Meet the candidates running for Iowa's 2nd Congressional District in northeast Iowa

Two candidates are competing to represent Iowa's 2nd Congressional District, which includes Waterloo, Dubuque and Mason City in the northeastern corner of the state.

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson is seeking a third term, and she is unopposed in the June 4 primary elections. In the Nov. 5 general election, she will face Democrat Sarah Corkery, who also is running unopposed in the primary.

To help voters, the Des Moines Register sent questions to all federal and Des Moines area legislative candidates running for political office this year. Their answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

More: Everything you need to know about the June 4 primary election, including voting absentee

Who is Ashley Hinson (incumbent)?

Age: 40

Party: Republican

Current town of residence: Marion

Education: Valley High School in West Des Moines; studied broadcast journalism at the University of Southern California

Occupation: Congresswoman, formerly a state representative and news anchor at KCRG

Political experience and civic activities: Currently serving on the House Appropriations Committee and Select Committee on Competition with the Chinese Communist Party; formerly a member of the Iowa House of Representatives; involved with local charities in the community

Who is Sarah Corkery?

Age: 48

Party: Democrat

Current town of residence: Cedar Falls

Education: I went to Dunkerton Elementary, Hudson middle and high school and then to Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Wartburg in public relations and a minor in business.

Occupation: Small business owner

Political experience and civic activities: My first real experience in politics was, after battling breast cancer twice, I joined other survivors on Capitol Hill to lobby members of Congress to expand Medicare coverage to cover metastatic breast cancer treatment earlier in their diagnosis. Something else I am really proud of is the Place to Play Park in Cedar Falls, which we built for all kids, including those with disabilities, like my son. I worked with a Trump Republican to raise $1 million of private money to build a playground that is a safe, enriching place for kids of all abilities to play together.

Election issues: IVF could be a driving issue in Iowa congressional races. Where do the candidates stand?

What would be your top issue should you be elected?

Hinson: Securing the southern border and deporting millions of illegal immigrants currently in our country will remain my top priority. Our country faces an invasion of illegal immigrants, and deadly drugs like meth and fentanyl are flooding into our communities while Joe Biden goes on vacation. Every state, including Iowa, is now a border state. Iowa law enforcement officers recently informed me that cartel-connected drug activity has tripled in our state since Biden took office. Securing the border, stopping illegal immigration, and protecting our country is priority number one.

Corkery: My top issue would be making sure northeast Iowa is the best place it can be to grow up and raise a family. There is so much that goes into that: making sure we’re bringing costs down, ensuring everyone has access to affordable health care, and the ability to make our own decisions about health care. But overall, I love our community in northeast Iowa and I want to make sure it remains an incredible place for all to grow up and raise a family.

What is the most important domestic policy you would champion in Congress?

Hinson: Lowering costs, supporting working families, and standing up for Iowa taxpayers is my mission. The fastest way to reduce the inflation burden on Iowans is to embrace an all-of-the-above energy strategy: expanding biofuels, reopening the Keystone XL pipeline, and reforming the permitting process to restore American energy independence. This is crucial, especially with Biden's plan to close coal and natural gas power plants by 2032. I'll keep working to make Iowans’ lives more affordable, cut taxes and wasteful spending, and ensure working families keep more of their paychecks.

Corkery: Health care access and affordability, including ensuring women have the right to control our own health care decisions, is the most important domestic policy issue to me. My position on health care is simple: the government doesn’t need to practice medicine, doctors do, and I trust Iowans to make the best medical decisions for themselves. This means that in Congress I will support legislation like the Women’s Health Protection Act to guarantee access to abortion across the country and restore the right to comprehensive reproductive health care for millions of Americans.

What is a specific piece of bipartisan legislation you would push for in Congress?

Hinson: My After Hours Child Care Act expands affordable child care access for those who don’t work traditional 9-5 schedules, including law enforcement, nurses, store clerks, and manufacturing workers. These roles are critical to the function and safety of our society, and those who fill them deserve affordable child care that fits their family schedule. This legislation already has significant bipartisan support, and I look forward to continued work across the aisle to improve quality, convenient child care access for working families.

Corkery: The Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act is something I’ve worked to support for a long time. When you are battling against breast cancer, what you don’t have is time. This piece of legislation, led by Senator Ernst and Senator Murphy in the Senate and Reps. Castor and Garbarino in the House, would ensure that people battling metastatic breast cancer don’t have to wait to start receiving benefits, because they’ve got no time to waste.

What specific steps, if any, should Congress take to secure the border and improve immigration policy?

Hinson: Biden unilaterally created the southern border crisis through executive actions that halted wall construction, limited deportations, and enabled the mass "catch and release" of illegal immigrants into America. I have called on Biden to reverse his disastrous open border policies. I supported the Secure the Border Act (HR2) to force the administration to restart wall construction, increase the number of Border Patrol agents and provide bonus pay, end "catch and release," and close asylum loopholes.

