Abortion, inflation divide Cindy Axne, Zach Nunn in Iowa 3rd Congressional District debate
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Abortion and inflation once again emerged as the major fault lines in the race for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District Thursday night as the two candidates faced one another in their first head-to-head debate.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne and Republican state Sen. Zach Nunn also continued to levy and respond to some of the pointed attacks they have made against one another on the campaign trail during the hour-long debate, which aired on KCCI.
The race in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, which includes 21 counties in Iowa's southwest corner, as well as Des Moines, is a highly competitive contest as both parties seek control of the House during the midterm elections.
Axne, Iowa's lone Democrat in Congress, is running against Nunn, an Air Force veteran, for her third consecutive term in the seat.
Abortion defines 3rd District ads, debate
Any 3rd District voter with a television or internet has likely seen Axne's ads on abortion.
Using a clip from a May primary debate, Axne has accused Nunn of supporting an abortion ban with no exceptions. Nunn has responded with ads of his own, accusing Axne of supporting abortion "on demand, including day of birth."
Both candidates continued those accusations on the debate stage Thursday, each saying the other's position is extreme while working to explain the nuances of their position.
Axne said Nunn "can slice and dice this however he wants," but his actions during the primary showed he supports an abortion ban with no exceptions. Asked by the debate moderators to clarify his position, Nunn said he has voted in the past for legislation with exceptions.
"I support the mother and the baby," he said. "And we voted repeatedly here in Iowa to provide exceptions for the health of the mother, something my opponent’s lied about repeatedly. We provide exceptions for rape, incest and fetal abnormality."
Meanwhile, Nunn hit back by saying Axne's stance is "very extreme," voting for federal legislation he said will allow abortion until the day of birth. Nunn has said states should have the power to determine abortion laws.
Axne, who supports the Women's Health Protection Act, a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade into federal law, said Nunn's accusations are "a completely fabricated lie by the Republican Party."
"Does he really think women are having babies, and then all of a sudden we’re saying ‘kill the babies?’ That’s crazy talk," she said. "He’s running around on TV talking about it. I mean, I take such great offense at that because you have no idea what it’s like to be a mother. You have no idea what it’s like to bear a child."
More:U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, state Sen. Zach Nunn battle over abortion in 3rd District race
Abortion became a central campaign issue following the June overturn of Roe v. Wade. Democrats across the country have issued dire warnings that Republicans will chip away at abortion rights. Some Republicans, including Nunn, have distanced themselves from extreme stances.
President Biden's economy: Booming or bust?
Nunn and Axne also presented different visions of the nation's economy.
Nunn blamed Axne and the Biden administration for taking the wrong approach to inflation, criticizing the spending packages Biden has signed and Axne has voted for. Meanwhile, Axne said Democratic policies are working and she's continuing to pass legislation aimed at putting more money in Iowans' pockets.
"If you’ve been to the grocery store recently, you’ve seen prices rise," said Nunn, who has six children. "If you are better off when you were two years ago when Axne and Biden got elected, then you’re in the minority. Because there are Americans and Iowans in all 21 (counties), in all economies, who are suffering. Your family, my family have it harder than they did. We need to stop it.”
Nunn said he believes Iowa has been a stark contrast, pointing to what he said has been responsible budgeting combined with a tax cut the Iowa Legislature passed this year that will gradually reduce Iowa's income taxes and corporate taxes, as well as eliminate the tax on retirement income. Many Iowa Republicans this year have promoted a similar message, comparing Iowa's success to America's struggles.
Meanwhile, Axne touted major policy wins for Democrats, especially the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, a massive health care, climate and tax policy law that she said will reduce the deficit and result in lower prices for prescription drugs. She also pointed to legislation she has been working on to alleviate supply chain issues.
She said that gas prices have been coming down and people have more money in their pockets from the American Rescue Plan.
“I know the price of gas. I know the price of milk, and I sure know the price of bread because I have two boys that eat a heck of a lot of food," she said. "So I certainly understand the pain that Iowans and Americans are facing, and we’re continually working ― and I’m continually working ― to make sure I bring those prices down.”
The latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll, conducted in July, found 60% of Iowans said inflation was a critical issue ahead of the midterm. More Republicans, 71%, said inflation was a critical issue than Democrats, only 40% of whom said it was critical.
Zach Nunn hits Cindy Axne for proxy voting from France
Nunn lambasted Axne multiple times for using a proxy to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act in August. A nonprofit watchdog group filed an ethics complaint against Axne, arguing she used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse for her absence.
Nunn said Axne was "lying to us, the American people" because she used the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason she missed her vote.
Axne on Thursday defended her position, saying voted by proxy so she could still participate when Democratic leaders called representatives back during a scheduled recess to vote on the legislation. At the time, Axne was on a family trip in France, but she said she was "not going to apologize for spending time with my family" and the COVID-19 language was required to proxy vote.
"I could have not voted ― and certainly not had to sit here and listen to this," she said. "But I chose to take the right vote for Iowa, knowing that I'd probably be berated by my opponent and Republicans for literally just trying to do the right thing for Iowa in a circumstance that I was put in."
She noted that 177 other House members voted by proxy on the bill ― including Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Zach Nunn and China; Cindy Axne and stock trades
Axne has released several ads targeting Nunn for accepting a campaign contribution from Syngenta, a company owned by the Chinese government. The company PAC gave $2,500 to Nunn's campaign, according to federal filings.
In Axne's ad, she says Syngenta benefited from a state tax credit Nunn supported.
Both the moderators and Axne brought up that issue during the debate. But Nunn dismissed concerns.
"The idea that we're somehow in the pocket of China not only is disgusting but is largely just laughable," he said. "The reality here is that we're proud to be endorsed by groups like the Farm Bureau and the 160,000 farmers that endorsed me, and Syngenta, who supported us with $2,500."
The Nunn campaign said in August that Axne herself attended an event with Syngenta in 2019, and Nunn did not vote for the 2018 bill that included the tax credit. The Axne campaign fired back with an image of a Nunn opinion column from 2018, where he celebrated the passage of the tax bill overall.
Axne also responded to questions from moderators about a New York Times report that showed she and her husband reported stock trades with 13 companies that present potential conflicts of interest. Nunn also brought up the issue later in the debate.
Axne said she doesn't personally trade, purchase or execute trades within retirement or college savings accounts that she had. She said the issue has been cleared by a bipartisan congressional ethics committee.
Axne has previously said she would support a ban on stock trading by members of Congress and is working with other members on legislation addressing the issue. But she also believes members should be able to use retirement or college education savings plans they don't actively manage.
"My goodness, you'd think my husband and I were sitting on a mountain of cash instead of driving an 11-year-old car to Aldi to do my grocery shopping," she said to Nunn.
Editor's note: A previously published version of this story misstated when the 3rd Congressional District primary debate occurred.
Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa 3rd Congressional District candidates clash on abortion in debate
