Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Christina Bohannan spar on abortion in 1st Congressional District debate

JOHNSTON — U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan sparred on abortion and the economy in the first and what might be the only debate for Iowa's 1st Congressional District race Monday.

Bohannan, of Iowa City, spent much of the night on the debate televised by Iowa PBS forcing Miller-Meeks to defend her record after two years in office in addition to introducing herself to a statewide audience for the first time in this election cycle.

Miller-Meeks and Bohannan also stressed their desire for bipartisanship while running in a district that was decided by six votes in 2020.

"I think the choice here is very clear. I think there are many times that I am not in lockstep with my party, but in fact (Miller-Meeks) has been in lockstep with the extreme members of her party the entire time she's been in Congress," Bohannan told reporters after the debate.

Miller-Meeks said both during and after the debate that she has passed 13 bills despite her party being in the minority in Congress and has been to the White House five times. She made clear she isn't afraid to combat the Democrats who hold power in Washington, D.C.

"When there are good ideas that are going to help your district and help your country, those are things you can work together to achieve," Miller-Meeks said.

More: Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Christina Bohannan take aim at swing county Muscatine in race for Congress

Miller-Meeks is seeking a second term in the U.S. House, hoping to win reelection by a larger margin than the six votes that split her and Democrat Rita Hart in 2020. The new 20-county 1st Congressional District remains largely the same as the previous district covering southeastern Iowa with Davenport and Iowa City being the major population centers.

Bohannan is in her first term as an Iowa state representative from Iowa City. She works as a University of Iowa professor teaching constitutional law.

Miller-Meeks told reporters after the debate she now has a residence in Le Claire in addition to owning her home in Ottumwa, which is part of the 3rd Congressional District instead of the district she is running for.

Kay Henderson, host of Iowa Press, moderated the debate, and reporters Clay Masters of Iowa Public Radio and Stephen Gruber-Miller of The Des Moines Register asked the questions.

Monday's debate may be the only one since the campaigns have not agreed to another despite receiving at least two more invitations.

Here are some takeaways from Monday's debate.

Abortion still a sticking point as Bohannan and Miller-Meeks take opposite stances

Early on in the debate, the candidates were asked about their stances on abortion. Miller-Meeks was asked why abortion should be a federal issue after she became a cosponsor for H.R.8814, which would ban abortions nationally at 15 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest or if the life of the mother is at risk.

Miller-Meeks said her position has remained the same on abortion, that she is pro-life with the exceptions for life of the mother, rape and incest.

Miller-Meeks said she believes her position is in line with the majority of Americans, but an Iowa Poll in July found that a 60% of Iowans say abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

Bohannan pushed back against Miller-Meeks, saying she supports access to abortion and the country is going down a dangerous path after Roe v. Wade was overturned. She said restricting abortion is "government overreach" and inserts politicians into the most personal aspects of life.

Bohannan also called out Miller-Meeks' record on abortion, pointing out she supported the Life at Conception Act in 2021, which has no exceptions for rape, incest or the life of a mother.

"Both of those bills will put women's lives at risk and both of them would throw doctors in jail for providing health care that has been legal in this country for nearly half a century," Bohannan said.

After Bohannan called Miller-Meeks' record "terrible," Miller-Meeks said it is terrible that House Democrats voted to allow abortion up until birth. This bill was a recent effort by House Democrats, called the Women's Health Protection Act, that would protect access to abortion at a federal level after Roe v. Wade was overturned and many states enacted strict abortion bans.

Miller-Meeks' voting record on infrastructure, democracy and inflation come under scrutiny

Miller-Meeks was asked about her vote against the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at funding improvements to the nation's roads, bridges, airports and broadband.

She said when the bill was in the U.S. Senate, it was a "clean bill." She said when it got to the House, it became tied to the Build Back Better reconciliation bill that she opposed and that ultimately failed to gain enough support among moderates.

"They were trying to tie both things together to get all the Democrats to vote for that bill," Miller-Meeks said.

Miller-Meeks said there are still infrastructure improvements she would like to see addressed in Iowa, like broadband, the cost of goods, roads and bridges, and locks and dams on the Mississippi River.

Bohannan said Miller-Meeks has been talking about improving infrastructure for a long time, but when she had a chance to support a bill that would do so, she voted against it.

Last week, Miller-Meeks voted against the Presidential Election Reform Act, an overhaul of the 135-year-old law that Donald Trump tried to use on Jan. 6, 2021 to overturn his defeat.

Miller-Meeks did vote Jan. 6 to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, but has opposed other efforts to investigate the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last year.

The two candidates were asked their philosophy for rejecting state-certified electors.

Bohannan said she would have to determine whether those electors came from the voters.

"If it's the vote of the people, and that is established by our trusted auditors and other people working there, then it should be certified," Bohannan said.

Miller-Meeks said she believes elections are the authority of the states. She said she voted to certify the 2020 election because the states presented one slate of electors and no specific reason to reject the electors came up.

"None of us want to federalize elections," Miller-Meeks said.

Bohannan criticized Miller-Meeks for her votes against bills that would address price-gouging from oil and gas companies and the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to address climate change, health care, taxes, prescription drug prices and more.

Miller-Meeks said she could not vote for spending bills with record high inflation happening.

Miller-Meeks and Bohannan find common ground on student loan forgiveness and eminent domain

Bohannan took a different stance from many Democrats on student loan debt forgiveness, largely agreeing with Miller-Meeks that President Joe Biden went too far in forgiving up to $10,000 for most borrowers. She also distanced herself from saying she would want to expand the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, saying she is "not inclined to do so."

"I am not the entire Democratic Party. Let's be clear. You're running against me," Bohannan told Miller-Meeks.

Bohannan referenced her 2020 Democratic primary victory against 18-year state Rep. Vicki Lensing. She said she ran against Lensing because she disagreed with the direction the Democratic Party was going.

Miller-Meeks was not asked about student loans, but has told the Press-Citizen she would support forgiving loans for people who need it. Since Biden announced he would forgive up to $20,000 for some borrowers, she has roundly criticized the decision.

Miller-Meeks and Bohannon later found common ground when asked about the use of eminent domain. Iowa is grappling with whether to allow private companies looking to build carbon-capture pipelines the ability to take land from landowners for the project.

Both Miller-Meeks and Bohannan said their families have had eminent domain used against them. Miller-Meeks said she doesn't think property should be taken by eminent domain, but said carbon capture pipelines can have benefits.

"In talking to farmers, letting them know what the need is, letting them know that there is a possibility to capture carbon that is generated in the making of ethanol and to sequester that may help to prolong the ethanol industry," Miller-Meeks said.

Bohannan said the carbon capture pipeline projects are concerning to her. While she supports year-round ethanol and more markets for ethanol and soybeans, she is against the use of eminent domain.

"I do not think that is what should happen with property rights in a free country like the United States," Bohannan said. "I do not think this is an appropriate taking for a public use. This is a corporate use."

Election Day is Nov. 8 and early voting begins Oct. 19. More information on the upcoming election, including what's on the ballot, how to register to vote and how to vote early, can be found at voterready.iowa.gov.

George Shillcock is the Press-Citizen's local government and development reporter covering Iowa City and Johnson County. He can be reached at (515) 350-6307, GShillcock@press-citizen.com and on Twitter @ShillcockGeorge

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: US Rep. Miller-Meeks debates Democratic challenger Bohannan