1 week Ago
IOWA CITY — Iowa Republicans celebrated their party’s dominance in the state, barring participation of transgender girls and women in school sports and passing a voter ID bill and other “election integrity” measures during Iowa Republican U.S. Rep.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks annual tailgate fundraiser Saturday. Speaking to more than a hundred people at Streb Construction in Iowa City, Miller-Meeks touted her efforts to “protect women and girls in sports” and push back on efforts by Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration to redefine sex discrimination to offer new protections to LGBTQ students and staff at school. In this file photo, Rep.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, speaks to supporters after being reelected to represent Iowa in the 1st Congressional District, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, at Rhythm City Casino in Davenport. Miller-Meeks, who is running for reelection this fall to a third term representing Southeast Iowa's 1st Congressional District, voted for a bill last year that would prohibit school athletic programs from allowing individuals whose biological sex at birth was male to participate in programs that are for women or girls, mirroring an Iowa law signed by Republican Gov.
Kim Reynolds in 2022. The bill passed the U.S.
House along party lines in a 219-203 vote, but stalled in the U.S. Senate.
Supporters say the legislation strengthens existing protections for women and ensures a level playing field for female athletes. Opponents argue the bills co-opts the language of women’s rights to deny trans, nonbinary and intersex students equal access to educational opportunities. “I was the first in my family of eight to go to college, three boys, five girls,” Miller-Meeks said during the fundraiser.
“I was the first woman on faculty at University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology. I was the first woman president of the Iowa Medical Society, and have often been called a trailblazer. That's why I'm passionate about this issue.
We have fought for women's rights, and it is the Republicans that will give women's rights a place.” Appearing by video, anti-transgender activist Riley Gaines praised Miller-Meeks for “how you so fiercely and so passionately defend the rights of people like me, defend the rights of the daughters of the Iowans who are sitting in your room today.” Gaines, a former University of Kentucky NCAA swimmer, shared her story of competing against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Thomas, who first competed on the men's team at the University of Pennsylvania, sparked controversy in 2021 by competing in the women’s division, under the NCAA rules, after undergoing a gender transition. Gaines and Thomas tied for fifth place in the 200 meter freestyle during the 2022 NCAA championship. Republican Iowa U.
S. Sen. Joni Ernst, in a prerecorded video message played during the event, empathized the importance of the upcoming fall election and the need for “true conservative leaders” in Washington to push back against border control and economic policies of the Biden-Harris administration.
Iowa’s three other Republican U.S. House members also spoke, as did Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann, Utah congressman and NFL Super Bowl champion Burgess Owens and former Iowa Hawkeye tight end and former Acting U.
S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker. Four protesters disrupted the fundraiser and were escorted out by off-duty law enforcement working the event.
The protesters, who were seated among donors and supporters of Miller-Meeks, stood up and interrupted speakers to demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and arms embargo on Israel. Members of Iowans for Palestine protest outside Iowa Republican U.S.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' annual tailgate fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Iowa City.
The group criticized Miller-Meeks' support of Israel in its war against Hama in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire and arms embargo on Israel. Two Jewish activists, including Mallory Hellman, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, stood up and chanted, “Stop using our pain to justify killing Palestinian children!” and “You are not making me or my people any more safe. .
.. How many of us are you going to sacrifice to continue your war?” Several minutes later, ordained Christian pastor Anna Blaedel and engineer Casey Harwood stood up to call out Miller-Meeks over her support of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
All were forcibly escorted out of the fundraiser, repeating “Cease fire now! Arms embargo now!” until they exited. Harwood and Blaedel were detained by police and then released, according to the protesters. Owens, the Utah congressman, compared the protesters “who hide themselves in this room” to white supremacist members of the Ku Klux Klan “who hid behind white masks” and called them “cowards.
” Miller-Meeks campaign declined to comment on the protesters. Members of Iowans for Palestine protest outside Iowa Republican U.S.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' annual tailgate fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Iowa City.
