Mom. It’s a title that can mean so many things to so many people. It’s a title regarded with a nurturing sentiment, something comforting, or something that can be.
Iowa House candidates Heather Sievers, Tiara L. Mays-Sims, Laura Snider, and Iowa House representatives Rep. Sue Cahill (D-IA), Rep. Molly Buck (D-IA), Rep. Heather Matson (D-IA), Rep. Lindsay James (D-IA)) and Rep. Jennifer Konfrst (D-IA) have shown that their roles as mothers do not hold them back. In fact, it lifts them up.
On Aug. 29, political candidates, current representatives and audience members crowded into xBk Live for a fundraising event. The speakers spent the evening going over their lives as mothers, their favorite things about their children and why they decided to run for office. Their stories all spoke to a common theme: this is not the Iowa they know.
Rep. Konfrst started the evening by saying, “If we don’t flip seats in the Iowa House, they can’t save us in Washington.”
Leaning into their personal stories, as the women all shared a microphone on stage, it became clear how their roles as mothers had affected the candidates’ lives.
Mays-Sims spoke about how living under intense financial stress, she didn’t qualify for any government assistance when her kids were young because she made $500 over the minimum requirement.
Snider reminded the crowd that, in her position as a prosecutor, she often has no support to offer for her clients who are suffering mental health crises because there are no government options available. Referring to the women on the stage and the Iowa Democratic Party’s motto, Rep. Konfrst said that these women “every single day of their lives have put people over politics. It’s not a slogan for us, it’s what we live by.”
These candidates have put their lives ahead of families and communities but haven’t felt that same level of support from the state government.
However, Michael Mitchell and Will Blevins, seniors at Drake, both see light at the end of the tunnel this election cycle.
“I think we need more moms in the legislature,” Mitchell said. “I think it’s cool seeing how many moms are able to run because (being a mom) is already a full time job, and now running to do this, while also so many of them have another full time job. We should put all of our support behind them and help them go over the finish line.”
Blevins was reminded that with the current and newly situated Democratic White House ticket may lead to a resurgence of support for the Iowa Democratic candidates.
“At the top of the ticket, with Kamala being the focal point, I think that will trickle down into the local elections,” Blevins said.
Mitchell agreed.
“Now that we have Kamala Harris running, I’m a little more excited and more inclined to be engaged,” Mitchell said.
With the majority of Iowa’s school voucher recipients going toward private education, controversial funding changes in the Area Education Agency and a new 6-week abortion ban, Iowa is turning a conservative corner that not many grew up with throughout the state.
The political candidates, together, held up their hands defiantly as the event concluded. Their stories and presence on stage represented a greater cause that seemed to say: Family is important, and so is winning elections.
“The choice in this election is not only at the top of the ticket but at the state house level,” Rep. Konfrst said. “And the choices are the same. Do you want to be part of the party that sends us back to the 50s, or the party that looks forward and wants to include everyone?”
