Young campaigns with fellow Republicans in Perry, Adel

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U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, left, seen here at a 2016 campaign event with David Young of Van Meter, suggested Monday that healthcare providers are deliberately inflating COVID-19 deaths in order to defraud Medicaid.

Barbara Grassley, in pink, wife of U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, was joined by Iowa politicians, from left, Dallas County Treasurer Mitch Hambleton, Dallas County Recorder Chad Airhart, U.S. Rep. David Young, Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and Rep. Ralph Watts in Adel Tuesday morning for coffee and muffins in support of Youngs reelection bid.
Barbara Grassley, in pink, wife of U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, was joined by Iowa politicians, from left, Dallas County Treasurer Mitch Hambleton, Dallas County Recorder Chad Airhart, U.S. Rep. David Young, Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and Rep. Ralph Watts in Adel Tuesday morning for coffee and muffins in support of Young’s reelection bid. Present but not pictured are Dallas County Supervisor Mark Hanson and Adel City Council member Jon McAvoy.

Rep. David Young, the Republican incumbent from Iowa’s third U.S. Congressional district, passed through the Perry area Monday and Tuesday as his reelection campaign against Democrat challenger Jim Mowrer entered the home stretch.

Young teamed up Monday night with Sen. Joni Ernst for a meet-and-greet at Casa de Oro in downtown Perry, and the first-term congressperson was joined by Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds at the Brick Street Cafe and Bookstore in Adel early Tuesday for a rally with muffins and coffee.

The special guest at the Adel event was Barbara Grassley, wife of six-term U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Young, a Van Meter native, drew about 30 people to each of the gatherings. Ernst told Perry voters sending Young back to Washington, D.C., is “a high priority.”

“David has been a strong conservative voice in the House,” the first-term Senator from Red Oak said, “but he has also shown an ability to reach across the aisle and work in a bipartisan way on a series of issues.”

In endorsing Young, Ernst alluded to recent polls showing the Democrat candidate for the U.S. presidency with a significant lead over her Republican rival.

“No matter who wins at the top of the ballot,” Ernst said, “we need to be able to work with our friends across the aisle while still maintaining our conservative values, and David has shown he fits that role perfectly.”

Young spoke briefly, encouraging those gathered to be sure to vote and stressing his conservative voting record. He shared several short stories and thanked the Perry people in attendance for coming out “on a Monday football night.”

The Tuesday morning meeting in Adel brought out several state and local officeholders, including Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Rep. Ralph Watts, Dallas County Supervisor Mark Hanson, Dallas County Treasurer Mitch Hambleton, Dallas County Recorder Chad Airhart and Adel City Council member Jon McAvoy.

The governor praised Young and warmed up the crowd by describing Dallas County’s growing political importance.

“You’ve got a great team here in Dallas County,” Branstad said. “You have the entire courthouse now? You have all except the attorney, so we need to change that someday.”

Dallas County Attorney Wayne Reisetter, a Democrat, is the only county-level officer holder who is not a Republican. Dallas County is also represented in the Iowa Senate and House of Representatives by Republican politicians.

“This county could be very instrumental in helping us carry this state for the Republican ticket,” Branstad said. “It’s gotten to the place where Dallas County can offset Polk County. Dallas County is growing and getting more and more Republican, so the Democrats usually come out of Polk County with a margin, but Dallas County could offset it.”

But the pleasant prospect for Dallas County Republicans painted by Branstad faces a mortal danger from “Islamic radical extremists,” he said.

“They want to kill us. They want to destroy us,” the governor said. “We need strong leadership that’s going to restore America’s strength and rebuild our military like Ronald Reagan did so that freedom can be on the march instead of Islamic extremism and totalitarianism on the march as it is today. So that’s what at stake in this election.”

The governor also said border security is needed, and he listed a number of recent mass shootings and suicide bombings in the U.S. to illustrate the danger.

“We’ve had these issues,” he said, “and we’ll have more them if we don’t secure our borders and make sure the people coming here are coming here legally. We’ve always been a welcoming place for people coming here legally, but we can’t afford to continue to have extremists and radicals that come here who are committed to kill us or flood our country with dangerous drugs.”

Along with the dangers posed by Muslims and Mexicans, the governor also mentioned fetal rights and the U.S. Supreme Court as reasons to vote for the Donald Trump and Mike Pence ticket — and all the Republican candidates running in Iowa.

“Republicans in Iowa are really sticking together, and we’re working as a team,” Branstad said. “We’re working together as a team from the courthouse to the White House because there’s so much at stake.”

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