U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks spoke at her annual tailgate fundraiser in Iowa City Oct. 24, 2025. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
IOWA CITY — U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, speaking to supporters at a fundraiser Friday, claimed credit for her involvement in the firing of an Oskaloosa teacher over remarks about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Miller-Meeks, speaking at her fifth annual tailgate fundraiser, said there’s “a lot at stake” in the upcoming election.
To show voters why they should support her, she brought up her involvement in a case where an Oskaloosa school teacher was fired after making a controversial social media post in response to Kirk’s assassination. When the post was brought to her attention, Miller-Meeks said she contacted the principal and superintendent of the school district and told them to investigate the situation.
“People need to know that we are working for them, that we are looking out for them, and that we are protecting children,” Miller-Meeks said. “… That teacher was fired after an investigation, after the board met, they had due process, they were terminated. That’s what your congresswoman, who’s working for you, does.
“Our state Legislature decided to have a Center for Intellectual Freedom here at the University of Iowa campus. Your congresswoman made a suggestion that they name that Center of Intellectual Freedom after Charlie Kirk. So it matters who’s in this office, it matters who has this seat.”
‘You are not leverage’
As the federal government shutdown hit day 24, the Iowa Republican also blamed Democrats and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the impasse and said Iowans need to elect Republicans to Congress again in 2026. While the U.S. House passed a short-term federal funding bill in September, Senate Democrats have blocked such a measure from passing unless Republicans agree to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits set to expire at the end of the year.
Miller-Meeks told supporters about things she doesn’t like, such as “the Chinese Communist Party buying up Iowa farmland” and “California telling us how to raise hogs in Iowa.” She said she also does not like Democrats making demands through a shutdown after they lost control in the 2024 election.
“I don’t like Democrats shutting down the government over something that they could not get done when they had the House, the Senate and the White House, and now they expect us to do their job for them,” Miller-Meeks said. “They expect us to extend something that they couldn’t do themselves.”
Miller-Meeks referenced a comment made by House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, a Massachusetts Democrat, who said Thursday there will be negative impacts from the shutdown. Clark said in an interview with Fox News the shutdown was the only “leverage” available for Democrats to get Republicans to negotiate.
“I mean, shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer,” Clark said in the interview. “We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have.”
Miller-Meeks said as she meets with Iowans across the state and in D.C., she wants to tell voters, “you are not leverage.”
“That’s disgusting and revolting,” she said. “So we’re going to work hard to open this government. We’re going to work hard to have people have their needs met. And we are not going to do the Democrats’ dirty work for them.”
Miller-Meeks has also taken other steps criticizing Democrats on the impacts of the shutdown, like leading a letter Monday from the all-GOP Iowa U.S. House delegation to Schumer calling for an end to the shutdown, and introducing legislation earlier Friday to allow the U.S. secretary of Agriculture to access emergency funds to maintain Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) operations during the shutdown.
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks joined the stage with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota at her fifth annual tailgate fundraiser in Iowa City Oct. 24, 2025. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota joined Miller-Meeks at the fundraiser Friday, as did fellow Iowa Republicans including U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson, running for U.S. Senate in 2026, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra who has an “exploratory” committee for Iowa governor, state House Majority Leader Bobby Kaufmann and Attorney General Brenna Bird.
Emmer told the crowd Democrats were disingenuous by framing the shutdown as being about health care, claiming the minority party wants to provide health care for undocumented immigrants and would remove funding included in the “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation law for rural health care providers.
“It’s not above health care,” Emmer said. “How do we know? Because they filed a counter-proposal in the Senate. You know what? It says, they want us to spend $1.5 trillion more, and they want to put illegals on taxpayer-funded health care, while at the same time gutting the $50 billion fund that we all created in the bill that we passed in July for rural health care. This ain’t about health care.”
Democrats have proposed reversing some cuts made for “lawfully present” immigrants available through federal health care programs. The minority party’s funding proposal would not change federal law that prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded health coverage.
The race for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District is expected to be one of the most contentious matches in the 2026 election season, with Cook Political Report rating the district as a “toss-up.” The race for Iowa’s 3rd District represented by Republican Rep. Zach Nunn is also predicted to be competitive in 2026.
Miller-Meeks won her initial election to Congress in the 2020 by a margin of six votes. She won reelection in 2022 and 2024 against Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan, who is running for the seat again in the upcoming election. Miller-Meeks’ margin of victory in 2024 was by 798 votes after Bohannan requested a recount.
Alongside Bohannan, there are two other Democrats running to become the 1st District party nominee: Travis Terrell, a University of Iowa Health Care employee, and Taylor Wettach, a former attorney. Miller-Meeks also faces a primary challenge from David Pautsch, who also ran against her in 2024.
Though Republicans have seen major victories in recent election cycles, the GOP speakers called for Iowa Republican voters at the fundraiser to stay engaged heading into the 2026 election season. Emmer called Miller-Meeks “the key” for Republicans’ victory across the country in 2026.
“Mariannette Miller-Meeks winning means we’re winning everything that you’re fighting for in Iowa,” he said.
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