The group criticized Miller-Meeks' support of Israel in its war against Hama in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire and arms embargo on Israel. She and Ernst were among a group of Republicans who recently returned from a trip to the Middle East to discuss efforts to protect Israel and bring American hostages home. The visit came just days after the body of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin was recovered by Israeli forces as they moved in to try and rescue him and other hostages captured by Hamas.
Goldberg-Polin was wounded and abducted by Hamas during the Re'im music festival massacre. He was held hostage for almost 11 months, until his body was recovered Aug. 31.
Biden has committed to supporting Israel and continued to supply arms during the war, which started on Oct. 7 when Hamas launched a terror attack that killed hundreds of Israelis and abducted hundreds more. But Biden and others have been critical of Israel's tactics, which has left millions homeless in Gaza, and more than 40,000 dead, including more than 16,000 children.
Recently, nearly 1 million Israeli citizens marched in the streets after Hamas killed several hostages before they could be rescued. Marchers accused Netanyahu of scuttling a cease fire deal that would have brought the hostages home. Miller-Meeks, in a statement, said “Hamas’s recent murder of six hostages, including American citizen Hersh Goldberg Polin, is yet another tragedy that underscores the brutality of” Hamas.
“We will continue to forcefully push for the release of all the hostages,” she said. Non-partisan election forecaster Cook Political Report this week moved Iowa’s 1st Congressional District race from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican,” signaling the rematch between Miller-Meeks and Democrat Christina Bohannan has become more competitive. Bohannan, a former state lawmaker and University of Iowa law professor, has outraised Miller-Meeks four quarters in a row and also leads in cash on hand.
“Bohannan has run an aggressive rematch campaign. She’s outraised the Republican incumbent every fundraising quarter since launching her campaign last year and has already spent $1 million on TV ads,” Cook Political Report wrote. Bohannan lost by nearly 7 percentage points, or more than 20,000 votes, to Miller-Meeks in 2022, who won re-election to a second term after winning her first election by the slimmest of margins — six votes over Democrat Rita Hart in 2020.
“It’s no wonder Mariannette Miller-Meeks is losing ground. Time and time again, Miller-Meeks has sided with her special interest donors at the expense of Iowa’s middle class families,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Mallory Payne. “Iowans know Christina Bohannan is the only candidate in the race who has their backs and will deliver solutions to the challenges they’re facing.
” Former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will face off in their first debate ahead of the November election. It takes a lot of money to win elections. The 2022 election cycle was the priciest nonpresidential election cycle in history, with spending reaching nearly $9 billion , according to an OpenSecrets analysis.
Effective outreach and messaging requires ads, stickers, campaign staff, pens, and more—even for last-minute high-profile switch-ups such as the one the United States is currently facing. With Biden's decision to step aside, Kamala Harris' campaign has received record-breaking contributions. Her team has raised more than $81 million in the 24 hours since Biden's announcement, according to reporting from The Associated Press.
As of August 29, 2024, the Harris and Trump presidential campaigns have netted over $750 million in donations, according to Federal Election Commission data . But the presidential race is only part of the picture. The real races to watch are the congressional campaigns battling for control of both chambers in November, separated only by a few votes on either side.
With margins razor thin, House Democrats only need to net five seats to regain control, while Senate Republicans require just two. What kind of influence does all that money have? Some members of Congress have higher rates of small donors, those giving $200 or less, but PACs and wealthy donors constitute the greatest percentage of fundraising dollars. High-net-worth individuals accounted for 87% of total donors, and 90% of donations in House and Senate races, according to FEC data analyzed by Windfall.
Windfall took a look at the numbers to show which congressional campaigns are drawing the most donations from wealthy donors during this election cycle. Shown are donations from individuals worth at least $1 million and where they gave to House and Senate candidates, their affiliated committees, or unauthorized committees during the 2024 election cycle. According to the Survey of Consumer Finances , the median net worth of American households is $192,700, meaning the wealthy donors in this analysis are over five-times wealthier than the typical U.
S. family. Data is as of the first quarter of 2024, ending March 31.
Fundraising is critical for candidates to reach their voters. Without the money from these efforts, campaign hopefuls can say goodbye to television ads, staff, and all the trappings that go with elections—and election wins. Most of the funds go toward media advertising to help spread a candidate's message while also countering information from a candidate's competitors.
