DAY THIRTY-FIVE - RITA HART
Day Thirty-five | Rita Hart | IA-02
756 Sawbuck Patriots | $8033 pledged today | $306,747 donated overall
Team:
What an absolutely absurd and long two weeks the past day has been, huh? When it all seems too much, remember that focusing on accomplishing something of substance - even if it's small - can help you keep your balance.
And in that vein: here's something of substance for you to do.
THE SITUATION: We’re back in Iowa, today in the second district. Last year, seven-term D Congressman Dave Loebsack announced he would retire from Congress, and both parties set out to figure out how to claim this swing district. (Loebsack’s seven victories were with an AVERAGE of 53.5% of the votes – a remarkably low percentage for a sitting incumbent.)
Why so low? Well, IA-02 is a pivot district. This is one of those districts that voted for Obama in ’08 and ’12, but Trump in ’16. While this district holds the barest of Dem advantages – it’s a +1 registration district – it’s in play. National R consultants and strategists have targeted it as a seat they can pick up, and they’re funding it heavily.
THE COMPETITION: Mariannette Miller-Meeks (nope, not a typo, that’s her name) is a Iowa state senator. She’s an ophthalmologist, was on faculty at U of Iowa, and has run for this seat in ’08, ’10, and ’14, losing to Loebsack all three times. Her website leads with the words Iowa Conservative, and indeed she is. She’d like you to know that she’s against Medicare for All, that Obamacare is a mess, and that she’s a doctor. She’s anti-choice, doesn’t believe that the Second Amendment should be weakened in any way, supports Trump’s dumb wall, and so on.
OUR CANDIDATE: Rita Hart. Growing up with a R mom and a D dad, she learned how to speak the nuanced language of politics early. She and her husband own a farm, they’ve raised five children together, and Hart worked as a public school teacher for two decades. She was elected to the state senate in 2013, and when Loebsack made his retirement announcement, she announced for Congress.
She is so respected that she didn’t catch a contender in the D primary election, and so renowned for civility and collaborative effort that she was swiftly able to release a list of twenty Rs who supporte her campaign. She’s fiercely supported by the local D establishment, but IA and national Rs have decided she's beatable by their candidate.
The polling in this district is incredibly tight, and has remained so through the campaign. Hart needs to make sure Ds turn out, and our donations will help her (and up-ticket races like Theresa Greenfield for Senate out of Iowa!) gain the edge we need to keep the House blue.
Sawbuck Patriots, it’s go time: click HERE and send $10 (or more) to Rita's campaign. Our collective effort will invest $8033 today.
Thank you.
- Alex
Day thirty-five: Rita Hart | IA-02 | 756 Sawbuck Patriots | $8033 | DONATE
Day thirty-four: Rideshare2Vote | Texas | 747 Sawbuck Patriots | $13,671 | DONATE
Day thirty-three: Ammar Campa-Najjar | CA-50 | 738 Sawbuck Patriots | $8548 | DONATE
Day thirty-two: Gary Peters | Michigan Senate | 723 Sawbuck Patriots | $8528 | DONATE
Day thirty-one: Kate Schroder | OH-01 | 710 Sawbuck Patriots | $8194 | DONATE
Day thirty: Cal Cunningham | North Carolina Senate | 695 Sawbuck Patriots | $7858 | DONATE
Day twenty-nine: Rafael Warnock | Georgia Senate | 686 Sawbuck Patriots | $11,168 | DONATE
Day twenty-eight: Al Gross | Alaska Senate | 678 Sawbuck Patriots | $8648 | DONATE
Day twenty-seven: the FRRC | Welcoming Citizens Home | 662 Sawbuck Patriots | $11,208 | DONATE
Day twenty-six: Mike Espy | Mississippi Senate | 648 Sawbuck Patriots | $12,289 | DONATE
Day twenty-five: John Hickenlooper | Colorado Senate | 632 Sawbuck Patriots | $10,278 | DONATE
Day twenty-four: Eugene DePasquale | PA-10 | 611 Sawbuck Patriots | $7024 | DONATE
Day twenty-three: Jon Ossoff | Georgia Senate | 598 Sawbuck Patriots | $10,650 | DONATE
Day twenty-two: Christy Smith | CA-25 | 565 Sawbuck Patriots | $6398 | DONATE
Day twenty-one: Jaime Harrison | South Carolina Senate | 511 Sawbuck Patriots | $12,031 | DONATE
Evening of RBG's passing: Amy McGrath | Kentucky Senate | 465 Sawbuck Patriots | $32,988 | DONATE
Day twenty: Josh Harder | CA-10 | 465 Sawbuck Patriots | $6323 | DONATE
Day nineteen: Theresa Greenfield | Iowa Senate | 452 Sawbuck Patriots | $7846 | DONATE
Day eighteen: Hiral Tipirneni | AZ-06 | 441 Sawbuck Patriots | $5113 | DONATE
Day seventeen: Ricky Hurtado | NC Statehouse | 430 Sawbuck Patriots | $5640 | DONATE
Day sixteen: Kara Eastman | NE-02 | 420 Sawbuck Patriots | $4848 | DONATE
Day fifteen: Abby Finkenauer | IA-01 | 410 Sawbuck Patriots | $4838 | DONATE
Day fourteen: Carolyn Bourdeaux | GA-07 | 404 Sawbuck Patriots | $5293 | DONATE
Day thirteen: Biden/Harris | the Presidency | 401 Sawbuck Patriots | $35,770 | DONATE
Day twelve: Joe Cunningham | SC-01 | 390 Sawbuck Patriots | $4628 | DONATE
Day eleven: Doug Jones | Alabama Senate | 363 Sawbuck Patriots | $5703 | DONATE
Day ten: Kendra Horn | OK-05 | 348 Sawbuck Patriots | $4078 | DONATE
Day nine: Princess Bride Reunion | Wisconsin | 334 Sawbuck Patriots | $4864 | DONATE
Day eight: Cristina Hale | IN-05 | 324 Sawbuck Patriots | $3833 | DONATE
Day seven: Wendy Davis | TX-21 | 311 Sawbuck Patriots | $4338 | DONATE
Day six: Xochitl Torres Small | NM-02 | 293 Sawbuck Patriots | $3693 | DONATE
Day five: Mark Kelly | Arizona Senate | 268 Sawbuck Patriots | $6765 | DONATE
Day four: Brynne Kennedy | CA-4 | 239 Sawbuck Patriots | $3333 | DONATE
Day three: Max Rose | NY-11 | 208 Sawbuck Patriots | $2983 | DONATE
Day two: Sara Gideon | Maine Senate | 161 Sawbuck Patriots | $5436 | DONATE
Day one: Candace Valenzuela | TX-24 | 109 Sawbuck Patriots | $2808 | DONATE