Cindy Axne launches attack ad targeting Zach Nunn in Iowa's competitive 3rd District race

U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne rolled out her first television ad of the election season Tuesday, attacking her Republican opponent just one week after he was nominated to challenge her in November's midterm elections.

The ad goes after state Sen. Zach Nunn for allegedly putting "his big donors ahead of the safety of Iowa families."

The Nunn campaign in a statement called the ad "dishonest. Deceitful. Dishonorable."

The launch is much sooner than in Axne's past campaigns — her first TV ad of 2020 went up in late July, and in 2018 it aired in late August. And it's the first time she's gone on the attack in her first ad. In both previous campaigns, Axne's first ad featured her own resume.

The move highlights this year's ultra-competitive election climate as Axne digs into her sizable bank account to go on the offensive immediately.

Axne's is one of the nation's top-targeted congressional seats as Republicans put pressure on Democratic incumbents they view as vulnerable. Those national Republican groups have already swept into the state to place their own ad buys boosting Nunn and targeting Axne.

The National Republican Congressional Committee announced the day after Iowa's June 7 primary elections that it had reserved $1.04 million in TV ads in the Des Moines market. And the Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC affiliated with U.S. House Republican leadership, rolled out another $975,000 in advertising.

"I'll absolutely be counteracting any information that the NRCC is putting out," Axne said in an interview before the ad was unveiled. "I'll be ready."

Axne goes into the race with a sizable war chest — about $2.8 million, according to her most recent financial disclosure — that allows her to begin running the ads immediately.

Nunn, who secured the Republican nomination June 7, currently has far fewer financial resources. At the end of May he reported having about $223,000 left in his campaign's bank account.

In the ad, Axne attacks Nunn for sponsoring legislation in 2021 that lowered the minimum age for operating amusement park rides from 18 to 16 to help ease staffing shortages. Democrats raised concerns about safety on the Senate floor, but the bill was approved with some bipartisan support in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature.

Later that year, a child died on the “Raging River” ride at the Adventureland amusement park in Altoona.

The park is a major business in Nunn's district. Members of the Krantz family, which owned or controlled Adventureland from 1973 until late 2021, contributed $5,000 to Nunn's Statehouse races and about $34,000 to his congressional race.

Axne ties the two issues together in the ad, even though the ride's operator that day was over 18.

The Iowa Division of Labor found that Adventureland Park violated 17 safety standards in connection with the July accident, included failing to supervise riders, using unapproved replacement parts and having deficient evacuation procedures. Adventureland's lawyer has contested the division's findings.

"Cindy Axne’s verifiable lie exploits the loss of a child for her own re-election prospects," Nunn's campaign manager Bryan Kraber said in a statement. "The ad reflects Axne’s character more than anything. Iowans see through Axne’s false, DC-style smear job and are disappointed.”

More: Air Force veteran Zach Nunn wins 3rd District Republican primary; will challenge Rep. Cindy Axne

Des Moines Register investigative reporter Daniel Lathrop contributed to this report. 

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Cindy Axne attacks Zach Nunn with ad in Iowa's 3rd District election