But there are also expenses just to keep grassroots efforts moving, such as payments for pollsters and printing yard signs and posters. These disbursements all add up to millions. In Nevada, David Duffield, the billionaire entrepreneur behind enterprise software firms PeopleSoft and Workday, donated $2 million to help elect GOP Senate contender Sam Brown.
Though not an established donor, FEC records show Duffield and his wife also donated more than $1 million to Trump's campaign in 2020. At more than $70 million this election cycle, Jeff Yass, an investor in ByteDance, is the second-highest donor to conservative causes and PACs, beating many on the top donors list by more than $11 million. ByteDance, which owns TikTok, has come under fire in the Biden administration because of security concerns.
New York Magazine has speculated that Yass' support for the Republicans may have influenced Trump's sudden flip-flop on the TikTok ban . At the top of the OpenSecrets list as of July 22 is Timothy Mellon, who made one of the largest political donations in history ($50 million) the day after Trump was convicted on 34 felony charges in Manhattan. This follows his donations to Make America Great Again Inc.
and the American Values super PAC, which supported Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s now-suspended campaign.
High-net-worth individuals like these might be driven to donate to shape policies that will help their finances, to impact social policies they care about, or simply because they enjoy the power and challenge. "Candidates start agreeing with you," Robert Shapiro told U.S.
News . A senior fellow at McDonough School of Business in Georgetown, Shapiro served as undersecretary of commerce under President Bill Clinton. "It's psychic satisfaction for megalomaniacs.
" Wealthy individuals account for at least a third of total donations in every state, but in some, the share climbs to half. Donations by wealthy individuals accounted for 52% of total donations in Maryland and North Carolina, 51% in Hawaii, and 50% in Virginia. Historically, winning candidates also spend the most .
Exceptions include Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham's 2020 win against Jaime Harrison in South Carolina, despite huge Democratic fundraising. In his campaign, Graham positioned the race as a choice between "capitalism versus socialism" and "law and order versus chaos.
" Though Harrison had raised close to $109 million to Graham's $75 million, it was the latter that ultimately won the votes. As the Graham and Harrison bout shows, correlation isn't causation. Studies show that partisan districting and national trends, rather than money alone, have the most influence on election outcomes.
Instead of buying elections, donors give to candidates already favored to win. Money may not guarantee a win, but it can help add fuel to critical races. Among the seven congressional elections with the highest percentage of contributions from high-net-worth donors, affluent individuals accounted for at least half of all donations.
Funds poured in from high-net-worth donors fueled downstream elections in Mid-Atlantic states, North Carolina, and Virginia, as well as in Florida, Tennessee, and New Jersey. While distinctive dynamics and demographic shifts define each of these well-funded elections, two possible horse races are worth highlighting. In North Carolina's 13th district, Republican Brad Knott won the primary in a landslide victory and will face off against Democrat Frank Pierce.
Redistricting in 2022 set the stage for a contentious election in the district, which has transformed since the last election cycle. In 2020, President Joe Biden was favored by voters by 1%, whereas today the district shows 17% support for Trump. The area has gone from a balanced and bipartisan district to a "MAGA fiefdom ," according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
In Florida's 23rd district, where wealthy individuals made just over half of all contributions, incumbent Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz will face off against Republican Joseph Kaufman in November. Despite redistricting in the Sunshine State that created mostly secure seats among incumbents, the House seat in the 13th district was ranked as "vulnerable" by the Tampa Bay Times. In a state that has gone from blue to purple over the last decade, affluent Democrats led the fundraising with 29% of all donations, as compared to 25% among Republicans.
It's worth noting that the district, which covers Boward and parts of Palm Beach County, has long been home to wealthy donors on both sides of the aisle. With Moskowitz winning his seat by just 5 points in 2022, it's likely that wealthy donors will try to ensure the scales once again tip in his favor. Story editing by Carren Jao.
Additional editing by Alizah Salario and Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Tim Bruns. This story originally appeared on Windfall and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter..
