Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deidre DeJear to visit Burlington Saturday

The Des Moines County Democrats will host a meet and greet with Iowa gubernatorial candidate Deidre DeJear Saturday at Heritage Gardens, 620 Washington St.

DeJear, a 36-year-old Democrat and Des Moines business owner, will meet with Burlington area residents and share her ideas for Iowa from 1 to 2 p.m. at the former art center building.

The venue is accessible either from Washington Street or the ramp on Columbia Street.

DeJear is vying to unseat Republican Kim Reynolds, who has served as Iowa's governor since May 24, 2017, when she took over for then-Gov. Terry Brandstad upon his resignation to become U.S. ambassador to China.

Reynolds, 62, was elected to serve her first full term as governor in 2018, with 50.3% of the vote and carrying 88 of Iowa's 99 counties. She narrowly beat Democratic businessman Fred Hubbell, who had 47.3% of the vote.

A win for DeJear would make her Iowa's first Black governor. Reynolds made history by becoming the state's first female governor.

More: 'Remember what we're capable of, Iowa': Democrat Deidre DeJear details vision in governor's race

Speaking at the Democrats State Convention in Des Moines June 18 while accepting her party's nomination, DeJear said she would focus on inclusion, affordable and accessible health care, enhancement of workers' rights and boosting voting rights.

She also said she would work to building economic development in all 99 counties through increased workforce housing and creating public sector jobs for youth to give them a stake in their communities that may encourage them to remain in Iowa.

DeJear also said that Republican policies on cultural and economic issues are driving people from the state and that Iowa Republicans ass "cookie-cutter bills" that are bad for Iowa.

According to the 2020 census, Iowa's population grew by 4.7% from 2010 to 2020, but 68 of the state's 99 counties saw population loss in that same period.

Reynolds' re-election campaign has focused largely on parental choice in education and, during the 2022 legislative session, pushed a "school choice" bill that would have used $55 million in state public school funding to provide 10,000 students with scholarships to pay private school expenses. That bill failed to pass.

Speaking at a GOP convention June 11, Reynolds, who has spoken out against lessons about non-binary pronouns in elementary schools, said DeJear "wants to turn Iowa into a liberal haven."

More: 'When we show up, we win': Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers fiery speech at Iowa GOP convention

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling reversing the nationwide right to abortion that's been in place since 1978, Reynolds on Tuesday called for a district court to lift an injunction on a so-called fetal heartbeat law she signed in 2018. That law, which would ban abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, never took effect and was ruled unconstitutional in 2019.

Speaking Tuesday in Sioux City, DeJear said she would fight for abortion access in Iowa.

Fundraising reports and poll results show Reynolds in the lead.

According to a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted in March, likely voters backed Reynolds 51% to 43% over DeJear, with a margin of error of 4%.

DeJear raised about $740,000 between January and May 14, the end of the first fundraising period for 2022. Since launching her campaign in August, DeJear had raised a little more than $1 million by mid-May.

Reynolds, meanwhile, raised $1.28 million in that same time period.

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: What to know about Deidre DeJear ahead of her Burlington visit