1 week Ago
Cedar Falls Democrat Sarah Corkery realizes she has an uphill battle. The first-time candidate and two-time breast cancer survivor stepped up to run for Northeast Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District seat because Democrats were “desperately looking for someone” to run against Republican incumbent Ashley Hinson, she said. Hinson, a former state lawmaker and former KCRG-TV news anchor who lives in Marion, is seeking re-election to a third term.
She won reelection last year to a second term by 8 percentage points against Democratic former state lawmaker Liz Mathis of Hiawatha. Hinson unseated first-term Democratic U.S.
Rep. Abby Finkenauer in 2020. Jody Puffett, 59, of Delhi, is running unaffiliated with a political party and will appear on the Nov.
5 ballot alongside Corkery and Hinson. Corkery said she had recently quit her job to start her own business, and felt the timing was right to challenge the well-funded, two-term incumbent in a district that favors Republicans. "And that's called a long shot, right? And it's no secret that (the Iowa Democratic Party) had asked other people to consider this race, " Corkery told The Gazette.
" ...
I believe nobody wanted to be the Liz Mathis palate cleanser — that if Liz Mathis could not get this done, it was no chance. So I was willing to take that chance and do this, even knowing we wouldn't get help (from the state and national party) and that it would be a very hard job. Because I thought, how many times in your life are you the best candidate that's willing to do it? So to me, it was a great opportunity.
" Cedar Falls Democrat Sarah Corkery, who is running to challenge Republican incumbent U.S. Rep.
Ashley Hinson for Iowa's 2nd Congressional District, answers questions from the media after the Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. (Bailey Cichon/The Gazette) Corkery said she was spurred to run for the U.S.
House seat after Hinson declined initially to sign on as a co-sponsor to bipartisan legislation introduced by Iowa GOP U.S. Sen.
Joni Ernst that would give eligible metastatic breast cancer patients access to support and medical care years sooner than current law allows. The bill would waive the five-month waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance and the 24-month waiting period for Medicare benefits for eligible individuals with metastatic breast cancer. Corkery said the legislation would do away with unnecessary waiting periods and ensure patients get the care they need.
Hinson’s said she is supportive of the bill and has since signed on as a co-sponsor. Corkery also cited Hinson’s votes against the bipartisan infrastructure law and a U.S.
House bill that would have capped the cost of insulin for all Americans at $35. “Iowans deserve better than a representative who puts partisan politics over our health care needs,” Corkery said. Hinson has said government price controls ultimately will raise premiums for Americans.
Instead, she said she favors another bill with several bipartisan provisions that would cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at for seniors on Medicare Part D, allow high-deductible plans to cover insulin costs before the deductible kicks in, increase transparency for patients and promote innovation. Hinson said she opposed the infrastructure bill because of its large price tag, and has advocated for and helped secure funding for targeted infrastructure updates and various projects in the district. Corkery has spent over 25 years as a marketing professional and now operates a small creative branding firm with her husband, Chris.
She has focused her campaign on women's health care rights and public education. She regularly attacks Hinson for supporting legislation limiting women’s ability to receive an abortion. Corkery often highlights her business experience and personal resilience raising a child with a disability and surviving breast cancer.
She stressed the importance of authenticity and the need for election reform to make politics more accessible. “Abby Finkenauer only lasted one term because, you know, she had a reputation for not being available,” Corkery said. “So this district doesn't like incumbents who are not productive.
I think that is why I'm the right candidate. I have proved in business and in personal life I can do hard things, like raise a child with a disability and help raise $1 million for a park to accommodate them. That's not easy to do.
So doing hard things is what I do.” Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District encompasses 22 counties in Northeast Iowa, including Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Dubuque. The race is expected to be less competitive than Iowa’s 1st and 3rd districts, which are also on the Nov.
5 ballot. A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed in September more likely Iowa voters preferred a Republican candidate over a Democrat in three of the state’s four congressional districts, including the 2nd District. The independent, non-partisan Cook Political Report rates Iowa’s 2nd District as a “solid Republican” R+4 district, meaning that in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, voters in the district supported Republican candidates an average of about 4 points more than the nation did as a whole.
Cedar Falls Democrat and Iowa 2nd Congressional District candidate Sarah Corkery speaks to Iowa Democrats during the 2024 Liberty and Justice Celebration on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines (Tom Barton/The Gazette) The latest figures from the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office show there are nearly 150,000 active registered Republican voters, more than 127,000 active registered Democrats, nearly 130,000 active no-party voters, and 2,400 active registered Libertarians in the district. Hinson has a large fundraising advantage over Corkery. National Democrats have not targeted the race in the same way they have the 1st and 3rd districts, leaving Corkery with little outside support.
Corkery points to the latest Iowa Poll that suggests Vice President Kamala Harris has significantly narrowed the presidential race in Iowa, cutting Republican former President Donald Trump’s lead to 4 points. Corkery said she has witnessed a surge of enthusiasm since Harris took over the top of the Democratic ticket. It’s a significant shift she said will help boost her campaign — especially with an independent candidate on the ballot she’s hoping will siphon votes from Hinson.
Corkery called during a debate last Monday for Republicans who disagree with Hinson’s policies and voting record to look at the independent’s campaign and consider supporting her. Asked after the debate about that strategy, Corkery told reporters, "It's just a numbers game, right?" and "if Jody takes 5 percent or 10 percent away from Ashley, we win. I'm not being sneaky.
