Leffler hopes authenticity shines through

May 16—The red, white and blue tractor is Gary Leffler's past and present.

He hopes people see that authenticity as part of the future.

Leffler, known for riding his 1957 Ford 860 tractor that's decorated in the colors of the Unites States flag, is one of three Republicans seeking the Republican nomination for the state's 3rd Congressional District seat in the House of Representatives. Whoever wins that crowded field will look to unseat two-term Democrat Cindy Axne.

"I don't think there's another candidate running for Congress (in this district) that understands really where the rubber hits the road," Leffler said, touting his rural background, but also his time spent in the financial sector. "To me, that's a big distinction."

Yet, it all comes back to the tractor. Under the hood is an inscription of the names of his family members who have served in wars, from World War I to the present.

"It represents a lot of freedom. Then we put a flag on it," Leffler said. "We've had some fun with it."

Leffler is pro-military, pro-2nd Amendment, which is the right to bear arms, and pro-agriculture. He's also pro-life and, as the abortion debate begins to heat up with the Supreme Court likely to overturn the 50-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling, he makes it clear where he stands.

"If the life of the mother is in danger, then I believe that saving the life of the mother takes precedent over the baby. My daughter has four children. If in having a fifth child, if it got to be a choice between the baby and the mother, those four kids need a mother," Leffler said. "That's legitimately the only exception I make for abortion."

Pressed further on the issue, Leffler believes the federal government should stay out of the matter and leave it to individual states as a ballot measure. As for the instances of rape or incest, Leffler believes "the baby is not aware of the circumstances upon which it was conceived."

"I think the real approach to that is this," he said, "Let's take a look at these adoption laws. They become infested with lawyers that are charging people tens of thousands of dollars to adopt. Let's take a look at if we can fix that problem."

Should Leffler win the primary and, subsequently, the 3rd District, he believes he has a winning message for everyone. The district spans 21 counties, including Wapello, Davis, Appanoose and Monroe. It's mostly rural, but Polk and Dallas counties are two of the fastest-growing in the nation.

"For the first time, the district is almost 50% rural, 50% urban. Cindy Axne has only won office by winning Polk county," said Leffler, who lives in West Des Moines. "I understand what it's like to get on a tractor at 6 a.m. and combine corn all night.

"But sitting across kitchen tables with moms and dads and just saying, 'Hey, how are you going to have a future or retirement, a college plan?'" he said. "We're paying $30,000 a year for our health insurance. So we are right there where the rubber hits the road."

Leffler was in Washington D.C. during Jan. 6, when rioters scaled the Capitol walls and broke into the building prior to the certification of President Biden's win. Leffler is adamant he was not there to take part in that, and said only one side of that day is reported accurately.

"There were two camps of people there. One was the 1 million who were there for the exact right reason. It was their 1st Amendment right," he said. "There was another element of people that were there that President Trump had no control over, who had an ulterior motive from the very start."

He also had issues with the lack of Capitol police on hand, which led the building being overrun.

"When tear gas went off, I said to my buddy, 'We're out of here. This is not why we came here,'" he said. "So we went to the backside of the building, and it's like a family reunion there. They're singing the National Anthem. They're doing selfies, singing "God Bless America."

"That's a story that's very rarely, if ever, told."

Beneath it all, Leffler is an "America First" candidate. He said no more money should be sent to Ukraine, that the government "has a credit card in a candy store and is on a sugar high."

"We don't have $40 billion to send to Ukraine because we're going to have to go borrow that from China or someplace else," he said. "Congress is derelict in their duty. There's no two ways about it.

"We've got to take care of America. It doesn't do any good to shoot the golden goose and then complain there ain't no eggs."

— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury