Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds joined me this morning:

Audio:

08-10hhs-reynolds

Transcript:

HH: Talking with one of the three people I think are in the running to be our vice presidential nominee in the Republican Party, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. Good morning, Governor. I think this is the first time you’ve been on the Hugh Hewitt Show. Great to have you.

KR: It is, and thank you so much for giving me the opportunity. It’s great to be with you this morning.

HH: Talk to us a little bit about how Campaign 2024 is unfolding on the ground in the first state to caucus in 2024.

KR: Well, it’s an exciting time to be in Iowa, because we have all of the candidates crisscrossing the state, hosting events, talking to Iowans. And I think what really, what excites me is the amount of engagement that I’m seeing from Iowans. All of the candidates have been here a lot, and I attend a lot of the events. I said you know, ask me to be there, and I’ll do everything I can to be there. And I say that to everyone. When they’re in the state, we’re seeing record turnout at these events, and people are engaged. They’re staying to the end. They’re asking questions, and they’re bouncing from candidate to candidate. So people really are kicking the tires. They’re paying attention. And I think that’s good for America. We want to put our best foot forward, because ultimately, we want to make sure that we have the candidate that can win in 2024 and get this country back on track.

HH: Governor Reynolds, how important is it to the Iowa electorate that the candidates address the issue of abortion directly and succinctly and without hemming and hawing?

KR: Well, you know, I passed the heartbeat bill twice, actually, signed it into law. We did it in 2018. That was a tough year for Republicans. I signed that into law, went on to win that race. Not by a lot, but about 2 percentage points. But I made it across the finish line. Then, it was tied up in the courts for several years. We had a, it was stayed, basically, because we had a tie at the Iowa Supreme Court. And so I called a special session. We came back into session. We passed it again by even a larger margin than we did in 2018, and we made it clear it wasn’t a hypothetical law. Life is important to Iowans, and so they’re, they are, that’s, there’s the expectation from Iowans that we have a presidential candidate that’s pro-life.

HH: Now Senator, we, I mean Governor, we have a senator, Senator Tuberville of Alabama, who has placed a hold on more than 300 military promotions. Admiral Stavridis on this show said that affects tens of thousands of military people and their families, because Joe Biden and Secretary Austin are violating the Hyde Amendment. And I don’t dispute that. They are by facilitating travel by uniformed servicemembers to states where abortion is legal. Nevertheless, I greatly object to that policy. What do you think of Senator Tuberville holding American military, career military hostage?

KR: Well, first of all, we have an administration that doesn’t abide by any of those laws or rules, and so I think, you know, that’s just another example of why it’s important that we pay attention to 2024. We need to make sure that we beat the Biden administration, get things back on track so these kinds of things aren’t happening. So he’s doing what he believes is the right thing to do to push back on just a policy that they’re disregarding and not paying any attention to.

HH: The new Yahoo story says more than half the voters in Alabama disagree with it, but I’m actually going to the tactic itself, Governor. I don’t think it’s pro-life to hold these families hostage, do you?

KR: Well, you know, I am the governor of the state of Iowa and not a United States Senator. I’m not weighing in on that, so Hugh, I’m focused on the policies that are important to Iowans, and that’s what I’m working on. So that’s a decision for the Senator to make, but right now, I’m focused on Iowa. We have presidential candidates coming through our state, and we’re going to continue to make sure that we’re asking them the questions that are important to Iowans. The economy is front and center. I’ll tell you that. We want to talk about some of the other issues, but in addition to that, people are seeing their paychecks not go as far. They’re seeing an open border. We’re experiencing exponential increase in confiscation of fentanyl, of human trafficking. We’re not, you know, we are seeing that in the state of Iowa, so those are some of the things that Iowans are interested in. Of course, life is front and center, but they also want to see this economy turned around. They want to see our border closed. They want to make sure that we have safe communities. And we spend a lot of time in Iowa talking about parental choice. I’m proud to say that I, the first bill I signed into law this last legislative session was an opportunity to give parents the choice to where they would send their kids to school, and an ESA, a savings account. And we actually have led an educational revolution across the country. And so, you know, those are the things that we’re dealing with in the state of Iowa.

HH: I do think school choice is a huge choice for Republicans, and Iowa, Arizona, Ohio, Florida, West Virginia, Arkansas, I’m forgetting one of the seven, have done great things, and you did lead the way.

KR: Utah.

