Campaign speech – Aug. 12, 2018

Hey, Iowans! How you doing today?

Glad to be out here at the Iowa State Fair. I'm Cindy Axne, and I'm running for the United States Congress to beat David Young.

I'll tell you what, I got into this race, boy, now almost 15 months ago because I was personally unhappy with the decisions that were being made out in Washington, decisions that are helping corporations and the wealthy, decisions that are absolutely taking this country and the state backwards, and decisions that are hurting hard-working Iowa families.

So I spent this last year traveling this district, talking with as many Iowans as I could about the issues that we're facing, listening to their concerns, their need to find affordable effective health care, making sure that we've got good paying jobs, jobs that a family can be supported on and give them opportunity, and making sure that our seniors retire with dignity, because they deserve that and there's one thing I know…. That's right—let's cheer for that!

There's definitely one thing I know from doing those travels is that Iowans are working incredibly hard and we're playing by the rules. But Washington doesn't have our back and we deserve better.

Unfortunately my opponent, Congressman Young, doesn't think that and as a matter of fact he's so mired in the ways of Washington that unfortunately he's causing some of these problems. He's taken money from corporations and special interests and then turned around and voted in their favor, not ours.

He's taken money from health insurance companies and then turned around and voted for a plan that would increase premiums on Iowans and especially older Iowans.

And he's taken money from corporations and then turned around and voted for a tax bill that puts more money back into the hands of its wealthy shareholders and puts that burden on hardworking Iowa families.

And right now he stands by idly as this administration attacks our farmers, our local economies, and our overall state's economy to be successful in agriculture. And we need to send somebody out to Congress who's going to stand up for Iowans, don't you agree?

Well, I'm a fifth-generation Iowan from the south side of Des Moines and my mom is from a farm in this district, from Milo outside of Indianola in Warren County, so this place is near and dear to me. I'm also a mom of two teenage boys, which I joke could be my best experience for being successful in Congress. And I'm a small business owner. My husband's here with me today, John—give him a shout-out. We own a small business, a small digital design firm.

But I'll tell you what—I was really lucky to be a public servant for the people here in this state. I had the opportunity to serve under Governor Vilsack, Governor Culver and Governor Branstad's administration, and my job was to root out waste and to make sure that government held itself accountable to delivering better services to the people here in the state. And that's what I'm gonna do when I'm in Congress.

And I'll tell you one thing. I will relentlessly protect Iowa and its citizens. And for those of you who know me, I've got pretty sharp elbows when it comes to doing the right thing.

And just like I did when I fought to secure all-day kindergarten for every child in West Des Moines, one of our biggest school districts, I'm going to take that determination with me out to Congress.

Nothing is quick. Nothing is easy.

And we need to send people out to Washington who are gonna stay in there for the long haul, like I did when I fought for all-day kindergarten. It took about a year and I worked my way up through the administration, realized we had one meeting left where they had to get this passed for the kids in the next grade, so I put together the data on the subject matter and equity and presented it to the board and said, “You know, you've got to get this changed for the kids next year or I'll take this information to the head of the Department of Education and the Des Moines Register and let them know you're not living up to this district's expectations and you're failing its kids and its families.” Well, they passed it.

That's superintendent's one of my big supporters, because he knows when it comes to doing what's right, to standing up for our future, I'm not going to stop until we get the job done.

And it does not matter if you live here in the Des Moines metro area, if you live out on one of our farms, or if you live in one of our rural communities, we all deserve to have somebody out in Washington who's going to stand up for ourselves and our family.

And I want to take all of you there with me and your friends and your family and make sure that our teachers have a voice, our workers have a voice, seniors, students, small business owners, because they all deserve a seat at the table and we are absolutely in this together and I'm going to bring everybody out there with me so that we make the best decisions for the people in this district and the state of Iowa.

So I'm going to keep doing my thing, which is traveling this district talking with as many Iowans as I can over the next several months till we get to Election Day.

But I can't do this alone and I want to remind you of some words that I heard Governor Vilsack say last fall. He said, “These are the most important elections in 50 years,” and I couldn't agree with him more. The heart and soul of the state is at risk. The heart and soul of this country is at risk.

So I ask all of you to help us out with this. I need your voice. I ask for your vote. Because together we can all bring hope and opportunity to every single person in this district and the state and this country once again.

Thanks so much. Let's go win this thing!