DAVENPORT – Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Republican nominee in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District race, released a new TV ad titled “Kitchen Fire.” The 30-second commercial chronicles her pursuit of the American Dream from a young age after being severely burned by a kitchen fire to joining the Army and working her way through medical school and finally becoming the director of the Iowa Department of Public Health.
The ad transcript reads:
Narrator: “A kitchen fire left her badly burned, hospitalized for weeks. Too poor for college, Mariannette Miller-Meeks left home at 16.”
Miller-Meeks: “I worked, joined the Army and that helped put me through college, that was my chance.”
Narrator: “Med school by day and working by night, Mariannette Miller-Meeks became a doctor, lieutenant colonel then Iowa’s public health director. We need leaders who will persevere, solve problems and get Iowans safely back to work.”
Miller-Meeks: “That’s exactly what I’ll do.”
Miller-Meeks is an ophthalmologist and a 24-year U.S. Army veteran who represents Iowa Senate District 41, which includes Davis, Jefferson, Van Buren and Wapello counties. She seeks the seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, a seven-term Democratic congressman. After 14 years of Democrat control, Monmouth University polling has placed Miller-Meeks 3 points ahead of her opponent. Among the 31 Democrat-controlled House districts won by President Trump in 2016, Iowa’s 2nd District is the only open seat in the country.
“The ad tells Senator Miller-Meeks’ personal story and sheds light on what she’s fighting for and why she’s fighting for working families,” said campaign manager Austin Harris. “Mariannette Miller-Meeks is the embodiment of the American Dream, and she’s running for Congress to preserve that same dream and to ensure that generations to come have the same opportunities afforded to them.”
The spot will debut across the district.