Rod Blum ends comeback bid for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District seat

Former Iowa Congressman Rod Blum, a Republican from Dubuque, has suspended his campaign for Iowa’s open 2nd District U.S. House seat, less than a month after announcing his candidacy.

Blum’s campaign made the announcement Monday.

“It has become clear to me that I can help President Trump in other ways that are more effective than being in the U.S. House,” Blum said in a statement. “I love our country, and despite our challenges I remain optimistic that under the President’s leadership, America’s best days are still to come.”

Blum, 70, announced his comeback bid Sept. 18, pledging $250,000 of his own money to the campaign. He had sought the Republican nomination for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Marion Republican running for U.S. Senate.

A former software executive and two-term congressman, Blum represented northeastern Iowa in Congress from 2015 to 2019. He lost re-election in 2018 to Democrat Abby Finkenauer.

After leaving office, Blum served on Trump’s Iowa leadership team for the 2024 caucuses and remained an outspoken supporter of the president’s “America First” agenda.

His exit narrows an already competitive GOP primary field that includes state Sen. Charlie McClintock of Alburnett, state Rep. Shannon Lundgren of Peosta and former state Rep. Joe Mitchell of Clear Lake.

Following Blum’s announcement, Mitchell praised the former congressman on social media, writing on X: “Congressman Blum loves America and is a champion for limited government and conservative principles. He should be commended and I thank him for his service to Iowa!”

Billboards target Iowa GOP delegation over wind energy tax credits

A national clean energy advocacy group is taking aim at Iowa’s all-Republican congressional delegation with a new round of digital billboards that went up around Des Moines over the weekend, criticizing their votes for the 2025 Republican tax cut and spending package that phases out wind energy tax credits.

The billboards — sponsored by Protect Our Jobs — were placed at 23 locations near the Iowa State Fairgrounds ahead of Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual “Roast and Ride” fundraiser Saturday. The campaign accuses Iowa Republicans of “gutting” clean energy incentives that have fueled the state’s wind industry and rural job growth.

  Buy Photo

The group cites analysis estimating that repeal of the credits could cost Iowa more than 6,000 jobs by 2030 and raise household energy costs by roughly $350 a year by 2035.

Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who chairs the House Conservative Climate Caucus and is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, publicly advocated for the clean energy tax credits, arguing they were economically beneficial. Miller-Meeks warned Republican leadership that repealing the IRA's energy credits would jeopardize private investments, halt economic growth and potentially increase electricity costs for consumers. She consistently supported an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy supporting the growth of renewables alongside fossil fuels, a stance that aligns with Iowa's status as a top wind energy and biofuels producer.

Despite those warnings, Miller-Meeks voted this summer for the Republican-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which rolls back the tax credits as part of a sweeping fiscal package championed by President Donald Trump. While she publicly defended the credits, she sided with her party's broader agenda. Afterward, she defended her vote, saying the credits “ended up in a far better position than I could have hoped” and that she had worked to moderate cuts.

  Buy Photo

A spokesperson for her office told The Gazette in June while unable to secure everything she wanted in the reconciliation bill, she was able to preserve some key energy tax credits while scoring other significant conservative policy wins for Iowans. That includes extending the 2017 federal tax cuts; restoring American energy production by increasing oil and gas leasing and drilling on federal lands and expediting the approval process for oil and gas exploration and extraction; and increasing funding for border security and immigration enforcement.

Iowa, one of the nation’s leading wind energy producers, has long benefited from federal production tax credits that helped drive billions in investment and thousands of manufacturing and maintenance jobs. Clean energy advocates warn the repeal could slow growth and undercut Iowa’s rural economy.

During a tour of Ames National Laboratory in August, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Ernst said federal wind energy tax credits should be phased out as the industry matures.

Wright called the 33-year-old incentives “ready to sunset,” saying wind power is now established enough to compete without subsidies. Ernst agreed, saying existing approved projects should still receive credits but “we’ve reached a mature level within the industry.”

  Buy Photo

Ernst’s Iowa Republican colleague in the Senate, Chuck Grassley, is considered the father of the wind energy tax credit for his work in its creation. Grassley in July said he worked with other Republicans “to provide wind and solar an appropriate glide path for the orderly phaseout of the tax credits,” and that like Ernst he also is working to ensure credits already awarded to projects are honored.

Group targets Hinson, Miller-Meeks over shutdown, health care costs

A new radio ad from the Democratic-aligned group Fairness for Iowa accuses Republican Iowa U.S. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson of “shutting down the government instead of lowering health care costs” and supporting policies that make life more expensive for Iowa families.

The ad features a Walford, Iowa, business owner and former pastor, identified as Brad, who says he voted for Donald Trump but now faces rising costs from tariffs and Republican-backed cuts to health care programs. The 60-second spot claims the two Eastern Iowa congresswomen “voted for huge Medicaid cuts” and “against health care tax credits that a hundred thousand Iowans depend on,” while supporting tariffs that have increased prices. The ad is airing in the Cedar Rapids market as part of a broader seven-figure campaign.

Miller-Meeks has pushed back on similar criticism, saying Democrats are to blame for the government shutdown by refusing to accept a short-term spending plan. She opposes Democratic efforts to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, calling them a “bailout for insurance companies” and a “handout to the rich.” Miller-Meeks said the expanded credits were meant to mask rising costs in the individual insurance market and should be replaced with market-based reforms like association health plans and expanded health savings accounts.

  Buy Photo

Hinson, of Marion, has likewise blamed Democrats for the shutdown, saying they are “holding government funding hostage” over expiring ACA subsidies. Both have defended Medicaid changes included in Republicans’ tax and spending law, saying they close “loopholes” that allowed unauthorized immigrants to game the system to receive benefits.

Both lawmakers have expressed support for Trump’s tariff policy despite its impact on some Iowa industries. Miller-Meeks said tariffs are part of a broader strategy to ensure “fair trade,” while Hinson said the president is “doing the right thing to get China” and other trading partners “to the table and get a better deal,” and has assured farmers they will not be abandoned.

Hawkeye Area Labor Council endorses Marcy Roundtree for Cedar Rapids school board

The Hawkeye Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO, has added Marcy Roundtree to its list of endorsed candidates for the upcoming Cedar Rapids Community School District elections.

Roundtree, who is running for an at-large seat on the school board, joins a slate of union-backed candidates that includes Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell and incumbent Cedar Rapids City Council members Ashley Vanorny (District 5), Dale Todd (District 3), Marty Hoeger (District 1) and Tyler Olson (at-large).

In school board contests, the group endorsed Mimi Daoud (District 2) and Jennifer Borcherding (District 3) for the Cedar Rapids school board and Angelica Vannatta for the Marion school board.

The labor coalition also announced its support for the Cedar Rapids Community School District’s 2025 bond referendum.

The Hawkeye Area Labor Council represents 85 affiliated unions across 26 counties in East Central and Northern Iowa. Endorsements are approved by a two-thirds vote of its executive board and delegate body.

A full list of endorsed candidates can be found at hawkeyearealaborcouncil.com.