'The party is changing': Unopposed in House race, Republican Taylor Collins rallies support

MEDIAPOLIS — Republican Iowa House candidate Taylor Collins hosted a hog roast dinner Thursday at the Clover Creek Event Venue in Mediapolis.

Collins is running solo — there is no Democratic candidate to date — for the Iowa House District 95 seat currently held by Rep. David Kerr (R-Morning Sun). Kerr announced his retirement this past January.

District 95 includes rural Des Moines County, all of Louisa County, parts of rural Muscatine County and parts of Henry County.

A native of Macomb, Illinois, Collins lives in Mediapolis and took a hiatus from his position as adjunct professor at Iowa Wesleyan University to campaign full-time.

"I'm a first-time candidate and I'm really looking forward to representing Southeast Iowa," he said before the event began.

An easygoing and articulate man, Collins taught macro-and micro-economics and international business at IWU.

"Right now, I'm totally focused on winning this race," he said.

Collins previously served as policy advisor to Gov. Kim Reynolds and as senior advisor to Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg.

Collins sees the southern part of Des Moines county as "a little bit more liberal-leaning than the north" and described northern Des Moines County and Louisa County as a "very conservative area."

"The party is changing," Collins said. "The Republican party is becoming more of the party of the working man. I think that's why we've seen such a shift over the last few elections, especially with Burlington, even southern Des Moines County."

The candidate's parents and grandparents drove over from Macomb.

"Taylor always loved politics since he was a kid," father Scott Collins said. "He's a go-getter. He loves speaking for the people. I support him 100%."

More: Mediapolis resident Taylor Collins announces bid for Iowa House seat held by retiring Rep. Kerr

Event co-organizer and Collins' fiancée, Savannah Prescott, grew up in Southeast Georgia; she and Collins met while working on governor Reynolds' campaign in 2017. The couple plans to marry next October.

"We decided the summer would be best for both of our families to get together," Prescott said. "My family is from down south in Georgia, so we wanted to give everybody enough time to plan — flights are expensive, budgets are tight this time of year for a lot of families, so we wanted to make sure everyone could be there for the big day next year."

Prescott is community relations coordinator for the Burlington School District.

The Collins' will continue to live in Mediapolis, where his great-grandparents, John McCulley Sr. and wife Betty, founded the family business — Oakville Fee & Produce, now known as TriOak Foods.

"When Taylor and I started talking about the future and where we wanted to raise a family, he said he wanted to be home, which is Southeast Iowa," Prescott said. "I agreed. His family is truly welcoming and I've felt at home here."

Collins' campaign is focused on cutting taxes and balancing the budget, and protecting the 2nd Amendment and the right to life. He also wants to focus on economic development for rural Iowa families, including transportation equity.

And he plans to put the right to hunt and fish into the Iowa state constitution.

More: Iowa lawmakers OK deer hunting with semi-automatic rifles in final hours of session

"I'm glad to have everybody here tonight and rally the Republicans to make sure we can get out the vote. There's a lot on the line," Collins told the audience of about 120 at the beginning of the event as people began drifting over to the dinner buffet of roasted Iowa hog provided by Cynful Smokers BBQ of Wapello. "The consequences of the Biden administration's liberal policies have been clear: we've seen rampant inflation, skyrocketing energy costs, a total embarrassment on the world stage, and a recession just as of last week.

"But when you look at Iowa, we have a lot to be proud of: we're cutting taxes, we're making investments in things like education and public safety. All while making sure we're making our commitments in other areas as well. So we have a lot to be proud of here in Iowa, and it's quite the contrast between Iowa and DC."

Collins said his team is focused on winning back the House and the Senate.

"We need to make sure we bring Biden's agenda to a grinding halt because we've seen the consequences of it," he said. "I think we're more focused now on not necessarily who our next nominee is going to be but rather making sure we can regain control in Washington DC and stop the madness that's going on."

The evening's speakers included Gregg, District 44 Sen. Tim Goodwin, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, and the newly appointed Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Bobby Kaufmann.

"His work ethic is second to none," Kaufman said of Collins.

"I'm eating my way across the state of Iowa" at county fairs, Naig quipped.

Former Des Moines County Republican chair Terry Davis presented a plaque to Kerr in appreciation of Kerr's six years service representing Des Moines, Louisa and Muscatine counties.

Gregg was critical of the current crop of Democrats, but, "I didn't come here to pressure you," he said.

Gregg said that when he and Kim Reynolds ran in 2017, Iowa had the sixth highest income tax in the country, but when they make their goal of 3.9% in four years, Iowa will have the fourth lowest tax rate among states that impose a tax on income.

District 42 Sen. Jeff Reichman lives in Montrose and is subject to the upcoming redistricting plan that takes place when the 2020 census data is released next year; he said District 50 will take over all of Lee County, Burlington, West Burlington and Danville.

Previously: Des Moines County will work on redrawing precinct maps

"Taylor's worked in Des Moines and other capacities already, so he's got some relationships up there," Reichman said. "He's a proven leader, he's going to be able to get things done and build core relationships that push legislation through and make things happen and really look out for the rural area and support our farmers."

Goodwin, a former Democrat, lauded Collins after the event.

"I think Taylor's a fabulous young man," Goodwin said. "I'm impressed with his work ethic."

But is this really a political race? Collins faces no challenge from the Democrats.

"As of Aug. 30, they still have time to file an opponent. We're looking forward to talking with voters and seeing what matters most to them," Prescott said. "But we won't count our chickens before they hatch, right?"

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Republican Taylor Collins hog roast unopposed race House District 95