Party “needs to focus on improving voter registration numbers, which the party has never done before. But it’s important because where we are now. cannot persuade enough independents,” he said. So we literally need to register more Democratic voters. “
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
And Democrats “not only need to visit every county in the state, but they need to listen to voters in those places instead of just ignoring them. That’s what happens sometimes. I think, and I think it’s a strategy,” he said. It’s a disaster. “
