“The grassroots of America love making America great again,” David Pautsch told me during a February 5 telephone interview. “It’s the political establishment people, including and especially the Republican establishment, that is the biggest albatross around our neck.”

Pautsch is counting on the MAGA grassroots as he prepares for a rematch against U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks in the 2026 GOP primary for Iowa’s first Congressional district.

A minister and founder of the Quad Cities Prayer Breakfast, Pautsch received just under 44 percent of the vote in the 2024 primary after running against the incumbent from the right.

I reached out to Pautsch after seeing he had booked the state capitol rotunda on February 27 for a “Congressional candidacy announcement.” Although he hasn’t officially launched his campaign, he agreed to speak on the record about his plans and prospects.

“MILLER-MEEKS IS A CONFIRMED RINO”

Pautsch ran a low-budget race last year. Federal Election Commission filings indicate his campaign raised and spent a little more than $38,000 before the June 2024 primary. Most receipts were individual contributions, except for a $5,000 donation from Mike Huckabee’s Huck PAC.

Meanwhile, Miller-Meeks’ campaign spent hundreds of thousands of dollars before the primary election, including more than $48,000 on “media placement” alone. In addition, her Congressional office used at least $105,000 in taxpayer funds to spread positive messages about her work through radio ads or direct mail during the first half of 2024. Outside groups spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to bolster the incumbent before the primary as well. Some of those messages expressly supported her re-election bid; the American Action Network spent heavily on “issue ads” praising Miller-Meeks’ work on border security (see here and here).

I asked Pautsch how he planned to overcome a similar spending disparity in the 2026 primary. He believes “the Trump administration is committed to funding candidates who will get rid of RINOs,” an acronym for Republican in Name Only. “And Miller-Meeks is a confirmed RINO. The fact that she speaks out of both sides of her mouth disqualifies her from anyone trusting her.”

Pautsch was an early endorser of President Donald Trump and appeared on a list of Iowa faith leaders backing his campaign in 2023. Miller-Meeks—Iowa’s only Republican federal office-holder whom Trump did not endorse during the 2022 campaign—did not publicly support any presidential candidate before the 2024 caucuses. Hours after Trump won Iowa by a wide margin on January 15, she posted on her X/Twitter feed, “I want to congratulate @realDonaldTrump on your historic victory in the Iowa caucuses. Today is the day we begin the fight to beat Joe Biden and deliver for the American people!”

Since then, Miller-Meeks has effusively praised Trump. She recently signed on as a plaintiff in the president’s consumer fraud lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and its longtime pollster, Ann Selzer. She also joined the House DOGE caucus last month, vowing to “tackle ongoing waste, abuse, and fraud in the federal bureaucracy” and work with billionaire Elon Musk and others “to advance President Trump’s agenda to rein in wasteful spending and protect taxpayer dollars.”

Nevertheless, Pautsch maintains, “People are catching on. Now she’s pretending to be, like she’s been a Trump supporter all along. She’s actually been a Trump hater.” As people are “becoming more aware,” Pautsch expects to receive “more funding to make this obvious to people.”

Asked whether he had any assurances from Trump or people associated with his campaign about future help, Pautsch said it was “too early to say. But I’ve been in touch with his folks, and we’re talking.”

He mentioned that during his trip to Washington, DC for the inauguration, a contact got him a ticket for the National Prayer Service on January 21. He was able to meet lots of people there, including Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence.

Selfie with Gabbard at Washington National Cathedral on January 21

While at the prayer event, Pautsch approached House Speaker Mike Johnson to share “my aspirations of what I could do to help him.”

David Pautsch near House Speaker Mike Johnson in Washington National Cathedral on January 21 (screenshot from television coverage)

Johnson came to Iowa last October to campaign for Miller-Meeks. Does Pautsch think it’s possible the House speaker would stay neutral in the next IA-01 primary?

“I’m saying it’s possible he wants to get a real Republican there,” he said. Pautsch acknowledged that Johnson “has to be polite,” and most politicians “go with incumbency.” He said, “It’s my job to show that this is not a good decision.”

Iowa’s entire U.S. House delegation joined Senator Joni Ernst, Governor Kim Reynolds, and other notables at the Midwest Ball in Washington on January 18. Reynolds, Ernst, Representative Ashley Hinson (IA-02), and others attended another party for Iowans the day before the inauguration. Pautsch told me he wasn’t invited and knew nothing about it. “That was basically the establishment people,” he said, who “put club membership ahead of values and principles.”

“I DON’T THINK THE ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICANS LIKE MAGA CANDIDATES”

I asked about the recent special election in Iowa Senate district 35, which is contained within the first Congressional district. It didn’t go well for the Republican nominee, Katie Whittington, even though the GOP has a voter registration advantage in the area, and Trump carried the district by 21 points in the November election.

Some might interpret the Democrat’s win as a sign the GOP should nominate more moderates, rather than hard-core MAGA activists like Whittington. “No, that’s not the take home,” Pautsch said. “The take home is that the establishment Republicans should get out of trying to influence the elections and making good candidates appear to be something other than strong, viable candidates.”

