Iowa needs a happy warrior in Congress

It’s 36 counties covering 21,546 square miles of Northwest Iowa. It’s the largest congressional district in Iowa, but often overlooked, neglected and forgotten by politicians and pundits of every ilk.

Iowa’s 4th Congressional District is treated as fly-over country except by the 801,546 people who call it home.  I’m one of those people, and I vote.

Why is this huge area ignored?

The simple answer is there’s nearly 100,000 more active Republican voters in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, so the know-it-all pundits predict a Game of Thrones “Red wedding” for any Democratic candidate.

Republicans smugly put it in the win column; it’s no sweat. That “R” after the name is enough. It’s magic. There’s a belief the Republican candidate doesn’t need to answer hard questions, do those meet and greets, or listen to voter concerns, in living rooms and coffee shops. No town halls necessary. It’s in the bag because of that “Magic R” behind the name.   

But don't tell that to happy warrior David Dawson, Democratic candidate in the 4th Congressional District. He’s busy trekking to every part of the district listening, answering tough questions and finding solutions for real problems. Dave doesn’t take voters for granted. He’s aggressively earning every vote. 

While Dawson is campaigning from one end of the district to the other, Republican candidate Chris McGowen, his Republican opponent, must be already measuring drapes for his new congressional office because he isn’t meeting folks across the district. McGowen is so confident of the “Magic R,” he’s allowed the Sioux City Chamber of Commerce to advertise his job before one vote is ever counted.

I’ve been involved in a lot of political campaigns, but I’ve never seen a candidate work as hard as Dawson, and he does it with a smile. When I think of David I’m reminded of an old Mohammed Ali story.     

Ali was approached by a guy who recognized him. He told Ali that he’d seen him fight but it was the one where he was down a lot. Ali responded, “That wasn’t me.  I’m never down.  I am always getting up or I am up.” 

That’s how David Dawson approaches this campaign. He knows he’s in a political fight as an underdog, so he works all day as an assistant Woodbury County attorney and then works long hours meeting Republicans, independents and Democrats.

McGowan is campaigning like he’s on third base having never touched first or second.

He seems to be taking a page from the Randy Feenstra playbook. Feenstra was a Boo Radley candidate of “To Kill a Mockingbird fame.” He avoided unfriendly crowds and refused to debate. It didn’t work.

Dave Dawson will fight for all Iowans. Dave will push to clean up rivers, lakes and streams. He’ll fight for term limits. He’ll vote to ban stock trading for members of Congress. He’ll take steps to protect rural health care, improve mental health counseling for children, and help make daily life more affordable. Dave will advocate for more cancer research, and he’ll protect private land ownership from corporate greed. 

He’ll fight to finally get a farm bill passed. Dave’s a guy who understands bipartisan laws are powerful so he’ll cooperate with the other party when he can and confront when he must.

Where does Chris McGowen stand on the critical issues facing Iowans and the country? My guess is in a few weeks we’ll be blitzed by slick McGowen TV ads, and voters will never really meet the Republican candidate. But it won’t work to label Dave Dawson just another liberal Democrat. He’s different.

Dave Dawson won’t be a congressman who’ll rant and rave. He’ll just get the work done quietly for all the people of the 4th Congressional District, and he’ll do it with a smile.

Bruce Lear lives in Sioux City. He has been connected to public schools for 38 years. He taught for 11 years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association Regional Director for 27 years until he retired.  Contact Bruce at BruceLear2419@gmail.com.