David Young was joined by about 75 supporters Monday as he filed his nomination petitions to run for Iowa’s Third Congressional seat. It’s a seat he held until 2018, when current Congresswoman Cindy Axne won the midterm election.
“I am humbled by the great number of people in this district who signed my petition. This is yet another sign the people of this district want a representative in Washington, D.C. who actually works hard every day and fights for them and this district,” Young said. “I also want to thank all of the volunteers and staff who helped collect each and every one of these signatures. I look forward to working with everyone over the next 239 days to win this election in November and get back to work on the priorities of the people.”
Young’s petitions included more than 7,600 signatures. He submitted over twice the minimum number of signatures required in 15 of the district’s 16 counties. He met the minimum requirement of signatures in all 16 counties.
Submitting his petitions, he said, is a signal that it’s time for Congress to get back to work.
“I’ve got a record of accomplishment, leadership and getting things done for this Third Congressional District,” Young said. “I’m ready to do it again. We got 7,600 signatures that we turned in today and I’m very honored to fight on their behalf.”
Since Axne won the seat in 2018, Young said he has learned a lot about who she is.
“She did not have a record in 2018,” he said. “I learned a lot about our opponent. The people in the district know me, I know them and now we know Cindy Axne a whole heck of a lot better and what we’re seeing isn’t very good.”
Young criticized Axne’s plan for the American economy.
“She wants to raise taxes by repealing the tax relief we passed, that doesn’t help anybody,” he said. “She also was on board with Obama’s Waters of the USA rule, controlling 97 percent of Iowa’s land. Her prescription for the economy is wrong. We need less regulation, common-sense regulation and we need to put more money in the pockets of hard-working Iowans.”
Young blasted one of Axne’s first actions as a member of Congress.
“She campaigned on around-the-table kind of economic issues,” he said. “This class got into Congress and one of the bills they passed right away — House Resolution 1 — took taxpayer dollars of hard-working Iowans and they took them to stuff their political personal campaigns. They got to DC and said we’re going to take your money and fund ourselves. That’s wrong. That’s not why people voted in November of 2018.”
Returning to the priorities of the district is one of Young’s areas of focus.
“Health care, immigration, the economy, mental health and someone who will work not just within the party, but across the aisle as well is very important, we do that in Iowa, but to work with the President as well.”
As for sharing the ballot with President Donald Trump in 2020, Young said all the candidates will help each other in different ways.
“The President has a loyal, loyal group of supporters that only come out when he’s on the ballot,” Young said. “He won the district by 3.5 points in 2016, I won it by 14 points. Sen. Ernst will be on the ballot as well. We will all help each other in different ways. So, I’m looking forward to an incredible turnout and an incredible win in November of 2020.”