Pautsch asserted that “a lot of shenanigans” went on in that race, and said the Republican Party should “evaluate how committed they really are to Republican principles. […] It’s just ridiculous that Republicans have proven themselves to be so flaky, to have so little passion for Republican values.”

Asked to elaborate on the alleged “shenanigans,” Pautsch said he didn’t know specifics but cited concerns the state party had “taken over” Whittington’s campaign. (Jacob Hall wrote a post for The Iowa Standard about the GOP establishment’s tepid support for Whittington.)

Pautsch said he had offered to help the GOP nominee but “got shoved out of the way.” In the 2024 primary, he carried Clinton County, where most voters in Senate district 35 live, and outpolled Miller-Meeks across the six Scott County precincts that are part of the Senate district (Allen’s Grove, Leclaire township, McCausland, Park View, Princeton, and Winfield township).

Although the party “reluctantly” gave Whittington’s campaign some money, Pautsch said, “I don’t think the establishment Republicans like MAGA candidates. The problem is not the candidates. The grassroots of America love making America great again. It’s the political establishment people, including and especially the Republican establishment, that is the biggest albatross around our neck.”

I pointed out that Jeff Kaufmann, the Republican Party of Iowa’s longtime state chair, gave a nominating speech for Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Is Pautsch claiming the state party establishment is against MAGA candidates?

“They’re not enthusiastic about it. They go along with the nominated candidates,” he said. He observed that Kaufmann talks about “being good Republicans” and supporting the party’s candidates.

But do they ever talk about the principles of the Republican Party? No. It’s just all about club loyalty.

Well, if that’s what a Republican is, they are not Republicans. That’s a Republican—first of all, is concerned about Republican values. Not just about being loyal to the Republican club, no matter how bad the candidates are.

And Miller-Meeks is just a bad candidate. In fact, the whole Congressional delegation has proven themselves to be flaky. It’s just bad news.

Pautsch also complained that the state party prevents GOP county committees from endorsing candidates in competitive primaries.

“IT’S JUST COMPLETE PHONINESS”

It’s challenging to beat an incumbent in a primary for any office. What is Pautsch’s strategy for getting from 44 percent to a majority in June 2026? Would he target certain counties more, or have a different message? In 2024, he received more votes than Miller-Meeks in five of the 20 counties: Clinton, Des Moines, Jones, Washington, and Scott. (The result in Scott, containing the Quad Cities metro, was virtually a tie, with the challenger carrying the county by eight votes out of more than 5,500 ballots cast.)

Pautsch conceded that the deck is stacked against him. “The establishment people, they like their candidates who they can manipulate and control. And their money does make a difference.” He speculated that with $25,000 more to spend, he could have won last year’s primary.

That said, Pautsch noted he has more name recognition now. He’s confident the grassroots want “constitutional conservatives, common-sense people that they can trust.”

During his last campaign, Pautsch accused Miller-Meeks of being “wobbly” on conservative principles, citing among other things her votes for a bipartisan bill to create a January 6 commission and for legal recognition of same-sex marriages. He appears likely to add a few more talking points to the mix in the coming year.

Pautsch brought up questions about Miller-Meeks’ residency several times during our interview. For him, the topic illustrates how the incumbent is not “trustworthy.” Miller-Meeks primarily lives in Ottumwa (which lies outside IA-01) and registered to vote in 2022 using the home address of her friend, then State Senator Chris Cournoyer. She was cagey about her residence for much of last year and registered to vote at the address of a Davenport apartment she rented.

Pautsch asserted, “She still doesn’t live in the district. It’s just complete phoniness that she tries to pretend like she lives in Scott County because she rented an apartment there. I don’t think she’s ever brushed her teeth there, let alone lived there. It’s just fraudulent.”

He also cited a House vote from September 2023 on an amendment to an appropriations bill. The amendment, introduced by House Freedom Caucus member Eli Crane of Arizona, would have cut funding by 50 percent for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Miller-Meeks was among 114 Republicans who joined Democrats in voting down the amendment. (Iowa’s other three House members also voted no.)

The vote on Crane’s amendment received little attention at the time. But it could resonate with MAGA Republicans now that the Trump administration has allowed Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” to dismantle most of USAID.

“That’s almost an admission of guilt,” Pautsch said, repeating unproven claims (popular among Trump supporters) that USAID launders money. “Every Republican who voted against that thing automatically puts themselves under the microscope. They should be scrutinized. Why would you do something so stupid as not voting for the defunding of USAID?”

As for other GOP constituencies, Pautsch is confident “the pro-life groups will wind up supporting me.” (Miller-Meeks has long faced allegations from social conservatives that she is not sufficiently anti-abortion.) He also anticipates support from “the gun rights groups” and Christian organizations that like his commitment to Biblical values.

Pautsch alluded to past discussions with members of the House Freedom Caucus. I mentioned that Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio—one of the Freedom Caucus founders—had headlined a fundraiser for Miller-Meeks. (That event took place in Iowa City in February 2023, well before Pautsch launched his first Congressional campaign.)

Pautsch said, “After he does a fundraiser for her, she decides to demonstrate her loyalty by voting against him for speaker of the House. Brilliant. How can you be so two-faced?”

