ICYMI: “Kim Reynolds is Vulnerable in 2018”

A new column in the Des Moines Register about recent polling can’t be the headline Governor Reynolds was hoping to see today: “Gov. Kim Reynolds is vulnerable in 2018 despite many advantages.”
See below for excerpts from Kathie Obradovich’s column or read it in its entirety online HERE
Gov.  Kim Reynolds is vulnerable. That’s a remarkable campaign status for any Iowa incumbent but especially for one with more than $4 million in the bank.
I’ve seen some Republicans on social media, trying to spin the competitive poll numbers as expected for this time of year. After all, they say, Democrats are pouring over a million bucks into TV ads and campaigning full-time while Reynolds is toiling away behind the scenes to get her agenda through the Legislature.
Phooey. In the last Iowa Poll, taken in December, roughly six in 10 Iowans didn’t know enough about  Reynolds’ best-known challengers to give an opinion about them. Every one of her opponents would eat a live spider — a big, furry one — for the free media the governor can get any time she wants.
… The challenge for Reynolds is that her inheritance from now-Ambassador Terry Branstad includes a bundle of negative consequences from their administration’s policies and actions during the past eight years. Their tax policies drilled a hole in the bottom of the state revenue bucket, forcing painful and unpopular budget cuts at a time of overall economic growth. Medicaid is a mess. The mental health system has gaping holes in accessible services.