Iowa Republicans on Kim Reynolds: ‘Not Viable’
Iowa Republicans on Kim Reynolds: ‘Not Viable’
State GOP rejected Lt. Gov. Reynolds as 2014 Senate candidate
Today, Iowa Republicans are realizing they will be stuck with an incoming governor deemed “not viable” for statewide office.
After President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gov. Terry Branstad as the next U.S. ambassador to China, Lt. Gov. Reynolds is next in line to take over the governor’s office.
But how do her GOP colleagues feel about Reynolds as a statewide elected official?
“Not viable,” Hawkeye Republicans told Politico about her prospects as a candidate for U.S. Senate. As Politico reported in 2013:
“Multiple Republicans told POLITICO Thursday that Reynolds is not viable. They cited two drunk-driving arrests on her record, an eminent domain fight she was involved in as a state senator and a 2010 statement suggesting she was open to some form of civil unions.”
“Iowa Republicans said it best: Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds is simply ‘not viable,’” DGA Executive Director Elisabeth Pearson said. “Democrats already had Iowa as a pickup target. Governor Brandstad’s departure increases the chances for Democrats to win back the Iowa governor’s office in 2018.”
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