Miller-Meeks voted for Jordan on one ballot in October 2023, then backed House Appropriations Committee chair Kay Granger on the next ballot, after it was clear Jordan didn’t have the votes to be elected speaker. Her office said in a statement at the time that she’d received “credible death threats and a barrage of threatening calls” after voting against Jordan. (Granger did not seek re-election in 2024, and it later emerged that she had moved into an assisted living facility sometime last year.)

Jordan endorsed Miller-Meeks’ GOP primary rival in 2020, when the Congressional district covering southeast Iowa was an open seat. If he or some other high-profile MAGA Republican came out against the IA-01 incumbent, a challenger’s prospects and fundraising would quickly improve.

More broadly, Pautsch feels he can appeal to conservatives as someone who would more effectively use his platform as a member of Congress.

But the sad thing about Miller-Meeks, and all of our [Iowa] Congressmen, is they don’t use their voice. They have not used their voice as a champion against all of the corruption, and the border problems. They didn’t say a thing about reducing spending.

He accused Iowa’s U.S. House members of not highlighting problems “Trump is now figuring out.” By way of example, he cited education and “supporting a corrupt nation like Ukraine.” Now “the corruption is all coming out,” and the Iowans in Congress are saying they support Trump. But “they never used their voice. They have been criminally silent.” Pautsch insisted that wouldn’t have happened if he were in office. He characterized the Iowa delegation as “weak” and “wimpy, silent little sheep who never raised their voices. That’s just intolerable.”

I reminded Pautsch that Miller-Meeks has talked extensively about her work to secure the border. Her Congressional office sent a taxpayer-funded direct mail piece about the border in early 2024. She also used more than $45,000 from her office budget for a radio ad in which she promised to keep “fighting to secure the border, stop the flow of fentanyl, and prevent the loss of loved ones to illegal drugs and crime.”

“Those are complete lies,” Pautsch claimed. He said Miller-Meeks advocated for new immigration laws, but had “never exposed the open border as an intentional thing. She tried to pass it off as the result of poor immigration laws. She was just as weak and wimpy on the border issues as they come. Yet as a candidate, she had the audacity to call herself a proven conservative. That is just a bald-faced lie.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE GENERAL ELECTION

Miller-Meeks prevailed in the closest U.S. House race in the country in 2020 and won the third-closest House race in 2024. She was also among the most under-performing House Republican incumbents in the country, relative to Trump’s vote share in her district. Trump received 35,807 more votes than Kamala Harris across the IA-01 counties, winning 53.3 percent of the presidential vote to 44.9 percent for the Democrat. In contrast, Miller-Meeks defeated Christina Bohannan by just 799 votes (49.98 percent to 49.79 percent).

House Democrats have put IA-01 on their top target list for the next election cycle, and a Democratic-aligned group is already running television and digital ads against Miller-Meeks.

The latest official figures show Republicans have a voter registration edge in the first Congressional district, but not an overwhelming advantage. As of February 1, the district’s 20 counties contain 163,816 registered Democrats, 181,525 Republicans, and 192,216 no-party voters.

How could Pautsch win a general election as a conservative Republican in a swing district? Does he think he could attract more Democratic votes than Miller-Meeks? “Absolutely. Because I’m trustworthy.” He argued that voters first decide whether they have confidence in a candidate, as opposed to scrutinizing platforms or positions.

He speculated that a lot of Democrats would find his candidacy attractive, “because number one, they can trust me. And number two, I’m going to do a great job of looking after and protecting their children, their grandchildren, and their money.”

A plurality of registered voters in IA-01 are not affiliated with either major party, so I wondered how the challenger would appeal to independents. He again cited trustworthiness and concern for families and their finances. He thinks no-party voters will see he has principles, is strong on the basics like national defense and fiscal solvency, and will fight what he calls “nefarious influences” like “transgenderism.”

Asked for any final thoughts about what voters should know about his campaign, Pautsch emphasized that he “can be trusted” and is “not trying to suck up to anyone.”

He said he has lived out his faith, finding hope and purpose despite the loss of his son, who was killed in Iraq on Good Friday in 2009. He thinks that upon learning that, people will say, “Maybe there’s something to this guy. […] he’s going to work for us. He’s going to be committed to our well-being. He’s not just doing this because he needs to be a Congressman. I don’t need to be a Congressman. The reason I’m doing this is because I want to be a blessing to America.”

Pautsch then referenced a quote that “hugely” motivates him, from the 18th-century British statesman Edmund Burke: “No man has made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.”

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To follow David Pautsch’s campaign: Facebook, X/Twitter

To follow Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ campaign: Facebook, X/Twitter

Click here for Bleeding Heartland’s analysis of former State Representative Brad Sherman’s likely Republican campaign for governor in 2026.

Click here for Bleeding Heartland’s coverage of Joshua Smith, the first Republican to announce plans to compete against Joni Ernst for the U.S. Senate nomination.

Do you know of other Republicans who may challenge incumbents in Iowa’s 2026 primary elections? Please reach out to Laura Belin.

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All photos provided by David Pautsch and published with permission.