Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver the official Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of Union Address next Tuesday, congressional GOP leaders announced Tuesday.
Party leaders highlighted Reynold’s resistance to Covid mandates from Iowa. There, she signed a law last January requiring schools to offer in person learning options even though case rates were rising.
Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. House Minority Leader, stated that Covid was handled by McCarthy choosing freedom over lockdowns, personal responsibility over mandates, which led to economic recovery following the pandemic. She kept children in school and left critical race theory out.
Parties that are no longer in power in Washington often look beyond the Beltway to provide an official response to the president’s address. This gives lesser-known names the chance to reach millions of Americans through a broadcast speech immediately following the speech.
"While Washington Democrats fail working Americans," Republican governors fight for and win for their families. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that Governor Kim Reynolds' courageous, bold, and effective leadership for Iowans had put her at the forefront of this pack.
Reynolds is Iowa's first female governor, and one of nine in the nation. In 2017, she was promoted to lieutenant governor when President Donald Trump appointed her long-serving Gov. Terry Branstad was appointed ambassador to China. Reynolds was elected as her own candidate in 2018.
Reynolds is expected to win re-election in a state that has become increasingly Republican since former President Barack Obama won it twice. However, she has not yet officially declared her intent to run for another term.
Reynolds was a Trump supporter and voted for him in 2020. However, she described the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters as " unacceptable."
Reynolds stated that "Republican Governors in America are leading the charge in protecting liberty and securing unmatched financial prosperity in our States." "The Biden Administration governs from the extreme left, neglecting the problems of working-class Americans, while pushing an agenda which stifles freedom of speech, thought, and economic liberty."
The State of the Union has helped to raise the profile of politicians such as Stacey Abrams, a Georgia Democrat and former Governor of South Carolina. Nikki Haley is a Republican.
The awkward format and high stakes have earned the gig a reputation for embarrassing politicians, often for superficial reasons. These include former Democratic Rep. Joe Kennedy’s shiny lips, Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio's frequent water drinking , and former Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s frequent water sipping .
