OTTUMWA, Iowa – U.S. House Republican Whip Steve Scalise announced his support today for State Senator Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ bid for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District seat.
The endorsement by Scalise, the second-highest-ranking leader in the House Republican leadership, follows an endorsement from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., three weeks ago.
Scalise, who was critically wounded on June 14, 2017, when a gunman opened fire at a congressional baseball practice, was saved by a heroic response from U.S. Capitol Police Special Agents and Alexandria Police Officers.
The Miller-Meeks campaign states that Scalise is a known advocate for fiscal discipline, lower taxes, a robust national defense, and conservative values.
“Mariannette Miller-Meeks stands for the same principles and values that are so important to me. She has served in the U.S. Army and Reserves in defense of our country. She believes in fiscal discipline, an energy-independent America, and she has a 100-percent pro-life voting record,” Scalise said. “She’s a fighter who understands the priorities of her district’s people – good-paying jobs, fair and free trade, affordable and accessible health care, and infrastructure that makes the economy work – and she’ll work them day in and day out. That’s the ideal member of Congress in my book.”
However, Miller-Meeks has not received an endorsement from any national or state pro-life organization and identified herself as “pro-choice” while running for Iowa Senate in 2018.
Her campaign said she misspoke and that her voting record in the Iowa Senate is what counts.
Miller-Meeks, an Army veteran, ophthalmologist, and state senator from Ottumwa, seeks the seat being vacated by seven-term Rep. Dave Loebsack, an Iowa City Democrat. Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District is rated as a “toss-up,” according to national political forecasters. It’s the country’s only open Democrat-held district that President Trump carried in 2016. Recently, The Des Moines Register Iowa Poll showed a generic Republican leading a generic Democrat by 8 percent in the district.
“Steve Scalise’s courage, resilience, and optimism are an inspiration to millions of Americans. I’m honored to have a person of his grit, integrity, and leadership supporting my candidacy,” Miller-Meeks said. “He knows, as Leader McCarthy does, that I’ll never quit fighting for conservative principles, I’ll never give up on the people of Iowa, and that starts by giving the upcoming race everything I have to put the Second District back in the GOP column and restore the Republican majority in the House.”