Platform

In Iowa, our differences make us stronger. This includes the dozens of different religions and denominations people practice within our state. 

Spirituality is a personal path, one that is ever-evolving throughout a person’s life. 

The founding fathers made it clear: there is to be no national religion. In Iowa we must protect all walks of life to worship (and the choice to not worship) the creator in their own way. 

Laws are not to be based on a religion, but rather must be based on ethics to benefit society. 

I will protect the separation of church and state. In doing so, I protect your freedom to walk the path that is true to your soul. 

The right to property is one of the foundational rights of Americans, and one that should not be trampled upon by large corporations with deep pockets. However, the carbon pipeline companies are trying to seize land of people who do not want to sell to them. 

In the spring of 2025 lawmakers successfully passed a bill to stop the use of eminent domain by corporations only to have Governor Reynolds veto it with one stroke of a pen. This is wrong.

Meanwhile, in Mills county the school district is also trying to use eminent domain to take five acres of generational property to use as a bus barn. This is also an example of improper use of eminent domain. There is already a bus barn and residents have explained to me that moving it has very little impact on fuel costs and transport time. 

No government or private entity should be allowed to take land just because they want it. If a landowner does not want to sell, that should be their choice. End of story. 

Eminent domain should be extremely limited and rarely used, as in the cases, for example, of street or highway expansion where the original street already exists and it is crucial to expand capacity. 

No government or private entity should be able to just take land for pet projects or for-profit endeavors. 

The Declaration of Independence makes it clear:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Yet throughout the history we have seen politicians try to insert a “but…”

There is no “but.” No matter your sex, race, religion, sexuality, gender identity, or national origin, you MUST be given the rights, privileges, and protections under the law.

For too long Republican lawmakers have used culture wars to stroke the fears of their Republican constituents, often using half truths and full lies to manipulate the population. 

No more. If one group’s rights are in jeopardy, all of ours are.

We are Iowans. Sometimes our lives might look different, but we all call this state home. 

As a hunter, I am astounded of the annual attacks on our public lands. Every year the GOP tries to pass legislation limiting our Department of Natural Resources’ ability to attain and manage our land and water resources. 

Our Public WMAs are often overcrowded. We need DNR to acquire more land by purchasing property already on the market to accommodate the number of hunters in our state. This in turn will support the wildlife. 

We also need to be vigilant about water quality, especially the nitrate problem we currently face in Iowa. Water is life. Sensible regulation must be made to ensure our drinking water is safe. We can look into creating an assistance fund for family farms to help with the cost of upgrades to stop runoff. 

As a hunter and sport shooter, as well as someone who believes in ALL of the Constitution, I strongly support the Second Amendment and the freedom it ensures.

This issue has become a hot ticket item for decades. It is unnecessary.

There is no need to fear a particular weapon. Millions of Americans own semi-automatic rifles and handguns and do so legally and responsibly.

Instead, we must ask, what is so broken in our society that makes a person want to kill another in cold blood?

We must reach out to each other as Americans, lift each other up and stop the divisive language that plagues our society, dehumanizing other people of different lifestyles, religions, or races.

Once a person sees another as “less than” or as a threat, they do not value their humanity. And then, bad people will do bad things.

The second amendment is clear. Even in societies where guns are outlawed, violent crime remains.

Focusing on the guns is the wrong solution. It isn’t our guns. It’s our hearts.

As Americans we must reject the antagonistic language of today’s politics and join together to create a unified society built upon respect despite our differences. Only when we really value the lives of each other will we see a decline in dreadful events like mass shootings. 

The private school voucher program is a failed experiment with little accountability or oversight. Public dollars should go to public schools. 

As someone who attended a private high school, I know they have their own scholarship and assistance programs from low income students. They receive large donations for their facility from alumni. In short, they aren’t hurting for money. 

Our public schools deserve to have the best in technology and resources. Our children, our future, deserve that. 

I also support free breakfast and lunch for every student. Take the financial burden off families and just let kids have a full belly so that their minds are open to learning. This should be provided to every student regardless of income level. 

Our teachers also deserve raises, especially at a time when inflation keeps going up. They should be paid well, and in doing so, our state will attract the best educators to teach our next generation. 

Housing costs in Iowa have risen astronomically over recent years. Part of this is due to Hedge Funds purchasing single family homes and just letting them sit empty to artificially create more demand to raise the prices so they can sell them down the road for an extravagant profit.

I would support a bill to forbid Corporations like these from buying single family homes and force them to sell within a year of the bill’s passage unless they are rented or actively being renovated.  

Those houses should be for the families of Iowa. 

In addition, I support a regulation of rent increases. People should not be run out of their housing because rent skyrocketed for no reason. Without significant property improvement or tax increases, there is no reason for a landlord to raise the rent over the rate of inflation. Renters must be protected.

Have you ever lived off of minimum wage or just barely over it? I have. It is not fun.

The point of minimum wage is to be the minimum amount an employee needs to earn to afford ALL of life’s essentials: food, housing, utilities, transportation, childcare,  and leisure. 

Yet for some reason Republican lawmakers in Iowa refuse to increase it to meet the needs of its people, instead catering to the desires of corporate overlords to pay slavery-level wages and have taxpayers foot the bill in the form of government assistance. No one working full time should need to be on assistance. 

I support a living minimum wage that increases annually with the rate of inflation.

We must ensure everyone in our community has the opportunity to thrive. Upward mobility is essential to quality of life. 

Marijuana has been illegal in Iowa for almost 100 years. Prohibition has been an absolute failure, and its purpose has just been to keep the for-profit prisons full with non-violent offenders. 

It has been proven time and again that marijuana is an effective tool battling ailments like depression, anxiety, epilepsy, chemotherapy side effects, chronic pain, and even social anxiety. By continuing prohibition, so many people will needlessly suffer from these conditions and forced to take potentially less effective or addictive pharmaceuticals. While modern medicine has its place, arguably so does plant medicine that goes back millennia.

I propose we have a small tax on marijuana sales, equal to the tax on cigarettes. They will be collected in its own special account and then evenly distributed to all the counties based on population size. I propose that the funds will be specifically used for personal property tax relief to be distributed as a rebate check to all taxpayers, up to 100% rebate depending on how much tax is collected. This will all be calculated on January 1st of every year. If the county collects more marijuana tax funds than personal property taxes to rebate, any left over can be used by the county for infrastructure improvements during that year.

Meanwhile, marijuana will be regulated like alcohol. You must be licensed to commercially grow, sell or distribute. Public intoxication, driving under the influence, and minors in possession laws will be strictly enforced. A person may grow up to three plants at one time for personal use, but they may not sell it without a license to do so.

It really is not hard, and it is not a moral dilemma. We can use the tax collected as a rebate to ease the personal property tax burden on our citizens, as well as let people have a natural substance that eases their medical pains. 

I support term limits on both the state and federal level. Too long have we seen lifelong politicians get comfortable in their seats and take their voters for granted, working more for the corporate lobbyists instead of what benefits their constituents.

Chuck Grassley has been a senator longer than I’ve been alive. Enough said.

I support any effort on the state level to create and enforce term limits.