DAVENPORT, Iowa — Iowa's second congressional district seat is up for grabs in the U.S. House of Representatives, as Rita Hart and Mariannette Miller-Meeks campaign to serve southeastern Iowa.
This is Miller-Meeks fourth pitch for congress to serve the area, which includes Davenport, Clinton and Burlington. She made a campaign stop in the Quad Cities Wednesday, visiting the Dahl Old Car Home in Davenport with State Senator Chris Cournoyer and Former U.S. Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
"If I'm elected to Congress, I'll be an advocate for Iowans," Miller-Meeks says.
Republican candidate Miller-Meeks says the public's trust in government is especially vital right now during this election season because of the pandemic.
"There has to be a national strategy for how we disseminate and distribute the vaccine," she says.
Her opponent, democratic Rita Hart, voted early in Clinton Wednesday and met with her supporters. She agrees that trusting the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine, when it's ready, is key.
"In the end, this is what gets us back to normal life and it's so crucial that we get it right," Hart says. "If we don't get this right, our economy will continue to struggle."
And as for stimulating the economy, Hart believes a relief package needs to come quickly, along with a second round of stimulus checks.
"We cannot have a situation where more people are going into poverty because they can't pay their bills because they don't have a job because of COVID-19," Hart says.
Miller-Meeks agrees, but not necessarily on federal relief for states.
"Should we ask the taxpayers of Iowa, the essential workers of Iowa that make minimum wage or above it, to pay taxes to support and bail out a state, such as Illinois, California or New York, who have a very expansive spending package," she says.
When it comes to Iowa's farmers, each candidate have heard different perspectives from farmers on current trade relations with China.
"We've been hit by the trade war and ethanol waivers that affected our prices," Hart says. "I'm not seeing the results and I don't think farmers are seeing the results we want to see."
"When it came to the tariffs and agreements, (some farmers) thought it was short-term pain for long term gain," Miller-Meeks says.
Both women have served as state senators in Iowa and each say they're ready to serve Iowans at the federal level.
The seat is available as democratic Representative Dave Lobesack is retiring this year.