HH: So my compliments.

KR: Yeah, thank you. It really is, it’s really the one way, you know, we passed a law to say no irreversible transgender surgeries. We said parents, I mean, can you believe that we actually had to put into statute the fact that parents will be the primary decision maker for their children’s education? We said no to Critical Race Theory. We did all of those things. Ultimately, it’s school choice that is, will be the most impactful, because parents now will have the choice and the funding will follow, the per pupil funding. If they don’t agree with what’s being taught to their children in their schools, then they have the opportunity to go to a private school.

HH: Now Governor, if I can go back to abortion for a second, two days ago in Ohio, Measure 1 failed. I was a big proponent of Measure 1, but it failed. It’s being interpreted as a vote for abortion rights at least larger than those that would be allowed in Ohio if that referendum fails. What did you make of that? And is, in fact, abortion a losing issue for Republicans in 2024?

KR: No, it’s not a losing issue. I don’t believe that. I was a pro-life governor, as I said, and I won in 2018. Not very many Republicans, it was a bad year for Republicans. We lost a Congressional seat. We lost seats in the House. I was able to win, and then won again in this last election cycle of 2022 by nearly 20 points. So Iowans know that I am a pro-life governor. Governor Kemp, I mean, you can go, Governor DeSantis, many of the governors that won reelection are pro-life. I think we never, they always want to, they never talk about what Democrats want to do. And all you have to do is look to Minnesota. You know, they are the extreme position. They are the ones that want abortion up until the moment of birth, and sometimes after. And they just passed that law in Minnesota. So they’d like to not address the fact that when is it not okay to take a baby’s life? And I would say that they are, they believe that there are no exceptions, that right up until the moment of birth that you ought to be able to kill a baby. And I just completely, that’s horrible, horrific, unconscionable, and that’s where they want to go. That’s where they are going. They try to act like it’s not, but the fact of the matter is if they get a chance to vote on it, that’s where they go.

HH: I’m talking with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. Governor, former President Trump has been critical of you for not endorsing him. Will you appear with him at any debate or any event that he does in the Hawkeye State?

KR: Oh, for Heaven’s sakes, yes. I have. I have said to every single candidate, you know, let me know when you’re in the state. Let me know when you’re having an event. Now I can’t manage them. They have to let me know. I can’t watch their schedule and then try to show up. But if they let me know, I’ve appeared with President Trump early on, did an event in Davenport. It was a great event. It was a packed house. I’ve appeared with almost every one of the candidates, and if I haven’t, yet, we’re working on a time to get together. But Hugh, it’s been a long-standing tradition. I’m not going to say you know, maybe down the road I won’t endorse, but listen, we have the awesome responsibility of having the first in the nation caucus. And I want Iowans to hear from the candidates. So I want them to feel like they have a fair chance. I want to welcome them to Iowa. I want to tell them, you know, events that maybe they should be at. I will try to join them when I can. But you know, that’s, and that’s been a tradition for years and years by governors of both parties and many of the elected officials. And so you know, more than happy, invited them to the Fair-Side Chats. And so would absolutely appear with him, and have.

HH: Governor, my new Spidey-sense just tingled. You said I’m not going to say I won’t endorse before the caucus.

KR: (laughing)

HH: So I guess that means you probably will endorse before the caucus, because that was unsolicited, that you just put that in there as a marker.

KR: Yes.

HH: Will you endorse before the caucuses?

KR: Well, I don’t know. I just like, I’m, you know, I’m going to, I’ve said I want to stay neutral. I want them to come. I’ll be anxious to see what happens with the first debate. But you know, I’m always wary to never say never. But you know, right now, we’re going to stay neutral. I’ve made that very clear. And so we’re going to, like, keep welcoming them. Ooh, I need another cup of coffee. Harder than it seems, but that’s the life of campaign in Iowa.

HH: Well, Governor, last and important question. The Big 10 is now the Big 18. Should we let Stanford in?

KR: Oh, my goodness. Oh, come on. It’s getting crazy, isn’t it? It’s getting crazy, so here we go. I don’t know.

HH: Are they going to score any touchdowns at Iowa this year, because that’s actually always an issue in Iowa.

KR: Yes. I can say yes.

HH: Your offensive coordinator is on the hot spot. Governor Reynolds, always good to talk to you. Thank you for joining me. Come back often.

KR: Thank you.

HH: I think we made a little news there.

End of interview.