Vice President Mike Pence stopped in Des Moines Friday to campaign for Republican Congressman David Young, who’s in a tight race with Democratic challenger Cindy Axne to represent southwest Iowa.
The vice president said the fate of the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives might depend on Iowa’s 3rd District.
“This race is going to be critical to whether we’re going to be able to continue to build on the momentum we have in this economy, in national security, and upholding the values that make this country great,” Pence said to a crowd of supporters.
Pence said Rep. Young, R-Van Meter, has supported key Republican accomplishments on taxes, agriculture policies and rolling back regulations.
“And he’s been there standing with this president every step of the way, upholding the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the United States of America,” Pence said. “And he’s been standing without apology for the sanctity of human life.”
Pence said Iowa’s 3rd District congressional race is a choice between a future under a Republican majority and a future where Democrat Nancy Pelosi leads the House again.
“Our opponents are fired up,” Young said before Pence took the stage. “And we can’t let this seat fall to someone who will be a rubber stamp for Nancy Pelosi and her radical agenda,” Young said.
Axne has not said if she would support Pelosi for House speaker.
Axne said in a statement the vice president’s visit “isn’t the first time Young has been rewarded for his party loyalty,” namely voting for controversial Republican health care and tax plans. Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California will be in Iowa next week to support Axne.
Bill Hobson of Marshalltown was at the rally. He said he wanted to support Young even though he doesn’t live in the third district.
“I think he thinks basically like I do. And he’s taking a lot of abuse over his votes on health care,” Hobson said. “The thing everybody has forgot about is how bad Obamacare was. And we’re trying to get rid of that.”
Pence also encouraged Iowans to vote for Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Other Republicans running for state offices took the stage earlier in the program, including Auditor Mary Mosiman, Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig, Rep. Zach Nunn, who’s running for a seat in the Iowa Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver.
