Democrat Deidre DeJear slams Gov. Kim Reynolds' education, abortion record in her first ad

Democrat Deidre DeJear is taking aim at Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds on education, abortion and other issues in her first ad of the governor's race.

The 30-second ad, titled "No," will begin airing on broadcast, cable and streaming starting Tuesday, four weeks before Election Day, according to DeJear's campaign.

"It's important for people to understand the difference between the two of us, and these are core issues that folks have been talking about all over the state," DeJear told the Des Moines Register Thursday.

The ad opens in what appears to be a school gymnasium, where a line of children is bringing paper forms to a pair of adults who are stamping "no" on each one in large, red letters.

"This is what Gov. Reynolds tells Iowa kids when she tries to take money from public schools to give it to private schools," DeJear says in the ad.

The ad is criticizing one of Reynolds' top priorities over the last two legislative sessions: a proposal that would use taxpayer dollars to help families switch their children from public school to private school or homeschooling. Democrats uniformly opposed the proposal, and it has failed to gain enough support among House Republicans to pass over the past two years.

But Reynolds has been pushing for it again on the campaign trail, hoping the makeup of the Iowa Legislature is more favorable to the proposal next year.

More: Education is a critical issue for Iowa voters. Here's how it's shaping the governor's race

DeJear goes on in the ad to say Reynolds "supports letting states ban abortion, even in cases of rape and incest." Reynolds is currently pushing in court to allow a 2018 law to go into effect that would ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. That law does carry exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormalities and to protect the life of the mother.

DeJear's campaign points to a June statement from Reynolds where she said that "all human beings, without exception, are created equal" and that she "won’t rest until every unborn Iowan is protected and respected." DeJear told the Register Thursday "more questions should be asked" of what Reynolds believes on abortion exceptions but that, based on her statements, Reynolds seems to be "subscribing holistically" to a national agenda that wants to reduce exceptions.

The ad continues to say Reynolds won't protect landowners from the use of eminent domain for the construction of proposed carbon capture pipelines, and she has opposed lower-cost prescription drugs ― a criticism that appears to be drawn from Reynolds' opposition to the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to reduce drug prices.

With each criticism, the scenery changes: First to a line of women outside a health clinic, then to a line of farmers outside of a grain elevator, then to a line of senior citizens at a pharmacy. At each location, the same two people are seated in front of a portrait of Reynolds, stamping and saying "no" into a megaphone.

"I'm Deidre DeJear, and I'll be a governor who works with both parties, so Iowa can start saying 'yes' again," she says at the close of the ad.

The ad's release comes approximately a month after Reynolds released her first television ad of the campaign. Since then, Reynolds has released two others.

Reynolds' campaign did not comment specifically on DeJear's ad Thursday. But the campaign pointed to a separate ad Reynolds released Thursday morning that attacked DeJear for not standing to recognize law enforcement when Reynolds announced during her Condition of the State Address in January that she would be using federal American Rescue Plan funding to provide them with $1,000 bonuses and boost recruitment efforts. DeJear had attended the address as the guest of Rep. Chris Hall, D-Sioux City.

More: Nearly 90 Iowa candidates told us where they stand on abortion. Here's what we learned.

DeJear addressed the Reynolds ad Thursday during a meeting with the Des Moines Register's editorial board, calling it "disappointing."

"My supporters know that I stand with law enforcement, and I believe in public safety," she said.

DeJear said she did not stand at that moment of the speech, but did clap, because Reynolds had only mentioned mental health care once in the speech. Mental health is one of the top issues facing law enforcement, DeJear said, and inadequate services for people facing mental health issues are placing more of a burden and strain on law enforcement's time and budgets.

She said she sat "because I want her to be better" and "not just give (them) lip service."

"As I'm talking to law enforcement, that is amongst the top issues that they're talking about," DeJear said. "In our county jails, they're becoming holding facilities for mental health care patients."

Reynolds currently carries a significant lead in fundraising, ending the last reporting period in mid-July with 10 times the amount of cash on hand that DeJear did.

Reynolds also in a July Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll led DeJear in polling by 17 percentage points, with 48% support among likely voters versus DeJear's 31%. Libertarian Rick Stewart, the third candidate in the gubernatorial race, received 5% in the poll.

DeJear will debate Reynolds Oct. 17 on Iowa PBS in what will likely be the only faceoff between the two before Election Day, despite requests from DeJear for Reynolds to participate in three debates this fall.

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: Democrat Deidre DeJear goes after Kim Reynolds in first campaign ad