Jody Puffett is a lifelong Republican, and she did enter this race because of (Hinson’s support of aid to) Ukraine. So if those out there really feel the same, I want them to look at Jody Puffett." Corkery said she supports Harris' plans to build an “opportunity economy,” including expanding the child tax credit and housing assistance for first-time homebuyers, providing a $50,000 tax deduction for small-business startups, lowering the cost of prescription drugs and implementing a federal ban on price gouging by food suppliers.
Corkery, during last week’s lone debate between her and Hinson, said she supports letting the 2017 Trump-era tax cuts expire, saying that it disproportionately favors wealthy Americans. Hinson said her opponent “said the quiet part out loud here,” and that Democrats support increasing taxes across all income levels. Corkery said she supports a bipartisan plan in the U.
S. Senate to secure the border that was thwarted by Donald Trump, the Republican former president seeking another term in the White House, and his supporters. The deal called for increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention beds, Border Patrol agents, asylum officers and immigration judges.
It would reinforce new restrictions on migrants seeking asylum, and make other reforms. She said she supports making it more difficult to gain asylum in the United States and giving presidents more authority to close the Southern border. “Extreme conservative Republicans blocked that bill so that Trump would not get a win before the election,” Corkery said at the debate.
“People are tired of these politics. If it’s a true problem and you have the solution in your hands, we need to get it done.” Democratic Candidate for Iowa’s second Congressional District Sarah Corkery sits for a portrait at her home in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Wednesday, September 18, 2024.
(Nick Rohlman/The Gazette) She added that she opposes Trump’s proposal to use the military and local law enforcement to enact the largest deportation of undocumented immigrants in U.S. history.
Corkery, echoing economists and immigrant advocates, said mass deportation would threaten the economy and disrupt the food supply chain, which is reliant on many forms of migrant labor. Corkery said Hinson and Republicans are “fear mongering” on the issue of immigration instead of focusing on expanding and improving the legal immigration system. Corkery has made restoring access to abortion care a priority if elected, and said the decision to terminate a pregnancy should be a conversation “between a person and a doctor,” with no defined cutoff point for when abortions become illegal.
“This is not a flippant conversation, and that's what it's become when we focus on one metric,” she said. “ ..
. And nobody should also tell you that the fetus you carry has more rights than you do. That's just wrong.
” Corkery spoke about her experience with pregnancy complications when she and her son almost died at 38 weeks of gestation. She said she does not believe focusing on how many weeks into a pregnancy abortions should become illegal is productive, as it does not reflect the reasons why women sometimes receive late-term abortions. “If you say a number of weeks, then your next question should be, ‘Is the mother’s life at risk? Is there a fetal anomaly that makes this incompatible with life?’” Corkery said during the debate.
Corkery has attacked Hinson for cosponsoring the Life at Conception Act, which would establish legal protections for fetuses and embryos at “the moment of fertilization,” and guarantee a “right to life” for every human being. While the bill — which never made it to the House floor — does not specifically mention abortion, critics say it would undoubtedly restrict the medical procedure as well as in vitro fertilization. The bill does not spell out protections for fertility treatments or exceptions for cases involving rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.
“She either doesn’t understand what she signed or she is playing politics with women’s lives,” Corkery said during the debate. Hinson said she would not vote for the bill as it's currently written, or any other piece of legislation, without those exceptions and a carve out for IVF. She said she signed onto the legislation to “support a culture of life in Washington, D.
C.” Hinson condemned Corkery for not specifying a cutoff point for when abortion should become illegal, calling the position extreme. Asked if she supports the United States sending weaponry and humanitarian aid and personnel to Israel, Corkery said “it needs to be looked at.
” She said it’s crucial to ensure aid reaches innocent people, including women and children, and that finding a two-state solution is essential. “But should we send aid? Yes. Making sure people can defend themselves and making sure it's going toward women and children and innocent lives, yes,” Corkery said at the debate.
Speaking with The Gazette, Corkery said she also supports U.S. aid to Ukraine.
“We need to stand up with our allies” and support democracy, she said. Corkery said she’s grown frustrated with Hinson’s voting record, calling it partisan, and that it shows that she's more interested in catering to special interests than looking out for Iowans. “I'll work with people who are Republicans or Democrats, or anybody who's interested in helping Iowans improve their lives,” Corkery told The Gazette.
“...
Americans are tired of (gridlock in Congress). They just want progress. .
.. What we need to do is start finding people who are willing to work together.
” Hinson’s campaign has claimed Corkery would be a “rubber-stamp” of Harris’ agenda the campaign asserts has fueled inflation, an open border and global instability that has put Americans in danger. Corkery has denied the assertion. She said, if elected, she will “vote with my convictions .
.. and what’s best for Iowa.
” Erin Murphy of The Gazette Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report. To help make sense of the way America picks a president, The Associated Press is examining and explaining the ins and outs of U.S.
elections. Voting machines have been at the center of a web of conspiracy theories, with false claims that they were manipulated to steal the presidency from Donald Trump. So you want to cast a ballot on Election Day? Or maybe vote by mail? It helps to know the rules.
Roughly 50 years ago, about 95% of voters cast their ballots in person on Election Day. That number has fallen gradually as states have provided Americans with more options. It can be tough to make sense of everything before Election Day, so here's a guidebook, of sorts, to American democracy as it nears its 250th birthday.
The Associated Press has created a series of videos explaining how elections work in the United States. Age: 49 Party: Democrat Town of residence: Cedar Falls Occupation: Co-owner and chief marketing officer of Corkery & Corkery, a creative branding firm she operates with her husband, Chris. Political experience: First-time candidate Campaign website: corkeryforcongress.
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