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Heather Hora is one of two Republicans running for Iowa House District 92. She has been endorsed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. Here are her answers to our legislative survey:

GENERAL QUESTIONS:

Describe your worldview and how that will influence you as a legislator:

Growing up, I was 10 when Ronald Reagan took office. So, all my young years, he was the leader that I knew and I was always drawn to his love of the country, his sincerity, his no-nonsense type personality. I was always drawn to that and I followed him. Then, as I got older, in 1988 I graduated high school as a gentleman came on the radio named Rush Limbaugh. I was drawn to what Rush had to say and he was very in the face of the women’s movement, which I had totally disagreed with growing up because I saw these angry women who were fighting for “women’s rights” but in doing that I felt they were diminishing what being a woman actually meant. So, I think my worldview was shaped by that. I believe in the traditional family. I believe that a woman is different than a man. We’re both very important, but we play different roles and there is nothing wrong with that. I don’t think that saying that makes one better than the other or worse than the other. I think we’re just different and we need to admit that as a country. Both of us have a role to play.

I believe in America First. I believe we’re the greatest country. We are a Judeo-Christian society that was created for the faith and freedom and prosperity of its people.

In your opinion, what are the three most pressing issues the legislature should address:

No. 1 would be property taxes or taxing in general and trying to get more money back to the people. I think that Gov. Reynolds and the legislature have made a great start in lowering taxes and making Iowa more appealing to people and companies to move here. But I just believe we can go further. I think taking a look at property tax reform is one way to do that.

Because I’m a mother and a Christian and I have three young children in school, looking at what is happening in our schools is a priority. Trying to get school choice passed — why the Republican legislature could not get it passed this year is perplexing to me because it is in our platform. We believe in school choice, but they didn’t get it done. If I am elected, I could go in and help Gov. Reynolds help families with school choice.

No. 3 is just maintaining a great environment for agriculture. I’m a farmer and my husband is a fifth-generation farmer and we are raising the sixth generation on the farm. They help us, they work, do chores. We believe in doing things right and believe in environmental stewardship. I believe, as the governor believes, that Iowa farmers will always do the right thing if we give them the tools to do so. We don’t need more regulations. I think as a farmer you can see what works in real life in application is not always what people think will work on paper.

Another thing I think is very important is, if we’ve learned anything in the last few years, it is having the leadership of Gov. Reynolds and her vision has been key in keeping Iowa moving. I know it sounds cliche because that was her campaign motto, but she did it. She kept Iowa moving through a time where other states shut down. I think we need a legislature to have that foresight to know with what we’re dealing with in D.C., we’re going to have federal overreach. There’s no doubt that they’re going to try to step in and make changes in our state. I think we need people in Des Moines who are going to say ‘no, timeout. We have states’ rights. We are Iowa and we’re not going to be ruled by Washington D.C.’ There will be more things coming down from D.C. that we haven’t even thought of yet.

Feel free to explain your ideal tax policy/policies for Iowa (included in this section in order to allow for as much flexibility as possible):

I’ve looked at different places. It’s hard to say what we think would work best to me. But Kansas has implemented a property tax situation that I think works well. I would base it on what they do in Kansas.

Have you or will you sign The Big Family Pledge:

Yes.

FREE MARKET:

Do you believe the government should force consumers to buy a product:

No.

Do you believe the government should force retailers to sell a product:

No.

Do you support reforming or eliminating Iowa’s Certificate of Need laws:

Yes.

Do you support periodic reviews of all government licenses and boards to ensure they’re necessary:

Yes.

LIFE:

Do you support the Protect Life Amendment to the Iowa Constitution:

Yes.

When do you believe life begins and at what stage does it deserve protections under the law:

Conception.

EDUCATION:

Would you support universal Education Savings Accounts for Iowa families:

Yes.

Do you believe obscene materials and pornographic materials belong in public school libraries:

Absolutely not.

In what grade should schools begin providing instruction to students on sexual orientation and gender identity:

I don’t think they need to.

Would you support a bathroom bill in Iowa, which states biological males use the boys’ bathroom and biological females use the girls’ bathroom:

Yes.

LGBTQ:

Should gender identity be stripped out of the Iowa Civil Rights code:

Yes.

Should Iowa make it illegal for minors to undergo sex-change surgery and treatments:

Yes.

Should Iowa schools/teachers ask students for preferred pronouns:

No.

Should Iowa require schools/teachers to share a child’s “preferred pronoun” and/or “gender identity” with the child’s parent(s)/guardian(s):

Yes, they should tell the parents.

Do you support banning conversion therapy (making it illegal for a parent to take a child to a health care professional to talk about confusion as it relates to sexual orientation or gender identity)?

No.

COVID RELATED:

Do you believe any institution – whether private or governmental – should be able to mandate a vaccination?

No.

How could the Iowa legislature have handled the COVID pandemic differently?

I think they didn’t go far enough blocking vaccine mandates to protect workers who were required to get vaccinated. I don’t know that Iowa went far enough in protecting their rights.

Do you believe Iowa should reform the Governor’s emergency powers?

Yes, we should work to limit those.

CLOSING QUESTIONS:

Are there any issues of disagreement you have with the Republican Party of Iowa platform from 2018?

Not with the platform. I differ with the party on some issues, but I would say those are individual party members and not necessarily the platform. The strength of the Republican Party comes from the platform that we’re able to create together. It comes from the grassroots, and if you don’t believe in the platform, then don’t run as a Republican. I think we have to have that as our guide. And there are too many Republicans who don’t and technically should not be considered Republicans. The strength of our party comes from the grassroots. I think it always has.

What improvements, if any, would you make to Iowa’s voting laws to ensure elections are fair and full of integrity?

We already have Voter ID. But I think keeping Voter ID is key. I don’t know where we are on absentee ballots, but we have to really shore up the absentee ballot process. Without election integrity, what is the point? I mean, we have nothing. We’ve seen what happens if there is no election integrity. Whatever we can do to make the process easy for people but hard to cheat. I think having early voting at the courthouse is a good way to do it. I like to vote on one day, but there are people who that doesn’t work for. I know in Washington County you can go into the Auditor’s Office, show your ID, I prefer that voting to absentee.

IOWA HOUSE DISTRICT 92:

Hora is running against Jaron Rosien, who has not completed the survey.

To learn more about Hora’s candidacy, follow her on Facebook.

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