Corkery: People around the country see what’s happening at the border — a system that is completely under-resourced and overwhelmed — and they feel that it is not aligning with what we say we’re for in America. But I don’t think that building a wall or turning refugees away at the border or, as Kim Reynolds and Ashley Hinson have suggested, ignoring the U.S. Supreme Court to endanger migrants trying to come here and make a better life for their families aligns with our values either. What we need is a well resourced, orderly process that works for people to come here legally — not demonizing immigrants and making the immigrants that are here in America feel unsafe.

After the fall of Roe v. Wade, America is seeing a wide variety of abortion laws across states. Should Congress create a federal policy outlining abortion restrictions that are uniform across the country? If so, what should that look like?

Hinson: I support pro-life policies that will save as many women and babies as possible. Like most Iowans, I also support commonsense exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. The pro-life movement is not just about abortion, it is about embracing a culture of life. I have introduced and supported legislation to ensure taxpayer dollars don’t fund abortions, expand maternal health care access, and provide support and resources to new mothers and their babies. I will also continue to call out Democrats’ extreme position of supporting abortion on demand until the moment of birth.

Corkery: The federal policy on abortion should trust women to make their own health care decisions in conjunction with their doctors and their families. The recent six-week abortion ban that was signed in Iowa is like the bans around the country that are literally causing women to die or be unable to get pregnant again. Lawmakers should not be deciding how close to death a woman has to be for doctors to save her life. I would vote to restore Roe v. Wade and on day one in Congress, I would co-sponsor the Women’s Health Care Protection Act to protect abortion rights and health care across the country.

Should Congress take steps to protect Americans’ access to in-vitro fertilization?

Hinson: My heart goes out to anyone who has struggled with fertility and has had a difficult journey to motherhood. I strongly believe IVF should continue to be available for women who have struggled with fertility and want to grow their families. From protecting fertility treatments, to improving maternal care, and empowering pregnant women on college campuses, I’m going to continue championing pro-life and pro-family policies for healthy moms and healthy babies.

Corkery: Yes. Republicans in Congress keep saying they support access to IVF and keep cosponsoring legislation to ban it or blocking its passage in the Senate. There are many reasons why parents-to-be seek fertility treatment, including cancer survivors who often rely on this for family planning. We must protect IVF, not jeopardize its access. I will do everything in my power in Congress to stand up for Iowa’s families, and helping Iowans start their families however they choose is a big part of that.

Iowans are struggling with rising costs and inflation. What can Congress do to fix it?

Hinson: Iowans are struggling to make ends meet thanks to “Bidenomics.” The inflation crisis is the direct result of out-of-control spending by Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats. In Congress, I am laser-focused on stopping wasteful spending and unleashing American energy independence to lower costs across the supply chain. Additionally, I have championed increasing the Child Tax Credit for working families so Iowans can keep more of their hard-earned paycheck.

Corkery: One thing Congress should certainly not do is make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent and extend $3 trillion in tax cuts to the ultra wealthy — things Ashley Hinson supports. Congress should continue to close tax loopholes that allow corporations and wealthy people to skirt the rules — there is no reason hedge funds in New York City should be paying less in taxes than a teacher in Decorah. Finally, we should be doing everything we can to lower the cost of health care, child care, and owning a home to give families a little room to breathe.

What policies would you advocate to include in the next Farm Bill?

Hinson: I am working in a bipartisan manner to ensure the Farm Bill prioritizes the needs of Iowa farmers while pushing back against bureaucratic government overreach that hurts producers. The Farm Bill must reduce input costs, bolster crop insurance, invest in animal health research and innovation, and prioritize farmer-led conservation initiatives like precision agriculture techniques. Additionally, the Farm Bill must include a solution to California’s Prop 12 to ensure Iowa farmers can continue and address foreign ownership of agricultural land.

Corkery: First of all, I would be pushing Congress every day to stop playing partisan politics with the Farm Bill. In the next Farm Bill, I would expand small business loan access for rural business owners. As a small business owner, I know the challenges that come along with it, but also how crucial they are to our local economies. It’s also critical we tackle corporate takeovers of more and more of our agricultural industry. Consolidation drives prices up and shuts out small businesses and farmers and I want Iowans to be able to compete in agriculture because I think when Iowa is able to compete, we win.

What should be Congress' priority when addressing the federal budget — cutting spending or directing money toward programs and services?

Hinson: My philosophy is simple: it’s your money, not the government’s money. We must take a sledgehammer to Biden’s budget, which includes tax hikes on working families and inflationary spending on woke initiatives Iowans don’t support. A great place to start would be cutting federal funding from so-called “elite” colleges that have allowed antisemitic mobs to take over their campuses and ensuring other taxpayers aren’t on the hook for others’ student loan debt. I will continue watching taxpayer dollars like a hawk to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse while bringing home as many resources as possible to be reinvested in Iowa.

Corkery: Congress’s priority should always be helping all Americans thrive. Right now, the federal budget has tax breaks for wealthy people and corporations and that leaves families like ours footing the bill. The best investment of every American dollar is in the American people and that means ensuring they can afford their prescription drugs, attend a good school in their neighborhood, and find a good job. That’s what I will be laser focused on fighting for in every budget I vote on in Congress.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Who is running for the 2nd Congressional District in northeast Iowa