With a promise “to provide leadership to our country,” Republican David Pautsch officially kicked off his second campaign for Iowa’s first Congressional district on February 27 in Des Moines. Touching on many of the topics he discussed in a recent interview with Bleeding Heartland, he repeatedly contrasted his steadfast conservative beliefs with the “vacillation” of the GOP incumbent, U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

I was unable to attend the campaign launch, as I was in the Iowa House chamber covering floor debate on a bill revoking transgender Iowans’ civil rights protections and legal recognition. The Iowa Standard’s Jacob Hall recorded the event and posted the video on Facebook.

“IT WOULDN’T HAPPEN ON MY WATCH”

Pautsch’s campaign had booked the state capitol rotunda weeks ago, before anyone could have known the Iowa House and Senate would be debating one of the most important bills of the decade on the afternoon of February 27. More than 2,000 people came to the capitol that morning to protest the legislative attack on trans Iowans. Hundreds were still there when Pautsch’s event was supposed to start.

The Republican ended up speaking to reporters in an area just off the rotunda, and he wasn’t happy about it. Pautsch said he had called Governor Kim Reynolds’ office as well as the attorney general and the director of security to ask, “Who’s going to stop this?” He said he was told the governor’s not in charge of the facility and could not do anything to remove the protesters, because “there might be lawsuits.” (The Iowa Department of Administrative Services handles event scheduling at the state capitol.)

Pautsch wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “Every person in this state ultimately reports to the governor,” he said. “And I can assure you that if Donald Trump were the governor of this state, there would not be this commotion going on right here,” he added, gesturing toward the people in the rotunda.

Several minutes later, volume rose as a singer finished a performance, and protesters applauded and cheered. Pautsch stopped in the middle of answering a question to say, “Noise, noise, noise. It wouldn’t happen on my watch.”

Constitutional conservatives should not be surprised when people who are about to lose their civil rights protections exercise their right to assemble and petition their government.

TAKING CARE OF “UNFINISHED BUSINESS”

Pautsch ran against Miller-Meeks from the right in the last election cycle and outperformed expectations in the 2024 primary. Near the beginning of his remarks on February 27, he said, “Lo and behold, to everyone’s surprise, including myself, I got 44 percent of the vote.” For that reason, he feels he’s “got some unfinished business” to take care of.

Leadership was a central theme of his event. He complained that politicians “have abrogated their responsibilities” and allowed “off the charts” waste in government to continue. Pautsch asserted (incorrectly) that “waste, fraud, and abuse” accounts for most of the U.S. national debt. He blamed members of Congress for what he called a “budgetary financial calamity.”

In that context, Pautsch brought up a September 2023 vote in the U.S. House on an amendment that would have cut funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) by 50 percent. About half of House Republicans, including all four members of the Iowa delegation, joined Democrats to vote down that amendment. Pautsch mentioned the same Congressional vote in his recent interview with Bleeding Heartland. I anticipate that it will be a frequent talking point against Miller-Meeks over the coming year.

Pautsch said the federal government should be shut down if necessary to achieve conservative goals on the budget. Miller-Meeks has repeatedly voted for continuing spending resolutions to keep the government open and will likely do so again this month, as another funding deadline approaches on March 14.

A FOCUS ON THE GRASSROOTS

Asked about the main difference between himself and the incumbent, Pautsch said voters can trust him, in contrast to his “categorically untrustworthy” opponent.

As for what he learned from his first race that will help him win the next primary, Pautsch noted that he has much more time to campaign. He kicked off his last race only about six months before the primary, whereas he has nearly a year and a half before Republican voters will choose a nominee in June 2026.

Pautsch also acknowledged he was “underfunded” last time around. (He raised and spent a little more than $38,000 before the 2024 primary.) He predicted he would raise more for this race, saying he had “met a lot of people who are going to help.”

He sounded hopeful that he could get support from the biggest spender in Republican politics: “Even Elon Musk says, ‘I’m going to help fund any candidate who’s going to run against a RINO.’ Well, here I am. I’m a conservative running against a RINO.”

But ultimately, Pautsch is relying on the conservative grassroots, not people “at the top” of the party who may see themselves as “kingmakers.” He credited the grassroots for his strong showing in the last primary, and asserted that grassroots voters value principled politicians, while people at the top are mainly concerned about money and power.

“YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CLEAR SOUND”

Pautsch was an early supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Asked during the February 27 event if he would support Trump’s agenda in Congress, he replied, “Oh yeah, Trump all the way.”

He argued that strong leadership will help the U.S. reach new heights. He said the loss of his son (who was killed in Iraq in 2009) had helped him dream for more for this country: “We, as America, need to dream big again. Big, outrageous opportunities.” With good leaders in place, Pautsch said, families will flourish and Americans will have more children. Education can teach people “to appreciate what their Creator has made” as well as the value of entrepreneurship and the government “not burdening people with undue taxation.”

Those things can’t happen unless “the Lord Jesus Christ himself” settles in people’s hearts and helps them do things they can’t do themselves, Pautsch said. He spent several minutes discussing President George Washington’s faith—which is a matter “of great debate” among scholars, given his well-documented Masonic activities.

At one point, Pautsch commented that some people tell him he talks too much about God. “No I don’t,” he insisted.

The Iowa Standard’s Hall asked about Miller-Meeks’ unimpressive showing in the November 2024 election, suggesting that she vastly underperformed Trump and almost lost because she was “too liberal.” Pautsch didn’t entirely agree, saying, “She was liberal on Tuesday, middle of the road on Wednesday, unknown on Thursday, and on Friday she was running from a debate. You just never knew anything about her.” For him, that drove home that the incumbent is “not a person of principle.”

“You can’t follow a vague trumpet,” Pautsch said. “You have to have a clear sound.”

He mused that some people who supported him may have thought, “This guy Pautsch, he may be a bit of a fanatic, but I think he’s a friendly fanatic.” He’s happy to be their friend.

EARLY ENDORSEMENTS

According to a campaign news release, Mike Lindell (the My Pillow founder and 2020 election denier) and conservative radio host Eric Metaxas are both supporting Pautsch’s Congressional bid.

Reverend Joel Tenney, an Evangelical pastor and leader of Alpha Pneuma Ministries, formally endorsed Pautsch during the February 27 event at the capitol. He praised the candidate for his “guiding principle” that “our government is best run with a Christian worldview.” Like Pautsch, Tenney does not believe in the separation of church and state. His ministry’s YouTube channel describes him as “Iowa’s MAGA Pastor.” He spoke at a Trump rally in Coralville in December 2023 and believes supporting Trump “is not just a political choice but a divine mandate.”

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was the best-known supporter of Pautsch’s last campaign; his Huck PAC donated $5,000. Since Trump has named Huckabee to be U.S. ambassador to Israel, it’s unclear whether he will get involved in any 2026 GOP primaries.

Miller-Meeks has not confirmed she will seek a fourth term, but Sarah Watson reported for the Quad-City Times last month that the incumbent had filed statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. Watson quoted a spokesperson as saying via email, “Mariannette is spending all her energy on helping President Trump implement his agenda — it is not time for campaigning.”

---

Top photo of David Pautsch speaking with reporters was provided by the Pautsch campaign and is published with permission.